Tim Hetzner – Daily Devotions

When Choosing a Mentor (Spiritual Advisor) – Part One

“Instruct a wise man and he will be wiser still; teach a righteous man and he will add to his learning.” (Proverbs 9:9)

The further you go in the pursuit of your potential, the more ground you will have to break. This is where you can benefit from the experience of others. As the Chinese proverb says, ‘To know the road ahead, ask those coming back.’ In picking a mentor, look for two things:

1) Someone who possesses wisdom. The understanding, experience, and wisdom of mentors help us to solve problems we would have a hard time handling on our own. Wise people often use just a few words to help us learn and develop. They open our eyes to worlds we might not otherwise see. They help us navigate difficult situations. They enable us to see opportunities we would otherwise miss. They make us wiser than our years and experience.

2) Someone who provides friendship and support. Jesus told those He mentored, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you’ (Hebrews 13:5). The first question most followers want to know of a mentor is, ‘Do you care for me?’ The reason for this question is obvious. Who wants to be guided by a person who isn’t interested in them? Selfish people will assist you only insofar as it advances their own agenda. Good mentors provide friendship and support, unselfishly working to help you reach your potential. Knowledge without support is sterile. Advice without friendship feels cold. Candor without care is harsh. But when you are being helped by a person who cares for you, it is emotionally fulfilling. Development comes from both the head and the heart. And only caring people are glad to share both with you.

Prayer

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Do It in Jesus’ Strength, Not Your Own

“I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:13)

One of the quickest ways to get discouraged is to try living the Christian life in your own strength. It’s like trying to lift yourself up by your own bootstraps; it cannot be done. Indeed, God designed it that way. Jesus said: ‘If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever – the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you” (John 14:15-17).

God’s commandments are never too difficult for us to follow – if we do them through Jesus’s indwelling strength. And you must learn to draw on that strength daily. He is in you and with you at all times to enable you to do what you cannot do and to do with ease what you would otherwise find hard to do without Him. Paul talked about the constant struggle between his flesh and his spirit. At times, it drove him to despair. Then he gives us the key to victorious Christian living: ‘I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me [I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me; I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency]’ (Philippians 4:13).

Learn from the light bulb; it cannot illuminate itself. But when it’s connected to an electrical power source, all that’s required is to flip a switch. So, do it in Jesus’s strength, not your own.

Prayer

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Expect Good Things from God

“Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!” (Isaiah 30:18)

Your concept of God determines your confidence in approaching Him. Do you always view Him like an auditor, and your books do not balance? Or, do you view Him like a father who loves you at all times and wants to be good to you? When approaching God, many of us consult a mental scorecard to see whether we have more wins than losses, rights than wrongs, credits than demerits. If we feel like we’re not performing well, we avoid God or make Him our last resort. That’s a mistake because God sees you ‘in Christ’ (2 Corinthians 5:17), and therefore, you are always accepted and welcomed into His presence.

You say, ‘Does that mean I can live any way I please?’ No, ‘the Lord disciplines the one he loves’ (Hebrews 12:6). But His correction is not rejection; it’s proof that you are truly His redeemed child. Here is a Scripture you need to meditate on: ‘Therefore the Lord [earnestly] waits [expecting, looking, and longing] to be gracious to you; and therefore He lifts Himself up, that He may have mercy on you and show loving-kindness to you. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) are all those who [earnestly] wait for Him, who expect and look and long for Him [for His victory, His favour, His love, His peace, His joy, and His matchless, unbroken companionship]!’ (Isaiah 30:18 AMPC).

Note God’s attitude towards you today: ‘The Lord [earnestly] waits [expecting, looking, and longing] to be gracious to you.’ Keep that picture in mind, and begin to expect good things from God.

Prayer

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Two Prayer Principles

“But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” (Matthew 6:6)

When it comes to the importance of having a consistent prayer life, Jesus is our greatest example. Before He calmed the storm on Galilee, called His twelve disciples, or fed the multitudes with five loaves and two fish, He spent time alone in prayer. And you have been called to follow in His footsteps (see 1 Peter 2:21). In essence, our failures are often the result of our failure to pray.

Jesus gave His disciples two prayer principles that will work for you. First, He said, ‘When you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father’ (Matthew 6:6). In other words, find a quiet place where you will not be distracted. After all, you are meeting with God. As you spend time there, you will grow to love this place, and it will become your ‘secret place’ (Psalm 91:1).

Second, Jesus said, ‘When you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him’ (Matthew 6:7-8). The words ‘don’t babble’ may sound harsh. But what Jesus is saying to us is, ‘Focus; be with Me. Open your heart. Get real. Stand on My Word and believe Me for answers.’

After the church prayed all night for Peter to be delivered from prison, the Bible says ‘they were astonished’ when God did it (Acts 12:16). You might say, ‘That’s bad.’ Actually, that’s good! It means even though your faith may be weak, when you pray, God will answer you. So, keep praying and standing on His Word.

Prayer

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Take a Faith Based Risk – Part Three

“And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” (Matthew 16:18)

Gates are defensive devices, and storming those gates requires offensive measures. Think of the church as a battering ram. Instead of complaining about the culture, we need to present better options. We must produce higher-caliber films and compose more extraordinary music, write more notable books, and start superior schools and form better businesses. The old saying indicates we should stop cursing the darkness and start lighting some candles.

In Roaring Lambs, Robert Briner writes: ‘Why not believe that one day the most critically acclaimed director in Hollywood could be an active Christian layman in his church? Why not hope that the Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting could go to a Christian journalist on staff at a major daily newspaper? Is it really too much of a stretch to think that a major exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art could feature the works of an artist on staff at one of our fine Christian colleges? Am I out of my mind to suggest that your son or daughter could be the principal dancer for a Ballet Company, leading a weekly Bible study for other dancers in what was once considered a profession that was morally bankrupt?’

Paul didn’t criticize the philosophers on Mars Hill and tell them they were going to hell. Pointing to their altar to the unknown God, he indicated, ‘I’ve come to tell you who He is, and His name is Jesus.’ What was the result? ‘Some mocked, while others said, “We will hear you again on this matter”’ (Acts 17:32 NKJV). Go ahead; take a faith-based risk and see what happens.

Prayer

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Take a Faith Based Risk – Part Two

“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6)

When making important decisions, especially when they can affect the lives of others, the Bible says you should do two things. First, count the cost (see Luke 14:28). That means you should evaluate and investigate, and you should seek guidance and counsel. ‘The way of fools seems right to them, but the wise listen to advice’ (Proverbs 12:15).

How certain should you be before you move forward? In his book, The Next Generation Leader, Pastor Andy Stanley writes: ‘Generally speaking, you are probably never going to be more than 80 per cent certain. Waiting for greater certainty may cause you to miss an opportunity.’ What are you waiting for? A guarantee that you won’t make mistakes? That you won’t be criticized or experience embarrassment? If so, you will get nowhere.

When you have done all that wisdom demands, you must trust God and take a faith-based risk. If you don’t, you will end up living with regret. In a research study done by two Cornell University psychologists, they learned that time is a major factor in what we regret. We typically regret our actions over the short term. But over the long term, we are inclined to regret our inactions. The study found that in an average week, action regrets were somewhat higher than inaction regrets – 53 percent to 47 percent. But when people think about their lives as a whole, inaction regrets exceed action regrets 84 percent to 16 percent.

In other words, you will not regret the errors you made as much as you will the God-ordained opportunities you missed. So, go ahead and take a faith-based risk.

Prayer

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Take a Faith Based Risk – Part One

“From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it.” (Matthew 11:12)

Peter gets unfairly criticized. He is the disciple who denied Jesus three times, but he is the only one who got close enough to Jesus to get caught. He is the disciple who impulsively cut off Malchus’s ear when the lynch mob came to arrest Jesus, but he is the only one who came to Jesus’ defense. He is the disciple who sank in the Sea of Galilee, but he is the only disciple who walked on water.

It’s so easy to criticize people from the comfortable confines of the boat. Basically, there are two kinds of people: creators and criticizers – those who get out of the boat and walk on water and those who sit in the boat and criticize the water walkers.

When everything is said and done, our greatest regrets will be the God-ordained risks we did not take. German author Johann Wolfgang von Goethe said, ‘Hell begins the day that God grants you the vision to see all that you could have done, should have done, and would have done, but did not do.’ Jesus said, ‘The Kingdom of Heaven has been forcefully advancing, and violent people are attacking it.’

What do you believe God is leading you to do? What is the persistent prompting of the Holy Spirit urging you to do? Do it. Failing to take a faith-based risk is like permanently misplacing a piece from the jigsaw puzzle of your life. It leaves a disappointing hole. When we reach the end of our lives, our biggest regrets will be those missing pieces. So today, go ahead and take a faith-based risk.

Prayer

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In the Storm with Jesus – Part Two

He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. (Mark 4:39)

A pastor describes some storms in life: ‘You come home from work, walk into the kitchen, and find a note saying, “I want out of the marriage.” A clap of thunder! You go to the doctor anticipating a normal check-up, and the lab work comes back, and you have cancer. The wind howls! You go to bed at peace, only to be interrupted by a phone call at three in the morning telling you that your father has suddenly died of a heart attack. Your ship nearly capsizes! The only predictable thing about life’s storms is their unpredictability. They sweep in when you least expect them.’

Jesus had told His disciples, ‘Let us cross over to the other side’ (v. 35 NKJV). They should have realized that when He climbed aboard the boat, it became unsinkable. Inherent in His words was a promise of safe arrival. A difference exists between hearing a promise and believing it. Too frequently, we fail to believe that Jesus will accomplish what He has promised us.

The pastor encourages us: ‘In those moments, we should remind ourselves that the sun may quit shining, the wind may start blowing, and the waves may begin crashing, but Jesus never fails to keep His promises…Jesus wants you to…remember that there is no need to fear when He is near…He wants to be the Captain of your life’s ship. You may not always be aware of Jesus, but He is there just the same. For those disciples, the safest place in the world…was right there in that boat. Because safety is not the absence of problems. Safety is the presence of Jesus.’

Prayer

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In the Storm with Jesus – Part One

That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” (Mark 4:35)

Growing in faith and getting to know Jesus intimately requires going through storms with Him. The disciples discovered this when Jesus said to them, ‘Let us cross over to the other side.’ Next, we read: ‘A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling’ (v. 37). Their story has a happy ending. Jesus calmed the storm, and they said in amazement, ‘Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!’ (v. 41). There are life-changing truths Jesus taught and aspects of His character that you will never understand until you have been through a storm with Him.

Sometimes when storms come, we assume they are the result of something we have done wrong or that we’re not in the will of God. The disciples were in the storm due to obedience, not disobedience. They hadn’t done anything wrong; they had done something right. Understand this: even if you love Jesus with all your heart, you will still face storms. As the disciples discovered, the storm can come when you’re closest to Jesus. He doesn’t promise that the storm won’t strike your boat, but that the storm won’t sink it. He doesn’t promise smooth sailing, but He guarantees a safe landing.

You will face life’s troubles with either fear or faith. How are they different? Fear concentrates on the storm; faith concentrates on the Savior. It may sound surprising, but we need storms. Jesus permits us to sail into them so that we will 1) consider His promises, 2) stay calm in His presence, and 3) have confidence in His power.

Prayer

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Speak Life

For, “Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech.” (1 Peter 3:10)

The Bible says, ‘He who would love life and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips from speaking deceit. Let him turn away from evil and do good’ (vv. 10-11). Note the words ‘let him turn away’. That doesn’t mean you should be rude or insensitive, but be solution focused rather than problem focused.

Your mouth is a powerful tool that can help or harm. If you can grasp an understanding of the power of the words you speak, it can change the course of your life. You can either speak positive, uplifting, encouraging things into existence in your life, or words that produce negative, discouraging things (see Proverbs 18:21). None of us want to be a mouthpiece for the devil. But the truth is, the mouth can be used for blessing or destruction, not only in our own lives but also in the lives of others.

Your mouth is like a pen, and your heart is like a tablet. When you say something over and over, it gets on the inside of you and becomes you. It’s not something you have to try to do anymore; it’s who you are. Be a mouthpiece for God. ‘The Lord GOD has given Me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him who is weary’ (Isaiah 50:4). ‘How forceful are right words!’ (Job 6:25). ‘The mouth of the righteous speaks wisdom’ (Psalm 37:30). ‘Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers’ (Ephesians 4:29). Today, speak life!

Prayer

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