Taking God at His Word

 Weekly Devotionals

Be transformed by the renewing of your mind...

Romans 12:2

Posted: 3/12/2023
Many of us have asked God for a genuine miracle in our lives—something beyond coincidence and beyond any human ability. And there have been times when God has answered. But what about the times when, as far as we know, the miracle doesn’t happen?
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Posted: 3/5/2023
Someone once said, “If God wants you on your knees, He will give you children.” I am the parent of four adult children and you can be sure my knees are worn to the bone.
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Posted: 2/26/2023
Today there are many people around the world for whom every day is an intense struggle, if not for survival, at least for hope. While for most of us paying bills, getting physical checkups, and balancing a social life is the norm, for others poverty, disease, and persecution are the routine.
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Posted: 2/19/2023
“Could you move along?” “I don’t have time!” “What is taking so long?” ”We are going to be late!” “Please hurry!” I cringe when I think how many of those exclamations I have used. Maybe you can relate. Our generation is one that values “instant” everything—instant phone connections, instant food, instant messaging on the internet…even instant religion.
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Posted: 2/12/2023
People worship God differently. Some are loud and expressive while others are quiet and contemplative. Some kneel, some raise hands, some bow heads. Some read their prayers and some say whatever comes to mind.
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Posted: 2/5/2023
God has blessed you to be a blessing to others. He expects you to exercise good stewardship in those areas where you have been blessed; whether you are blessed materially, financially, or with certain talents and abilities …”to whom much is given, much is required” (Luke 12:48).
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Posted: 1/29/2023
Many of us suffer from a disease called people-pleasing. We believe that as long as others are happy with us, God must be happy with us, too. Even going back to our childhood, we remember the pain of rejection.
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Posted: 1/22/2023
When we know God is for us, it affects our perspective. Our knowledge of God’s character gives us the supernatural ability to choose gratitude, regardless of how life plays out.
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Posted: 1/15/2023
Have you noticed that the longer you walk with God, the more aware you become of your sinful nature? Pride, especially, rears its ugly head when I least expect it. It’s the hardest part of the old self to give up.
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Posted: 1/8/2023
The decisions we face daily can produce great stress in our lives. Sometimes we are forced to live with the results of others’ decisions. But we always live with the knowledge that we are responsible for the outcome of the decisions we make.
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Posted: 12/30/2022
I love the start of each new year because it gives me the chance to make some fresh resolutions and begin again. Losing weight (I must confess), spending more time with loved ones, and just being a more loving person are always annual intentions of mine.
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Posted: 12/25/2022
Like you, I can’t wait to gather with my family by the Christmas tree today. There will be gifts we wrapped for loved ones, hoping they’ll be pleased, and gifts with our names on them creating curiosity in us!
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Posted: 12/18/2022
As parents, we try to set good examples for our children. But, as the saying goes, perception is reality. How our children perceive us is a pretty accurate picture of who we are.
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Posted: 12/11/2022
C.S. Lewis wrote, “Everyone says forgiveness is a lovely idea until they have something to forgive.” How could he know me so well? If someone has done me (or especially my children) wrong, my natural self would much rather harbor a grudge than forgive. But if I don’t forgive, I am only hurting myself because of the consequences of unforgiveness.
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Posted: 12/4/2022
Recently I was frustrated with my sweet husband because he didn’t agree with me on a certain matter. I thought, “Terry is just not meeting all my needs.” After a time of prayer, it’s as though God shook me back into reality and said, “Nancy, Terry will never meet all your needs.” The only person who can meet all of anyone’s needs is Jesus.
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Posted: 11/27/2022
Leafing through family photo albums always reminds me of how fast the years go by! I see pictures of me as a toddler, holding my mother’s hand. A few pages later I see my own children as toddlers holding my hand. Then before you know it, there are pictures of my children as parents with their own toddlers.
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Posted: 11/20/2022
When my last child left for college, I walked back into the house and sat on my bed in tears while rummaging through childhood photos. For years we strive to get our children to a place of independence. Once the mission’s accomplished, where’s the celebration? I felt sad and adrift.
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Posted: 11/13/2022
As I changed his diaper, my father looked up at me and whispered, “Funny how life has come full circle. Seems like yesterday I was changing you.” The ALS had taken its toll. Dad needed to be fed, bathed, and dressed. Daily. I was exhausted.
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Posted: 11/6/2022
When the phone rang, I could hardly understand my sister’s frantic words. Sobbing uncontrollably, she shouted, “Danny had a heart attack last night! The doctors don’t know if he’s going to make it!” In shock, I said, “I am leaving now and will be praying all the way there!”
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Posted: 10/30/2022
We just returned from a family vacation. We had four females and two males in our group. Guess which group brought the most luggage? And guess which two ended up carrying most of it? Over time, my daughters and I have learned to travel light—and my husband and son are grateful. All journeys are more enjoyable when we choose to carry less baggage.
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Posted: 10/23/2022
Silence the alarm. Crawl out of bed. Coffee? Check. Return emails? Check. Scheduled appointments? Check. Off in the car I go.
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Posted: 10/16/2022
At a prayer service for the husband of a dear friend, a large crowd sat in silence as his wife rolled his wheelchair into the chapel. We had known this man through the years as vibrant, strong, and energetic. But the man we greeted was weak, pale, bald—and very much living in the moment.
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Posted: 10/9/2022
Here I am, lying in bed, staring at the ceiling, sleepless. Body still but mind racing. Why does life seem darker at night? And I don’t just mean physically. It’s as though Satan and his minions wait for me to be alone so they can attack my mind.
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Posted: 10/2/2022
I’ve never been good at following directions, especially while driving my car. My internal compass left me confused, if not lost. When I became a Christian I suffered a similar fate—I found that the internal “life compass” I used before could no longer be trusted.
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Posted: 9/25/2022
Being real and transparent doesn’t come easily to most of us. It’s easier to hide behind perfectionism, performance, and persona. There’s no cost involved, no shame to endure. But there is also no fruit produced.
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Posted: 9/18/2022
No one wants to suffer and yet we all will at some point. And we can expect depression and discouragement to set in if we think we have no hope. But trials are not meant to focus on you, but on the sufficiency of Christ in you. Whatever circumstance or trial you find yourself in, the purpose is so that “the life of Jesus may also be revealed” in your life.
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Posted: 9/11/2022
When I became a Christian, there was one overwhelming truth that took so much pressure off the choices I made: Everything that happens in life has been filtered through the loving hands of my heavenly Father.
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Posted: 9/4/2022
Remember the days of Leave It to Beaver, Father Knows Best, and The Donna Reed Show? I loved those shows—especially the beautiful Donna Reed. While my mom looked a lot like Donna Reed, the resemblance didn’t go much further.
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Posted: 8/29/2022
Spiritual exhaustion is natural. When it happens, it affects our attitude and our outlook. Whether you serve in the church or the community, you have probably had the feeling at some point that you’ve done all you could do: “I’ve helped in the soup kitchen for years. I deserve a break!” Or, “I’ve led this Bible study long enough. There are plenty of others who should be helping!”
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Posted: 8/23/2022
One thing I have learned is God does not do things the way I would. Every time I expect God to act “my way,” I become disappointed with Him. Most often, it is when I pray expecting God to respond a certain way that I get no answer. All I hear is silence.
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Posted: 7/16/2022
Like every true Christian, I struggle with a spiritual split personality. No sooner do I think I am on the road to doing good than I discover “evil is right there with me” (Romans 7:21). My spirit wants to speak well of others but my sinful flesh is drawn toward gossip. My spirit wants to give to those in need but my sinful flesh grasps what is mine. My spirit wants to follow Christ but my flesh wants to go its own way. It seems at every corner I come face to face with my counterpart—my sinful self.
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Posted: 6/25/2022
What does God mean when He asks us to give our bodies as a living sacrifice? Can we die as a sacrifice and yet remain alive? In a spiritual sense, yes.
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Posted: 6/18/2022
Many years ago, a woman who sewed clothing for a living also took care of a little boy each day. As she sewed she shared her faith with this small boy, sowing seeds by her words and deeds that she prayed would bear fruit one day.
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Posted: 6/11/2022
Susanna Wesley is at the top of my list of nominees for the “Mother-Wife-Saint” award. The wife of a preacher in England at the turn of the 18th century, Susanna bore 19 children, nine of whom died. Two of these children, John and Charles, became the early leaders of the Methodist movement, and were mightily used by God.
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Posted: 6/4/2022
Oswald Chambers defined patience as more than endurance: “A saint’s life is in the hands of God like a bow and arrow in the hands of an archer. God is aiming at something the saint cannot see and He stretches and strains the saint. Often the saint thinks he cannot take anymore. Then God continues to stretch until His purpose is in sight and then He lets us fly.”
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Posted: 5/28/2022
If you want to have power in your prayer life, you must regularly confess your sins. God wants to remove anything that would separate you from Him and you from others.
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Posted: 5/21/2022
What is most important to you in life? What is the one thing you could not live without? Your family? Your health? Your money? Your reputation? The answer is what the Bible calls your treasure.
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Posted: 5/14/2022
Is there anyone today who doesn’t feel pulled in a thousand different directions? Whether you are married or not, a mother or not, employed or not . . . if you are alive in the twenty-first century, you are likely very busy.
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Posted: 5/7/2022
When my children were young, they jumped out of bed every morning eager to start a new day. They did not worry about what they would eat or whether they would have clothes to wear. They had a home where they knew that everything that belonged to their parents belonged to them as well. They trusted their parents completely and depended on their love at all times.
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Posted: 4/30/2022
If you want to show your love for Christ, there is one way above all others: obey all that He has commanded you.
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Posted: 4/23/2022
If you want others to see Christ in you, they need to see your weakness, not your strength. It is our need for Christ that draws others to Him—not our self-sufficiency. God extends His grace generously to those who choose to be humble (James 4:6).
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Posted: 4/16/2022
What kind of inheritance are you leaving your children?
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Posted: 4/9/2022
My youngest daughter married her childhood sweetheart. They grew up down the street from one another, were close friends in junior high, dated through high school, and knew they’d found true love together in college.
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Posted: 4/2/2022
A stumbling block for many Christians who want to turn their worries over to God is the fear of becoming a nuisance. Sometimes we think, “I hate to bother God with all my concerns. I’m sure He has much bigger things to take care of.” Or, if we don’t fear being a nuisance, we think our problems are too small in God’s eyes for Him to direct attention to our need.
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Posted: 3/26/2022
It has been said that we are not who we think we are, nor are we who other people think we are. Instead, we are who we think other people think we are. If that sounds confusing, it boils down to this: the mind is a powerful instrument just waiting to be told what to believe.
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