One Verse Devotional

As much as you love your children, God loves you even more!

I love being a dad. I love providing for my children and giving them gifts. I would do anything for them. If you are a parent, you know what I mean. We sacrifice so much to provide for our kids. Yet, I'm human. I'm not perfect. So, if I love to take care of my children, how much more will God take care of us? God loves you. He loves you like you love your children. And He will take care of you.

Faith gives us hope because we can see God moving in every area of our lives.

Faith is hard to wrap our minds around. You can't see it. You can't hold it. Yet, our One Verse for today, Hebrews 11:1, tells us that we can actually have assurance and hope in our faith. Faith doesn't fly well in today's culture. Science and information rules. Experience matters. But faith? Not so much. So, what is faith? Faith is a choice. Faith is choosing to have confidence in the Hope we can't see. Faith doesn't make sense. If it did, it wouldn't be faith. Faith is supernatural assurance in what we cannot see and choosing to Hope. That sounds strange, doesn't it? How can you have hope in something you cannot see? It's hard to explain, but once you have deep faith, it is as real as anything else in life. How does it bring hope? Because our faith allows us to see God working in our lives, the good and the bad. And if we can't see God moving, we know to look for Him. That is what Faith does in our lives. It allows us to see where God is moving.

"God takes full responsibility for the life wholly devoted to Him." -Charles Stanley

We don't have to worry about finding God's will for our lives. God takes responsibility for His will and His purpose in this world. The Bible makes it clear over and over, again. God will guide us towards His will. After all, it is His purpose that He want to see lived out in the world. He wants you to find His will. He has invited you into the story. We don't need to stress about finding God's will. Just find God and He will show you the way!

Through His sacrifice on the cross, Jesus paid our sin debt. Now, as followers of Jesus, we are called to honor God with our actions.

There is a lot of talk today about what we can do as Christians. What is ok, what is not ok? What is right, what is wrong? How should we live our lives? I think these are the wrong questions. Our One Verse today in 1 Corinthians 6:20 gives us a different outlook. It reminds us that Jesus paid everything for our future. We had sin and judgement and death to look forward to, but Jesus turned that into life and grace and forgiveness. How should we live in light of this fact? It isn't just about doing what is right and what is wrong. It also means we ask ourselves: what are the positive things we can engage in like serving others? Let us honor God with our bodies today.

The closer we get to Jesus, the closer we get to each other.

Our faith is very personal. It's an intimate relationship with Jesus. Yet, as deeply personal as our faith is, it is not meant to stay private. Faith was meant to be shared in community. 1 John 1:7 teaches us that as we grow closer to Jesus, we actually grow closer to each other. We build stronger relationships and a deeper community. I encourage you to grow closer to God, not just for yourself, but so we can all grow closer together!

The One Verse Devotional Bible study is provided by Phosphorus Project.

One Verse is a short, free podcast devotional designed to help you grow closer to God through less than 5 minutes a day, 5 days a week.

Is it hard to find time to spend with God and grow your Christian faith? The One Verse Devotional is a short, 5 minute podcast where we grow deeper in our faith through just one verse a day, Monday through Friday. A practical and encouraging look at the Bible, now you can spend time with God whenever you want. Hosted by Matt McCarrick and brought to you by Phosphorus Project.

http://oneversepodcast.com/

Sharing your faith is one of the scariest parts of being a Christian, but it doesn't have to be. Simply tell your story.

One of the biggest questions many Christians have is, "How do I share my faith?" We know we are supposed to do it. Yet, most of us shy away from sharing our faith because we don't know how. We don't want to be pushy. We don't want to get into a debate with someone. We don't want to seem like a know-it-all. But sharing your faith has nothing to do with any of these things. Sharing your faith is simply telling your story. This is how John, who lived with Jesus, begins his letter. He isn't giving second hand information. He is telling the story that he experienced. We should do the same. Simply tell your story. Telling a story isn't a debate. You are simply sharing what God has done in your own life. And who doesn't love a good story?

What do we do when God doesn't seem to be listening?

When we aren't sure where to turn or what to do, we reach out to God for the next step. We ask for vision and clarity. We ask for deliverance. And all of that is good. He wants us to do that. But have you ever felt that God is being silent? David begins Psalm 109, "My God, whom I praise, do not remain silent." What an amazing prayer. Recently, I felt like God had been silent. Yet, my wife encouraged me and spoke to me. We will still praise God. We will still trust that He is in control. So, make this your prayer: God, do not remain silent. But always remember that small phrase in the middle… whom I praise. Continue to seek God and praise Him, even in the waiting.

The Christian life is like a marathon race. Get rid of anything that is weighing you down.

Our One Verse today is packed full of awesomeness. In one simple verse, we can see three key principles for our spiritual lives. First, we learn that we are surrounded by a "cloud of witnesses." We don't really know who these witnesses are, but one thing is certain. Heaven is cheering you on. Our One Verse also tells us that the Christian life is a marathon, not a sprint. It takes perseverance. It takes discipline. Stick with it. Finally, it we are running a race, we need to remove any weight that is holding us back. We know we need to get rid of sin in our lives. But what else is in your life that is holding you back? It might not be sin, but it is getting in the way of God's best for your life? Let's remove anything that hinders us from running our race well.

What is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

This is one of the most difficult parts of the Christian life. By its very definition, faith requires us to have an understanding of a world we cannot see. In life, we want to put our trust in what we can see, what we can touch, and what makes sense on paper. It's comforting. But it is a false sense of safety. Everything around us is temporary. It won't last. As followers of Jesus, God calls us to see the world with different eyes. Let us live our lives for what truly matters, even if we can't see it now. And let us trust God to take care of us, even when we can't see the answer right in front of us.

God's will is not a secret.

Many Christians wonder what God's will is for their lives. The thing is, the Bible gives us the answer. No, the Bible can't tell you exactly what job you are supposed to have, who to marry, or where to live. But God's will goes way beyond all of these areas. God's will involves bringing our lives in line with what God is doing in the world. How do we discover this? How do we join God? Our One Verse for today, Romans 12:2 gives us the answer. Yesterday, we discovered that we are called to be living sacrifices, giving our lives to God. The next verse uncovers how we do this. By spending time with God and allowing Him to transform our mind. When we regularly engage in Bible study, prayer, and even devotional podcasts (wink), it allows God to speak into our lives and transform our minds to His. And that's the start to finding God's will for your life.