By Loren Hicks
Daily episodes are hosted by Pastor Loren Hicks. This podcast will challenge you to go deeper into your Christian faith. The goal is to inspire you to be a fully devoted follower of Jesus Christ. E
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In the greatest demonstration of love the world has ever seen, Jesus, the Son of God, willingly lays down His life as a sacrifice for sinners. Christ died for us so that we won’t have to die. Motivated by love, Jesus takes our place on the cross. He becomes our substitute. He satisfied the justices of a holy God, by taking our penalty.
Main Points:
1. This love is not conditional—it is rooted in God’s character and based on the fact that He is a God of love. God’s love for everyone could be thought of as His “merciful love,” since it results in the fact that God does not immediately punish people for their sins.
2. During his earthly ministry, Jesus saw people as individuals, not just their labels. He had compassion and sought to meet the needs around Him. In sharing the word of God, Jesus ate with sinners and spent time with them. Seeing all of this, sinners were no doubt inspired to know Him better.
3. As we interact with people, may we never forget that God loves all people and desires that they are saved. May you and I love all people with the love of God.
Today’s Scripture Verses:
Romans 5:8 - “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
John 3:16 - “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
Luke 5:31-32 - “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”
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God invites us into this intimacy. He calls for us to be close to Him. This is what differentiates Christianity from any other religion in the world. God is not cold and distant. He welcomes closeness with himself. He calls and invites us to seek Him and pursue Him.
Main Points:
1. Can you hear His voice? In your loneliness, in your anxiety, in your frustration, and in your desperation, God is calling you to come to Him. I pray that you will respond like David and say, “Your face, LORD, I will seek.”
2. There are so many today who have lots of Bible knowledge. Maybe they were raised attending church. They know the Word of God and can quote many scriptures, but they are empty spiritually because they have no relationship with God.
3. God wants to be known. He makes himself available to us. He rewards our seeking with His presence. Your relationship with God can be rich and full. It can be powerful and inspiring, it just requires us to seek Him.
Today’s Scripture Verses:
Psalm 27:8 - “When you said, ‘Seek My face,’ My heart said to You, “Your face, LORD, I will seek.”
James 4:8 - “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.”
Psalm 119:37 - “Turn my eyes away from worthless things.”
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To fulfill God’s plan for your life, it will take courage. Your next step will require courage. But here’s what’s encouraging, you don’t have to exhibit a lot of courage, just a small amount will do. Imagine what God can do with a small amount of courage!
Main Points:
1. We all admire people with great faith. You know, those who do big things for God. But can I remind you that every great thing done for God began with a small step of faith. God rewards our faith. He loves it when his children step out with small steps of courage and obey Him.
2. I’m struck by the idea of small acts of courage. What could you and I do for God, if we just had the courage? How many times did we miss the will of God, because we were afraid? How many times could God have used our lives, yet we failed to step out due to a lack of courage?
3. While we lament those times when we missed God’s will, we also recognize God is not finished with us. He has not given up on us. He still wants to use our lives for His glory. So, today look around. Listen for the Holy Spirit. Be alert and ready for the moment when you will take a step of faith and courage.
Today’s Scripture Verses:
Joshua 1:9 - “be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
Zechariah 4:10 - “Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin.”
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Today you and I will face things that will threaten our faith, especially our faith in God’s protection. You might be worried about your marriage, the decisions your children are making, the future of your career, the economy, or even your physical safety. You might be worried about your retirement account, the increase in crime in your neighborhood, or an upcoming medical test. There are so many things that threaten our faith in God’s protection.
Main Points:
1. First, remembering God’s past protection inspires us to believe God will protect us in the present and future. Remembering what God has already done inspires confidence in God’s future faithfulness.
2. Second, David knows the power of verbalizing his faith. He worships out loud. In Psalm 27:6 David says, “I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.” By writing down this Psalm he is declaring what he believes about God. In doing both of these things, he is encouraging his own soul in the Lord.
3. You and I can do this today. No matter what you are facing, put your faith in God and in His power to protect you.
Today’s Scripture Verses:
Psalm 27:1-2 - “The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked came against me To eat up my flesh, My enemies and foes, They stumbled and fell. Though an army may encamp against me, My heart shall not fear; Though war may rise against me, In this I will be confident.”
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Faith and obedience go hand in hand. What leads us to obey God is the fact that we trust Him. If you don’t trust him, you won’t obey Him. Faith is a choice. Obedience is a choice. Every time we do something just because God “said so” we are acting in faith.
Main Points:
1. By faith we believe in the Word of God. This faith leads us to submit ourselves in obedience to our Savior. We obey because we truly believe. A lack of faith leads to a lack of obedience.
2. We must admit that it’s not always easy to obey. It’s also not always easy to believe. Yet, this is what God calls us to. It’s easier to obey when we can picture how God will bless our obedience, but so much harder when we don’t see the point of it. God does not always reveal the why behind his call to obedience.
3. All God requires of you is to keep putting one foot in front of the other as you walk the walk of obedience. Your steps of obedience is the proof of your faith in God.
Today’s Scripture Verses:
Hebrews 11:8 - "By faith, Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.”
James 2:17 - “Faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.”
James 2:26 - “Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works.”
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It’s always better to listen to the caution of the Holy Spirit and to guard our hearts against pride. If we do not live in humility before the Lord. God himself will humble us, and it is not pleasant.
Main Points:
1. What is Humility? Humility is an accurate estimation of our self-importance in relation to God and others. Humility is having a right view of yourself because you have a right view of God.
2. Humility is not thinking too highly of yourself. It’s also not thinking to low of yourself. It’s having an accurate estimation of our self-importance in relation to God and others.
3. So, how do we humble ourselves? We focus on the greatness of God. In my life I cannot be prideful and God be great. It can’t happen at the same time. Either I think God is great or I think I am great. It’s having a right view of yourself because you have a right view of God.
Today’s Scripture Verses:
James 4:10 - “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.”
Luke 14:11 - “For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
“Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.” (Romans 12:3)
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At its heart, the Bible is a book about relationships – how we relate to God, and how we relate to each other.
Main Points:
1. You need to know this about God. He is concerned with your aloneness.
2. I believe God is calling the church to be a place of hope. A place of life. A place of love. A place of honesty and genuine friendships and relationships.
3. You can’t read the New Testament and see any version of Christianity being lived out in isolation. This is why being a part of a local church is so important. You cannot be obedient to Christ as a Christian and not be a part of a local church. How would it be possible to carry out the “one another’s?”
Today’s Scripture Verses:
Colossians 3:12-14 – “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”
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From generation to generation, the Word of God endures. It is timeless in its relevance. It speaks to the hearts of men, women, teenagers, boys, and girls. Seasons come and go, but the Scripture is still powerful in its application to the human condition.
Main Points:
1. The Word of God we have is precious. God has spoken and we have it in print and in digital form. It cannot and will not be destroyed. The Word of God is eternal because God is eternal.
2. God was the primary author of the Bible; He was the One who inspired the writers to speak truths. He was the initiator. God was the source, the writers were the recipients.
3. We can approach the Word of God today with confidence in its accuracy, relevance, and its power to endure. It is the eternal Word of God.
Today’s Scripture Verses:
Isaiah 40:8 - “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.”
Matthew 24:35 - “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.”
1 Peter 1:25 - “but the word of the Lord endures forever.” And this is the word that was preached to you.”
Psalm 119:89 says, “Your word, Lord, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens.”
2 Peter 1:21 - “For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”
2 Timothy 3:16 - “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness…”
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Our relationship with God is like no other. In our relationships with people, there may be a thousand things they don’t know about you, especially as it is related to the heart. Your friend doesn’t know your thoughts, your desires, your motives, and your feelings, but God does.
Main Points:
1. Think about this truth: God knows absolutely everything about you and he loves you. You are fully and completely known, and yet you are loved.
2. Because God knows everything about us, he can guide and direct our steps. In life, we are often confused and disoriented. We don’t know the best way forward. We don’t know which steps to take, but since God already knows, he can carefully guide us to the right decisions.
3. The truth that God sees and knows everything reminds us to live in a way that honors the Lord. If we can be conscious of the reality that God is always watching, we will want to be careful with our thoughts, words, attitudes, and actions because we know God has called us to be holy like our Savior.
Today’s Scripture Verses:
Proverbs 15:3 - “The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good.”
Hebrews 4:13 - “And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”
Jeremiah 23:24 - “Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the Lord. Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the Lord.”
Matthew 6:8, Jesus said, “Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”
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As we read the four Gospels, we see Jesus modeling prayer and teaching His disciples to pray, but did you know that Jesus gave us only one prayer request? Yes, Jesus himself asks us to pray for something.
Main Points:
1. As Jesus speaks about the lost, those who have not put their faith in God, he uses the metaphor of a field of crops that are ripe and ready to be harvested. He said the harvest is plentiful. Many would come into the kingdom of God, yet there is one obstacle. The workers are few. Jesus warned us that opportunities to meet human needs and bring people into His kingdom may be wasted because of a shortage of laborers.
2. It’s here that Jesus gives us his prayer request. Since the harvest belongs to the Lord, we are to pray to Him and ask him to send more workers into his harvest field.
3. There is an urgency in the heart of Jesus. As he sees the need, he knows that time is of the essence. A harvest will not always be ready. Eventually, a missed harvest will spoil, and its fruit will rot. There is a need for laborers and the need is now.
Today’s Scripture Verses:
Matthew 9:37-38 - “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”
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