Tim Hetzner – Daily Devotions

The River Of God

“But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile.” (Exodus 2:3)

Moses’ mother put him in a basket, placed it in the river Nile, and the tide carried him to Pharaoh’s daughter, who adopted him and made him part of Pharaoh’s family. His next 40 years would be spent preparing him for one of the greatest assignments of all time — the exodus. There is a lesson here. The river took him from a place of hopelessness and despair to a place where all things became possible. And God can do that for you too.

1) The river of His grace can blot out your sins, clothe you in the righteousness of Christ, and bring you into a new relationship with God.

2) The river of His power can carry you from the place of defeat to the place of victory.

3) The river of His wisdom can carry you from the place of mistakes and confusion to the place of vision and success.

4) The river of His provision can take you from the place of lack to the place of abundance.

This may mean God will have to disconnect you from those who tear you down because they don’t understand what He has called you to do — and connect you with a new circle of friends. Or place you in a church that can build you up spiritually and help equip you to fulfill God’s plan for your life. As a slave, Moses’ mother could not have introduced him to Pharaoh’s daughter. But God could. And He did. And what God did for Moses, He will do for you if you seek Him in prayer and follow His instructions.

Prayer

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Humility Is The Pathway To Honor

“But Jehoshaphat asked, ‘Is there no prophet of the LORD here, that we may inquire of the LORD through him?’ An officer of the king of Israel answered, ‘Elisha son of Shaphat is here. He used to pour water on the hands of Elijah.’” (2 Kings 3:11)

Elisha started out serving Elijah and, in some ways, ended up surpassing him. In Bible days, servants washed the hands and feet of their masters. Elisha did that. He began with the humble task of pouring water on Elijah’s hands and ended up receiving Elijah’s mantle and using it to supernaturally part the waters of the river Jordan. For years, he cooked meals, washed clothes, and set up Elijah’s tent. And when Elijah went to heaven, Elisha received a double portion of His Spirit and ended up working twice as many miracles as Elijah.

There is an important lesson here. If you enter the service of the Lord wanting to start at the top, you will fail. Why? Because the only promotion that matters comes from the Lord (see Psalm 75:6-7).

Knowing his time on earth was limited, Paul put in place a succession plan for his ministry. And if you’re wise, you will do the same. Speaking to Timothy, his designated successor, Paul writes, “The servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men” (2 Timothy 2:24). When you try to compete with others or exploit circumstances to your advantage in order to get to the top, don’t be surprised if God blocks your way.

When Peter started in ministry, he was like a racehorse that hadn’t been trained: highly strung, impulsive, ambitious. Later he wrote: “Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility towards one another, for ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’ Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you” (1 Peter 5:5-6).

Prayer

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Train Up Your Children to Know The Lord

“Abraham left everything he owned to Isaac.” (Genesis 25:5)

Abraham gave Isaac two things: his material assets and a godly example. What could he not give him? A personal experience with God. Your children must experience God for themselves. Isaac’s God encounter happened when crisis hit his life. “The LORD appeared to him…and said, ‘I am the God of your father Abraham; do not fear, for I am with you. I will bless you’ … So he built an altar there and called on the name of the LORD” (Genesis 26:24-25).

Charlie Shedd told the story of a little boy in school who was asked to write an essay on the topic, “How was I born?” When he asked his mother, she replied, “The stork brought you.” When he asked his mother how she was born, she replied, “The stork brought me too.” Hoping his grandmother would help him, he asked her how she was born. She replied, “It runs in the family; the stork brought me too!” So, he began his essay with these words: “There hasn’t been a normal birth in this family for three generations!”

Seriously, your children must be born again in order to be part of God’s redeemed family. And you should endeavor to lead them to Christ when they are young, and their thinking can be molded. But if your children are older, it’s not too late. “‘Don’t cry any longer, for I have heard your prayers and you will see them again; they will come back to you from the distant land of the enemy. There is hope for your future,’ says the Lord, ‘and your children will come again to their own land’” (Jeremiah 31:16-17).

Prayer

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Build An Altar

“The LORD appeared to Abram and said, ‘To your offspring I will give this land.’ So he built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him.” (Genesis 12:7)

After the flood, the first thing Noah did was build an altar to the Lord. Think about it. Noah had an altar before he had a home. Most of us have homes, but the old-fashioned family altar has virtually disappeared. Everywhere Abraham went, he built an altar. Why?

1) An altar is a place of prayer. The Bible says that Abram returned “to the place of the altar which he had made…And there Abram called on the name of the LORD” (Genesis 13:4).

2) An altar is a place of sacrifice. “Then they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar” (Genesis 22:9). Did God want Abraham to slay Isaac? No. God just wanted to know, “Is there anything I could ask of you that you would be unwilling to give, or anything on earth you love more than Me?” God will not ask you for what you don’t have, but He will often ask you for something you would like to keep. Sacrificial giving conquers the spirit of greed, the fear of lack, and your focus on self-centered living.

3) An altar is a place of worship. “You shall make an altar to burn incense on” (Exodus 30:1). As the incense melted and the smoke rose, it represented the worship of God. Worship is an act of intimacy; it’s the giving of your heart, your love, your praise, and thanksgiving to God. The Bible describes it as “a sweet-smelling aroma” (Ephesians 5:2). So today, build an altar.

Prayer

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Salvation Does Not Always Mean Instant Deliverance

“When He saw them, He said, ‘Go, show yourselves to the priests.’ And as they went, they were cleansed.” (Luke 17:14)

Luke records: “There met Him ten…lepers, who…lifted up their voices and said, ‘Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!’…He said to them, ‘Go, show yourselves to the priests.’ And…as they went, they were cleansed” (vv. 12-14). In those days, when someone was cured of leprosy, a priest had to pronounce them clean before they could re-enter society. The Bible doesn’t tell us how far away the priest was, how long the journey was, or whether their healing took place at the beginning, in the middle, or at the end.

There is an important lesson here for anyone who struggles with addictions. It’s wonderful when God delivers us instantly. But lots of people have the same experience as these 10 lepers: “As they went, they were cleansed.” Sometimes you have to walk out your deliverance step by step, trusting God until it’s complete. And this is when we as followers of Jesus have to be compassionate, show patience, and stay with them until they are made whole.

For example, those who are addicted to pornography deal with a problem that is mental and moral. The same emotional bonding hormones released after sex are released viewing porn. That makes it a powerful addiction. One man who was finally set free from it said this: “It was a matter of renewing my mind with the Word, as well as having real discipline and accountability to someone who understood my problem. I had to find people I could trust; people who wouldn’t humiliate me or gossip about me, people who would offer firm and loving friendship.”

Bottom line: God doesn’t give up on people who are hurting, and neither should we.

Prayer

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Settle The Never-Ending Dispute Between Your Flesh And Your Spirit

“For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want.” (Galatians 5:17)

If you’re serious about fulfilling God’s will, you must have determination. One definition of determination is “to settle a dispute by an authoritative decision or a pronouncement.” Let’s apply it to one of our biggest problems – the daily battle between our flesh and our spirit. “The flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh” (v. 17). Remember, the definition of determination carries the idea of settling a dispute. This is important because if you’re going to commit to doing what God wants you to do, you will have to settle the never-ending dispute between your flesh and your spirit.

So, how do you do that? By an authoritative decision or a pronouncement. Your flesh will always cause you to “go with the flow” or “settle for the status quo” unless your regenerate spirit says no. Joshua is a great example of this. Fearing that God’s people were getting caught up in the lifestyle of the surrounding nations, he told them: “Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the river, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD” (Joshua 24:15). Because Joshua made an authoritative decision and a pronouncement, the Bible says, “The people said to Joshua, ‘The LORD our God we will serve, and His voice we will obey!”’ (v. 24).

Question: In what area of your life today do you need to make an authoritative decision or a pronouncement?

Prayer

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Think Right So You Will Live Right

“A wise man’s heart guides his mouth, and his lips promote instruction.” (Proverbs 16:23)

The Bible says, “The mind of the wise instructs his mouth, and adds learning and persuasiveness to his lips. Pleasant words are as a honeycomb, sweet to the mind and healing to the body” (vv. 23-24). Your thoughts and your words are intimately connected. Because of this, it’s important that you think pleasant thoughts so that you can speak pleasant words. Your thoughts are silent words that not only you and the Lord hear, but when verbalized, affect your emotional, spiritual, and physical well-being.

Solomon says, “Pleasant words are…healing.” Your thoughts are silent words that affect your inner man, your health, your joy, and your attitude. The things we think about often come out of our mouths and sometimes make us look foolish. But if we live God’s way, our thoughts and words can make our lives and the lives of others more enjoyable. The New International Version of the Bible says, “The hearts of the wise make their mouths prudent, and their lips promote instruction” (v. 23). Don’t make the mistake of thinking that you can let your thought life run in any worldly direction it wants and then fake it by speaking godly words. Either both are pleasing, or both are negative and sinful. There is no middle ground.

Paul writes, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5). Scripture is your doorway into a new realm of living. As you spend time letting Jesus adjust your thinking, you won’t have to think about speaking pleasant words, wise words, instructive words, or healing words. It will just happen naturally.

Prayer

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Get Serious About Your Personal Growth

“Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, ‘Oh, that You would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let Your hand be with me, and keep me from harm, so that I will be free from pain.’ And God granted his request.” (1 Chronicles 4:10)

The story of Jabez takes up only two Scriptures, but they contain life-changing truth: “Jabez was more honorable than his brothers, and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, ‘Because I bore him in pain.’ And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, ‘Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!’ So God granted him what he requested” (vv. 9-10). That prayer could be reduced to these words: “I want to grow; I want to know; I want to go!”

The biggest danger you face is the idea that you will make personal growth a priority later. Don’t fall into that rut. Someone said, “The only difference between a rut and a grave is the length!” If you want to reach your God-given potential, you need to do more than simply experience life and hope you learn what you need to know as you travel along. You must capture growth opportunities as if your future requires it – because it does. Growth doesn’t just occur; you have to pursue it.

You might say, “But I’m afraid of failing.” All of us have fears. But there is good news: all of us have faith. “God has dealt to each one a measure of faith” (Romans 12:3). The question you must ask yourself is, “Which one will I allow to be stronger, my fears or my faith?” God has great things in store for you, so rise up in faith and begin to seize them.

Prayer

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The Value Of One Lost Sheep

“I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.” (John 10:11)

Jesus told of a shepherd with a hundred sheep. When one of them was lost, he left the other ninety-nine in the fold and searched until he found the one lost sheep. Then he put it on his shoulders and rejoiced as he brought it home. Good shepherds don’t care about some of the flock, or most of the flock, but all of the flock. That becomes most evident when one sheep gets lost.

The story is told of a little girl who wandered off into the woods and got lost. As darkness fell, fear clutched her heart. She shrieked and cried until, worn out, she laid down and went to sleep. Her father, his voice husky from shouting her name, had been looking for her for many hours when he found her lying in a grassy area. Crying out to her, he rushed to her side. The little girl woke up, leapt into his arms, hugged him, and said, “Daddy, I’m so happy I found you!”

That’s our story. But we don’t find Jesus; He finds us. And He finds us because He is constantly looking for us. Jesus ended His parable in these words: “I tell you…there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent” (Luke 15:7 NIV). Every time one lost person is found, heaven celebrates. “You mean I matter that much to the Lord?” Yes. Just as the shepherd left ninety-nine sheep to search for the one that was lost, Jesus loves you and died to save you. So, come to Him today.

Prayer

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What Kind Of Neighbor Are You?

“Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” (Luke 10:36)

Jesus told the story of the Jewish traveler who was robbed, beaten, and left to die on the Jericho road. Two Jews, both in the ministry, walked past him without helping. Then a Samaritan rescued him. No race of people was more hated by the Jewish people than the Samaritans. They were openly cursed in the synagogue and were barred from temple worship. What this Samaritan does is nothing less than incredible.

He utilizes all his resources – personal clothing, oil, wine, his time, his animal, money, and energy – to attend to this Jewish man in the best way possible. Then he risks his life by taking the wounded man to lodging in a Jewish area. On top of it all, he pays the innkeeper for the man’s food and room for many days and promises to return and pay for anything more the man owes. This was crucial because anyone who could not pay their bill could be sold as a slave by the innkeepers so that they could receive full payment for a debt.

Jesus ends His story in these words: “Which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?” No law will ever cause you to be a good neighbor, but the love of Christ will. You see, a neighbor is not identified by color or creed; a neighbor is identified by the nearest need. So, here is a prayer for you to pray: “Lord, give me the courage to recognize and help a neighbor in need.” That’s a prayer He will answer!

Prayer

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