One Verse Devotional

Even in the midst of storms in our lives, even when we don't understand or can't explain the storm, nothing is too hard for God. Today's One Verse: Jeremiah 32:17

Do we truly understand how wide and long and high and deep God's love is?

Today, I pray that you would be strengthened with the power of God through His Spirit.

I love Paul's prayer for the Ephesians. To start of this week, I want to make this my prayer for you, as well. Through God's glorious riches, He will strengthen us and give us His power. How many riches does God have? Does He need anything? Of course not! It is so easy to get caught up in the small details of life and forget that we serve a God and have a Father who needs nothing. He has everything. And it is out of those riches that He blesses us and provides for us! Through His Spirit, God will comfort us and give us power to live out our purpose in this world and to love others. I pray this for you today. May you be strengthened by His Spirit!

In the Old Testament, only the High Priest could come into the Presence of God, and it was just one time per year. Now, God allows us to encounter His presence whenever we choose. Do NOT take prayer for granted. It is one of the greatest gifts that God has given us.

We have an enemy who is ready to take us out at every opportunity. That is why it is so important to stay alert, stay connected to God, and stay connected to each other. Like my football coach used to teach me, you need to keep your head on a swivel.

The Apostle Peter was one of Jesus's closest friends. He also helped to start the Church movement with his sermon at Pentecost. So, when Peter gives some guidelines and instructions for the Church, we should probably pay attention. Do Peter's words describe the Church today?

"Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise." -Psalm 100:4. Psalm 100 is only five verses, but is so uplifting. It is a feel-good passage, for sure! But it also a great reminder to praise God's name. He is worthy of our praise. How many times do we (spiritually) drag into church each week, look at the pastor, and basically say, "Please give me something to make it through another week." I understand. I've been there countless times. Sometimes life is on fast forward and we can't keep up. But can I be real for a second? Maybe a little tough love? How many times is that actually on us? I'm not saying we can never be tired. We all have those times. But in general, are we always showing up to church like that? Are we starving ourselves throughout the week and then trying to score a quick spiritual meal on Sunday mornings? No wonder your spirit is tired. Just like in the real world, feeding yourself once a week is not very healthy. I don't know about you, but I want to enter His gates with a song already in my heart and I want to be praising God, even silently, as I walk through the door!

This world is troubled, but take heart! Jesus has overcome the world.

There is no doubt that our world is troubled. I can hardly watch the news, and actually avoid it most nights. Scene after scene of violence from around the country and around our world. Jesus warned us that we would experience trouble in this world. I always thought He meant that we would experience hard times in our lives. That is true, of course. But I think He meant even more than that. Our entire world would be troubled. But Jesus reminds us of two very important things in our One Verse today. In John 16, Jesus is at the Last Supper talking to His disciples. As Jesus was going to the cross in just a few short days, do you think those words were important? Yeah! He tells the disciples that He came to bring us peace. The teachings of Jesus and going to the cross were meant for us to find true God-peace in Him. In Jesus. And then Jesus reminds us of something very important. He tells us that we will experience trouble in this world. "But take heart! I have overcome the world." For me, that is so comforting. Yes, there is still tragedy and chaos. For now. But evil will not win. It has already been defeated. Jesus has overcome our trouble, our sin, death, and hell. And because of that, I want to encourage you with the same words of Jesus… Take heart!

"Do to others as you would have them do to you." Did you know the Golden Rule was Jesus's idea? Our culture needs the Golden Rule now more than ever!

A phrase that's easy to forget that came from the Bible is the Golden Rule. It comes straight from the mouth of Jesus and it is today's One Verse. Many times, we think the Golden Rule was something we learned as a child, so we discredit it. It was childish thinking. Be nice, share your toys. Old school. But I would say that our society, our country, and our world needs the Golden Rule now more than ever. How could our country change if we all started living by this simple rule? Maybe you're a cynic and think, "Matt, there is no way everyone is going to start living this way." Ok. I'd agree with you. But what if YOU start living this way. And I start living this way. Could we still make a difference? Could we start a ripple of kindness and love? I think we can. One more thing to remember: When Jesus gave us the Golden Rule, he started this paragraph telling us to love others that hate us, slap us, and say horrible things about us. Jesus said love your enemies and then ended with "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." The Golden Rule isn't for nice people. It's how we are supposed to treat everyone, even our enemies.

The greatest leaders don't say, "This is how great I am." The greatest leaders say, "This is how I can serve you."

Jesus always has a different way of looking at things. That is probably one of the greatest reasons I love being a Christian. The true message of Jesus is radical. Over and over, Jesus would say, "You've heard it said…, but I say…" or "You've been taught [that], but I'm teaching you [this]." Many times, these teachings are major ways to view the world. Today's One Verse is a great example. While on the road traveling from city to city, the disciples were arguing with each other. Jesus asked them what they were arguing about, but they were too embarrassed to answer. Of course, Jesus already knew. So, He answered their question anyway. The question? Who among us will be the greatest in the Kingdom of Jesus? They thought Jesus was coming to set up an earthly kingdom and overthrow Rome. In Mark 9:35, Jesus gave the answer: "Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all." True leadership is servant leadership. Great leaders never say "look at me." They serve others and let them decide if they are great or not. They don't stand on the backs of others. They serve. If you want to be a leader worth following, then serve. It may not look anything like what the world teaches, but by placing others ahead of yourself will actually mean that you become a true leader.

(Note: For some that understand true leadership, this idea actually is taught a few places in our world. Even though this Jesus principle was laid out thousands of years ago, the business world is just starting to see the value of servant leadership. A great example is the book Good to Great by Jim Collins.)