Tim Hetzner – Daily Devotions

Your Personal Guide

“The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.” (Psalm 23:1)

It’s easy to say, ‘The Lord is my shepherd,’ but how can you tell if it’s real for you or if you’re just saying the words? Here is a simple test: when you need help, who do you turn to first? Most people go to God only after they have tried everything else. And when nothing else is working, then they try praying. Think about your last crisis. Whatever or whoever you turned to first for help, that’s your shepherd.

A man on a trip to the African rainforests was following a guide. As they pushed deeper into the jungle, the guide with his machete was whacking away at the thick growth that rose up like a wall before them. ‘How do you know where to go?’ the man asked. ‘Where’s the path?’ The guide replied, ‘I am the path.’

Life is like a jungle; you need a guide who knows where he is going and what he is doing. And here on earth, who qualifies for such a job? One person only – the Lord! There will never be a day when you don’t need His guidance, and you can have it if you really want it. The Bible says, ‘He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out…he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they know his voice’ (John 10:3-4). What a promise!

There are many different voices vying for your attention, including some who care about you and some who don’t. But Jesus your shepherd is the one voice you can always trust when it comes to guidance. That’s why it’s important to ‘know his voice’.

Prayer

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The Holy Spirit Prays Through You

“In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.” (Romans 8:26)

Life can wear you down. You can get to the place where your anxiety runs so deep, or your stress levels increase so high that you can’t think clearly. The problem or pain you’re experiencing is so overwhelming that you can’t put it into words. Good news: that’s when the Holy Spirit living within you prays for you and through you. As you bring your burden to the Lord and kneel in His presence, a wonderful thing happens.

In The Message, Eugene Peterson paraphrases it this way: ‘God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us…If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves…That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good’ (vv. 26-28 MSG).

Because prayer is relational, the Holy Spirit will communicate your heart to God and His heart back to you. When you don’t know how to pray – stay. Just remain in God’s presence with your heart open, and He will communicate with you. ‘You have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things’ (1 John 2:20). Before God puts the answer in your head, He puts His peace in your heart. That’s why prayer cannot be rushed. It’s why taking the time to meditate and be still before God is so important. It allows the Holy Spirit to share God’s thoughts with you so that you begin thinking His way.

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Praying Without Saying a Word

“For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.” (Matthew 6:32)

Jesus said, ‘Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need’ (Matthew 6:33). You ask, ‘When I think about God, is that the same as praying?’ It can be. We’re all familiar with the power of unspoken communication. Many of us grew up with parents who didn’t have to say a thing to make their will known. It may have been a certain look in their eye or some other unspoken signal. But we knew exactly what was being communicated and how we were expected to respond.

Prayer works that way too. When you think about God, it’s prayer; and when God communicates His thoughts back to you, it’s a form of answered prayer. A little boy wanted a bicycle for Christmas, and one night he was praying at the top of his voice telling God exactly what kind and color of bike he wanted. His mother said, ‘Son, you don’t need to shout for God to hear you.’ He replied, ‘I know, Mama, but I need to shout if Grandpa is going to hear me and buy me that bike!’ The truth is, you don’t need to shout for God to hear you, and you don’t need to try and conjure up answers to your prayers.

Jesus said, ‘Your heavenly Father knows what you need before you even ask.’ So, why even take the time to pray? Because God wants you to approach Him with confidence, trust Him with all your needs, and build a relationship with Him. That’s what it’s all about!

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Get Out of Debt and Stay Out of Debt!

“The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.” (Proverbs 22:7)

It’s not by accident that these two Scriptures are back-to-back: ‘Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it. The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender’ (vv. 6-7). Your child’s college education, an affordable home, and a reliable car are okay to borrow money for. Otherwise, unless you can pay for something – learn to wait!

Jesus said, ‘If any man would be my disciple, he must deny himself’ (Luke 9:23). We’re not very good at denying ourselves the things we want. But unless you want your kids to inherit your debt, end up getting into debt themselves, and passing the principle of instant gratification on to their children, break the cycle now. Get out of debt and stay out of debt!

Say: ‘Lord, I’m through making excuses. I take responsibility for the mess I’m in. I gave in to my impulses, overspent, ignored Your principles of good stewardship, and I repent. Give me the courage to face my debts and take an honest look at where I stand. Don’t let me live in denial. You warned us not to be ignorant of Satan’s tactics (see 2 Corinthians 2:11). He is attempting to keep me in financial bondage, and, as a result, I am unable to respond when it’s time to sow and finance Your work. Direct me to a trustworthy source that can help me develop a debt-eliminating strategy.

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God Will Speak To You – If You Listen

“By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.” (John 5:30)

Jesus did only those things placed in His mind by His Father. And He wants you to learn to live that way too. You ask, ‘Is such a life possible?’ Yes, it’s not only possible, it’s essential to fulfilling God’s will for your life. The Bible says that Mary took time to listen to Jesus, but her sister Martha didn’t because she was too busy ‘serving’ (see Luke 10:40).

You can get so busy serving the Lord that you lose your sensitivity to His voice and end up preoccupied with secondary things. You learn to hear from God by making time to hear from Him! Fifteen times in the New Testament, Jesus said, ‘He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.’ When you became a new creation in Christ, you got new spiritual ears, but you must learn how to use them. Indeed, that must become one of the highest priorities in your life.

A newborn child has the ability to hear but doesn’t understand what he or she is hearing; understanding takes time, it takes learning, it takes attention, it takes intimacy with his or her parents. When Jesus met the two disciples on the road to Emmaus following His resurrection, they didn’t recognize Him. But He loved them, so ‘he opened their minds so they could understand’ Luke (24:45). As you look back over your life, you recognize times when God walked and talked with you but you didn’t understand what He was saying. No problem! God is patient, and He will work with you and develop you.

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To Know God You Should Examine What He Has Made

“For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.” (Romans 1:20)

The New Testament Greek word translated as ‘disciple’ means ‘learner’. By definition, a disciple is someone who never ceases to learn. He or she makes the most of the hundred billion brain cells God has loaned to them. They keep asking and seeking and knocking (see Matthew 7:7).

Leonardo da Vinci carried a notebook wherever he went. Some have estimated that he left fourteen thousand pages of notes to painter Francesco Melzi in his will. Almost seven thousand pages still exist. Bill Gates bought eighteen pages for $30.8 million in 1994. The scribbles on da Vinci’s napkin varied from anatomy to botany to painting to philosophy. One thing that made him extraordinary is that he wrote most of them using a technique called mirror writing. He wrote in reverse so the words could be read solely when reflected in a mirror. In the final days before his death on May 2, 1519, Leonardo apologized to God and to man ‘for leaving so much undone’. And he resolved to keep learning until the day he died. Even on his deathbed, Leonardo was observing and relating, in scientific detail, the nature and symptoms of his illness.

So, never stop learning, because it glorifies God when you do it for the right reasons. And the right reason is to know Him so that you can love Him even more. Live like you will die tomorrow – but keep learning like you will live forever. After all, as a redeemed child of God, you will.

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Be Interested In Everything God Does

“It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings.” (Proverbs 25:2)

Anything that reveals something about our Creator is something we ought to be interested in. Scripture is in a classification all by itself as God’s written revelation. But mathematics discloses a distinctive dimension of God’s personality too. Along with art. And science. The Bible says: ‘God gave Solomon wisdom and very great insight…He spoke three thousand proverbs and his songs numbered a thousand and five. He spoke about plant life, from the cedar of Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of walls. He also spoke about animals and birds, reptiles and fish. From all nations people came to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, sent by all the kings of the world, who had heard of his wisdom’ (1 Kings 4:29, 32-34).

Solomon was interested in everything. And the breadth of his knowledge gave him such a depth of wisdom that ‘from all nations people came to listen to Solomon’s wisdom’. Who sent those men? ‘The kings of the world, who had heard of his wisdom.’ As Spirit-filled citizens of God’s kingdom, we have not been called to avoid the culture, but to inform it, instruct it, and illuminate it. ‘It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings.’

God loves it when we realize something or encounter something new to us, even if our discoveries are common knowledge. Isn’t that a normal parental reaction when our children discover new things? When you keep asking the right questions, God will keep giving you the right answers.

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Work On Growing Closer

“May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth.” (Proverbs 5:18)

The more history you have with your spouse, the more joy and pain you have experienced. You’re closer at times than others as the circumstances of life rise and fall. Yet if you did due diligence at the onset of the relationship, were clear about what you desired in a partner, and honestly evaluated who that person is, what will keep your union going forward is remembering what brought the two of you together in the first place. What you initially enjoyed and esteemed about this person probably hasn’t changed. But for your relationship to continue to develop, you must work on growing closer.

All relationships have growth areas that require pruning and fertilizing. If you feel your relationship is not what it once was, it could be that it’s developing into something different. Or it could be that you need to renew your commitment to keeping it fresh and moving forward. It may be that you must work on creating the intimacy that’s missing or enjoying the love you once had.

The fundamentals of your mate, if they were really there in the first place, aren’t likely to change. The basis of your relationship is what’s important. Focusing on that makes it much easier to go with the flow of the unavoidable ups and downs of daily living. So, do you need more time together? When you’re too busy to listen, really listen, your mate thinks you don’t care about them or you don’t value the relationship sufficiently. Think: what would you do if your car broke down? You would take the time and pay the price to fix it!

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Your Secret Place

“But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen.” (Matthew 6:6)

Jesus said, ‘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’ (v. 6). The Christian life could be compared to the Old Testament Tabernacle, which was divided into three compartments. There was an outer court to which everyone had access. And you too have an outer court; the place you go to work, shop, and play. It represents your outward appearance or public persona, the part of you everyone sees.

The Tabernacle also had an inner chamber called the Holy Place, where most people weren’t permitted to go. You also have a Holy Place where designated people like close friends or family can enter. You decide who comes in and who doesn’t, and no one can force their way. Certain people may have authority over you vocationally or financially, but that doesn’t automatically allow them entrance. When it comes to that inner chamber, you get to decide who comes and goes.

The third compartment in the Old Testament Tabernacle was the Holy of Holies, a very small, carefully guarded place, deep inside. It was accessed only by the chief priest, and there was room for only one person and God. You have one of those places inside you as well. We sometimes refer to it as ‘the secret place’ because only God is allowed in. And here is a truth you need to know: your level of peace, joy, contentment, guidance, and victory is regulated by the amount of time you spend with God in your secret place. Prioritize it, protect it, and spend time there each day.

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Walking with God

“Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.” (Genesis 5:24)

Did the people in Scripture who ‘walked with God’ ever stumble? They did. Did they get off track sometimes? Yes. But when their feet hit the floor every morning, their commitment was to walk with God throughout the day. They drew on His strength, endeavored to do His will, and aimed towards the goal that He had set for them. Paul writes, ‘I…beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called’ (Ephesians 4:1). That means you must know the direction God is leading you in and stay in step with Him. When He acts – you act. When He pauses – you pause.

As a believer, your life shouldn’t be compartmentalized into what’s sacred and what’s secular. The Bible says, ‘In him we live, and move, and have our being’ (Acts 17:28). You can’t say, ‘In this situation, I’m operating under my own steam, but in that situation, I’m operating according to the Holy Spirit within me.’ The Holy Spirit does not come and go from your life; He is always with you! Here is a Scripture you need to think about: ‘Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created’ (Revelation 4:11). What an awesome thought: you were created to bring pleasure to God!

So, one of the most important questions you can ask yourself – and frequently – is, ‘Lord, are my ways pleasing to you right now?’ (see Proverbs 13:5-6). When they are, you will discover that the direction He takes you in is always the right direction; His timing is always the right timing, and the results you get are always the right results.

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