Tim Hetzner – Daily Devotions

Grow In Grace

“But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.” (2 Peter 3:18)

When Peter exercised enough faith to get out of the boat and walk on water, he sank and looked worse than any of the other disciples. When he tried to defend Jesus, he cut off a man’s ear. When he promised to be loyal, he fell flat on his face. When he tried to advise Jesus, he was the devil’s advocate (see Matthew 16:22-23). Eventually, he became a leader in the church – but he got worse before he got better. And his behavior didn’t surprise or discourage Jesus one bit.

He will never stop helping a follower of His who is sincerely seeking to grow. He will always lead us forward in growth; but growth requires risk, and risk sometimes means failure. Jesus knows that, but He never gives up on a student just because he or she fails. For example, if you have not been confronting people when you should, once you start, the odds are that you will do it badly. If you have rarely encouraged people, your initial attempts may be clumsy. If you have never shared your faith, the first time you do, you may stumble all over yourself. Go ahead and stumble! Failure isn’t about falling down; it’s about refusing to try.

One man told his pastor, ‘If I were God, I wouldn’t put up with someone like me.’ The pastor replied, ‘Then be glad you’re not God, and I’ll be twice as glad – for we would both be sunk.’ As long as you hunger for God, He will work with you and in you. Growing in grace means growing spiritually through the stages of childhood, adolescence, and into maturity. So, don’t give up on yourself – God won’t!

Prayer

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Do Not Shout About It

“When you give…don’t shout about it.” (Matthew 6:2)

Jesus said: ‘Take care! Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired, for then you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven. When you give a gift to a beggar, don’t shout about it as the hypocrites do – blowing trumpets in the synagogues and streets to call attention to their acts of charity! I tell you…they have received all the reward they will ever get. But when you do a kindness to someone, do it secretly – don’t tell your left hand what your right hand is doing. And your Father who knows all secrets will reward you’ (vv. 1-4).

Give generously and gladly but keep it to yourself. It’s nobody’s business but yours and God’s. And if you make it somebody’s business, you immediately have your reward and forfeit the opportunity to receive something even greater when you arrive in heaven. And you will receive it because ‘God…will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people’ (Hebrews 6:10). Others may not notice your generosity, or quickly forget it, but God will not.

The next time you are sitting in church, realize there are faithful people all around you who have given and given again without ever letting it be known. You may even be one of them! Every Sunday you rub shoulders with some of the greatest givers of our day, and they do it ‘as to the Lord’ (Colossians 3:23) by keeping it to themselves and waiting for His promised reward. Others may never know – but God will never forget.

Prayer

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Prophecy Fulfilled

Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” (Matthew 16:16)

One of the most convincing proofs that the Bible is truly the Word of God lies in the number of prophecies fulfilled during the life of Jesus. Daniel prophesied the coming of the one and only Jewish Messiah prior to the temple’s demise. The Old Testament prophets declared He would be born in Bethlehem (see Micah 5:2) to a virgin (see Isaiah 7:14), be betrayed for thirty pieces of silver (see Zechariah 11:12-13), die by crucifixion (see Psalm 22), and be buried in a rich man’s tomb (see Isaiah 53:9).

Jesus Himself predicted He would be crucified and rise bodily from the dead three days later. ‘The Jews then responded to him, “What sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?” Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.” They replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” But the temple he had spoken of was his body. After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken’ (John 2:18-22).

Napoleon Bonaparte said: ‘I know men, and I tell you that Jesus Christ is no mere man. Between him and every other person in the world there is no possible term of comparison. Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne and I have founded empires. But on what did we rest the creations of our genius? Upon force. Jesus Christ founded his empire upon love; and at this hour millions of men would die for him.’

Prayer

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How to Enrich and Strengthen Your Relationships

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness.” (Galatians 5:22)

You can enrich and strengthen any relationship by developing and demonstrating the fruit of the Spirit. The Bible speaks about being filled with the Spirit (see Ephesians 5:18) and walking in the Spirit (see Galatians 5:16). To be filled with God’s Spirit means you’re a receptacle, whereas walking in the Spirit means you’re a dispenser – a vessel God can fill and pour out into the lives of others. ‘What’s this “fruit” you’re talking about?’ you ask. The Bible describes it this way: ‘The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control’ (Galatians 5:22-23).

Look carefully at these nine different character qualities. The first three – ‘love, joy, peace’ – are atmosphere-changing fruits. As you yield to the Holy Spirit, He will throw a wet blanket on the unkind words you may want to say. He will build a fire in your heart that will bring warmth to a cold atmosphere and love to a bitter, revengeful atmosphere.

The next three fruits – ‘longsuffering, kindness, goodness’ – are attitude-changing fruits. Each of us has the potential to have a bad attitude. God sometimes lets us go through difficult situations to reveal what’s really inside us. When we see our own helplessness, weakness, and despair, it causes us to cry out, ‘God, I need you!’

The last three fruits – ‘faithfulness, gentleness, self-control’ – are attribute-changing fruits. Through the Holy Spirit, you have strength and ability that you can’t attribute to anyone but God. And you have peace that transcends human understanding (see Philippians 4:7).

Prayer

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God and Work

“They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion.” (Psalm 84:7)

The phrase ‘discover your strengths’ was made famous by researcher Marcus Buckingham in what’s referred to as the ‘Strengths Movement’. It calls us to stop focusing on our weaknesses and name and develop our strengths – which reflects God’s design. God did not say, ‘Moses, your craftsmanship skills are weak. Let’s have you stop leading this people for a while and try to become more like Bezalel’ (see Exodus 31:1-5). The Bible speaks of going ‘from strength to strength’. And a strength is an activity which, when you engage in it, makes you feel strong. Certain activities will thrill and challenge you; others will bore and drain you. Once you discover this, you are not simply engaged in ‘career planning’, you’re acknowledging God’s handiwork and your own core strengths. It matters that you do this, because the single little patch of creation you’re responsible for stewarding is your own life.

Dorothy Sayers said: ‘Work is not, primarily, a thing one does to live, but the thing one lives to do. It is, or it should be, the full expression of the worker’s faculties, the thing in which he finds spiritual, mental and bodily satisfaction, and the medium in which he offers himself to God.’ What if your job doesn’t fulfill your need for purpose or utilize your God-given gifts? Sometimes necessity requires that. That is why the Bible says, ‘Whatever you do, do well’ (Ecclesiastes 9:10). In the meantime, pray for opportunity, prepare yourself, and volunteer in an area that utilizes your strengths. Sometimes people who don’t enjoy the work they do are miserable, and they make everybody around them miserable too. But God expects better from you!

Prayer

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Putting Off to Serve Others

“Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist.” (John 13:3–4)

When it came to serving others, Jesus went first. He ‘rose from supper…laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself…poured water into a basin…began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded…Peter said to Him, “Lord, are You washing my feet?”’ (vv. 4-6). Try to imagine God incarnate with an apron on, kneeling to wash the feet of those who were unworthy.

The Bible says, ‘Jesus…laid aside His garments.’ If you want to serve others, you must be willing to lay aside your image, your comfort, and your agenda. By laying aside His garments, Jesus demonstrated that God has no time for form or fashion. Real ministry isn’t image conscious; it’s done with complete disregard for distinction.

But Peter didn’t get it! He was embarrassed to think Jesus would let Himself be seen in such a demeaning light. So, Jesus said: ‘You call Me Teacher and Lord…If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you…If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them’ (vv. 13-15, 17).

There are certain things in your life that must be set aside in order to serve others and do the will of God. If you want to be blessed, don’t join those who delight in their own speeches and who trumpet their own accomplishments. Set aside everything you privately glory in and pick up the towel of servanthood. Don’t wait for someone else to do it. You go first!

Prayer

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Learning to Listen to God – Part 4/4

“I assure you before God that what I am writing you is no lie.” (Galatians 1:20)

God’s direction will often be followed by a season of preparation. And the length of that season – is determined by the size of your assignment. So when God speaks to you, it’s not always wise to rush out and tell people. Who wouldn’t want to talk about the amazing experience Paul had with Christ on the Damascus road? And there would be a right time for Paul to do that – but not yet. So don’t move until God gives you the green light. Why? Two reasons:

1) You need time, maturing, and equipping so that the word you have received can take root within you, grow, and be fulfilled in the way God wants.

2) Sometimes God takes time to prepare the hearts of those He is sending you to.

Paul writes: ‘Immediately after my calling – without consulting anyone around me and without going up to Jerusalem to confer with those who were apostles long before I was – I got away to Arabia….It was three years before I went up to Jerusalem to compare stories with Peter…Then I began my ministry’ (vv. 16-21). Paul knew people would find his calling unbelievable, and he had the wisdom to wait. He allowed God to go ahead of him and orchestrate the circumstances.

And while he was waiting, he allowed the word he had received to grow and make changes in his life. Then, and only then, did he start doing what he was called to do. Paul didn’t try to convince anybody; he let God do that. And the end result? ‘Their response was to recognize and worship God because of me!’ (v. 24).

Prayer

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Learning to Listen to God – Part 3/4

“I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray. As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him.” (1 John 2:26–27)

When you pray diligently and believe you have heard from God, but then you start asking other people what they think, you’re honoring their opinions above God’s. That kind of mindset will prevent you from developing a relationship where you constantly hear from Him. You need to trust Him. If you have made bad decisions in the past, this can be difficult. But you must learn to listen to God without constantly needing reassurance from others.

The Bible says: ‘The anointing (the sacred appointment, the unction) which you received from Him abides [permanently] in you; [so]…you have no need that anyone should instruct you.…His anointing teaches you concerning everything and is true…so you must abide in (live in, never depart from) Him’ (v. 27). That does not mean you don’t need teaching and instruction when it comes to understanding God’s Word; it means you have God’s Spirit living inside you and that He will guide and direct you personally.

You might have to ask somebody for advice from time to time, but you need not constantly go to other people and ask them about decisions you’re making for your life. If you’re ever going to develop the ability to listen to God and be led by His Spirit, you must start making your own decisions – and trust the wisdom God has deposited in your heart. The devil wants you to think you’re not capable of hearing from God. Don’t believe him. The Holy Spirit who dwells inside you will give you confidence, comfort, and counsel for your life. So, learn to listen to Him.

Prayer

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Learning to Listen to God – Part 2/4

“If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land.” (Isaiah 1:19)

People think they can’t hear from God, when in reality, there are things they already know He wants them to respond to, and so far they haven’t done it. The quicker you do whatever the Lord has already told you to do, the sooner He will reveal the next step to you. His promise is, ‘If you willingly obey me, the best…will be yours.’ Hearing from God is something you only develop with practice – especially if you’re a talker! That’s why He says, ‘Be still, and know that I am God’ (Psalm 46:10). Our flesh is full of energy; we always want to be doing something, and it can be difficult for us to be still.

Don’t just talk to God when you need something; spend time listening. He will open up many issues if you will just be still before Him. You say, ‘I don’t think I have ever heard God talk to me.’ Maybe that’s because you haven’t learned to listen! When you ask God for something, tune your ‘receiver’. Even if He doesn’t respond at that very moment, rest assured He will in due time. You may be doing some ordinary task when He decides to speak to you. And if you have honored Him by learning to listen as you fellowship with Him, He will speak to you at exactly the right time.

Perhaps you have spent years going your own way. If so, don’t despair; it’s not too late to change direction. If you’re willing to obey God, He will guide you on the exciting journey of learning to hear from Him every day of your life.

Prayer

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Learning to Listen to God – Part 1/4

“But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.” (John 16:13)

Jesus told His disciples, ‘I have much more to say to you, but right now it would be more than you could understand. The Spirit shows what is true and will come and guide you into the full truth’ (vv. 12-13).

Jesus spoke these words to men He had spent the previous three years with. Now, wouldn’t you think if Jesus was with us in person, day and night for three years, we would have learned all there is to know? Not so. In fact, Jesus tells us to stay tuned, because He always has something to say to us about every new situation we face. But there are certain things He will only reveal to you when He knows you’re ready to handle them.

God wants to speak to you on a one-to-one basis, to lead you step by step into the good things He has in store for you. He cares about the tiniest details of your life. So, never hesitate to take what you consider small things to Him – after all, everything is small to God! He cares about the desires of your heart. He wants to reveal truth to you that will set you free from fear and worry.

His plan to share an intimate relationship with you was in place long before you were born. He ‘marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him’ (Acts 17:26-27). Now think about it: if God planned your life in such minute detail before you were even born, isn’t it important for you to learn how to listen to Him?

Prayer

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