The Coming Storm

October 12

The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds beat against the

house; yet it did not fall.

Matthew 7:25

Her husband had always known what to do: stay and ride it out or to seek

shelter inland, away from the fury of the storm. Yet he had died six years ago,

and this decision was hers alone.

As the surf pounded the sand with increasing intensity, she sensed the fury

of the coming storm. And although the storm was still hundreds of miles out,

she realized it might be a direct hit. They’d prepared for storms many times

over the years, closing shutters against the strong winds. They had even rebuilt

twice, saying, “We will not give in to this unwanted aggressor.”

She watched the waves pound with a force that belied the storm’s awesome

power and knew this one would be bad. Having been through some rough

storms in the past, she decided to board up and head inland, taking the kids to

her sister’s, not risking their lives to protect inanimate objects.

The storm bore down on the coast, rending wooden structures as if they

were made of cardboard. When she was finally granted access to her neighbor-

hood, she found only piles of debris shoved up against the palms; not one shred

of the house was left standing.

Only now did she realize with clarity how important the decisions of life

could be. She was thankful for having made the right one.

h

Many times, spiritual storms strike without advance warning, giving no sign

of the coming struggle. They develop quickly, like a tornado out of a supercell

thunderstorm, leaving no time to prepare or run for shelter.

Because of this frequent lack of warning, we must take steps ahead of time

to shore up the structures most vulnerable and valuable: our spiritual being.

Jesus says the only way to assure survival from these storms is to build our

lives on a solid foundation by immersing ourselves in His Word, spending time

with Him in prayer, and meeting with others of like mind. We can prepare for

the coming storm.

Prayer

“I need Your protection, Lord Jesus. Teach me

how to stand on You and Your Word as the

Foundation for everything I do. Amen.”

 Words of Life!

October 11

The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.

John 6:63

“Mom?” Steph said, calling for her attention. “Jesus said that our flesh counts

for nothing and that only the Spirit gives us life. Then He said the words He

spoke are spirit and life. Is He referring to the written word alone? Or do His

spoken words have more meaning for us?” 

Steph had been given a religion class assignment to explain what spiritual life 

meant to her. She’d focused on the New Testament, the red-lettered spoken words 

of Jesus, to be more precise.

“Well, what do you think He’s saying?” her mom prompted, wanting her to

answer the question for herself before she received any outside influence.

“I guess I think it’s a combination of both,” she said with a tinge of unresolved doubt.

“So why do you feel He meant both?” Mom asked.

“Well, first of all, I believe He’s talking about the natural life versus the

spiritual life, specifically, eternal life versus eternal damnation. And that if

we rely on ourselves for all the answers, we’ll become introspective and self-

deceived by thinking we can walk through life apart from God without any

need of a Savior.” Then she added, “I believe when we speak God’s written

word, it comes alive, you know, sharper than any two-edged sword. So what do

you think?” she asked.

“Sounds to me like you’ve got things well in hand, honey,” Steph’s mom

said, noting the twinkle of satisfaction in her daughter’s eyes.

h

How many times have you read, read, and reread the same verse of Scripture

only to have it jump off the pages in one blindingly revealing moment? Every-

one who has ever been a student of Scripture will have this phenomenon occur

many times over his or her studies of the Bible. 

It is the inherent Word of God, our lifeblood, which the Holy Spirit opens for our 

understanding as we prayerfully read. God intended us to study His Word in order 

that we would, through that nourishing act, receive the life of the Spirit.

Prayer

“Lord, reveal spirit and life to me as I read Your

written account of the story of Your love for me

and all mankind. In Jesus’ Name, amen.”

 The Enemy Within

October 10

Who am I?

Exodus 3:11

“Why did you just up and quit?” Reece was trying to understand how someone

with Tim’s drive and intuition would abandon his life’s goal. So far he hadn’t

figured it out. So once again, he asked, “Why’d you pull up short, Tim? And

why now?”

“You really want the truth?” Tim seemed to resent the questioning of his

motives.

But as Reece looked into Tim’s eyes, he recognized something from hav-

ing seen it in the mirror himself: fear.

“You’re afraid, aren’t you?” he said, bewildered. “I can’t believe it. You of all

people, afraid of what the future holds. So you’re pulling the plug before you

lose control?”

Reece was dumbfounded. He’d never suspected his closest friend wasn’t as

sure of himself on the inside as he appeared on the outside.

This had him stymied. “Tim … ” He struggled for the right words with

which to encourage his friend. “I’ve watched you take on challenges that would

have brought many a good man to his knees. You always stressed that to believe

in myself only required the knowledge that God’s always got my back. You

gonna tell me now that you really don’t believe that?”

“It’s not that simple,” Tim blurted. “What if people don’t respond favor-

ably? Then what?”

“Well, my best friend is always telling me, ‘Just put one foot in front of the

other and see where God leads you.’” Reece said, knowing that had been what

Tim needed to hear.

h

Our greatest enemy to accomplishing God’s tasks is the one within. We all,

at some level, fight Moses’ battle against inner fear. Satan introduces doubt

couched in the fear of rejection and failure or even our past. He intends to use

them as a means to stop us from reaching for a higher level of accomplishment.

Self-sufficiency is a weighty and dangerous thing. Only when we realize

that God will equip us completely for His work will we forge ahead.

Only God can defeat this enemy within. And then it’s only if we allow

Him into the battle.

Prayer

“Lord, I hate being afraid. And I don’t readily admit to fear.

Please send someone to encourage me to reach higher for

Your purposes if I begin to falter. In Jesus’ Name, amen.”

 Listen to God, Then

Do What He Says

October 9

To prepare God’s people for works of service …

Ephesians 4:12

It had been a rough year. Medical issues had left a seemingly insurmountable

amount of debt. Yet they trusted in the Lord’s provision. This morning’s mail

brought an unexpected bill. Molly had forgotten to include the quarterly water

bill in the budget. She prayed, asking God to meet the need. Then Molly sent

her pastor an e-mail asking if the church’s benevolence fund might cover half

the water bill; they could handle the rest.

The phone rang. It was the bank asking Molly to please come and pick up

an envelope someone had left for her.

So, grabbing her coat, she headed out. Upon arriving, she was handed a

nondescript, white envelope. Thanking the young woman, she returned to the

car to open it. To her amazement, she found two five-hundred-dollar money

orders with an unsigned note. “Molly, we know how God uses you and how

you say, ‘Listen to God, then do what He says.’ We are listening to God. Please

receive this gift and use it as you see fit.”

Molly, tears in her eyes, ran back into the bank and asked the young lady,

“Who did this?”

“I’m sorry, but they asked to remain anonymous,” the girl answered.

In her excitement, she drove to the church to share the miracle with her

pastor! Unknown to her, he had responded to her e-mail, telling her to drop by

with the bill so they could pay it. When she showed up, he assumed she was

bringing the bill.

His smile grew as Molly shared her story of how God had moved on the

hearts of His people to meet her need before it was known.

h

God wants to move us to do good works on His behalf. He’s given us Scripture

to help us understand how to hear His voice. He has also raised up others to

aide us in distinguishing between His voice and the world.

Through their instruction, His Word, the gift of the Holy Spirit, and with

persistent practice, we can learn to filter out the world’s noise.

The Father’s desire is for us to listen to His voice and then do what He says.

Prayer

“Speak, Lord. Then help me do what You say. Amen.”

 Unsuspecting Martyrs

October 8

Isaac spoke up and said … ”Father?”

Genesis 22:7

Gabriel watched in horror as the woman in front of him pulled into

oncoming traffic. He wasn’t sure whether it was a mistake or intentional. And

there wasn’t much he could do to stop it from happening. Honking his horn for

lack of another option, Gabriel prayed she wouldn’t be hit.

The first two oncoming vehicles reacted instinctively, slamming on their

brakes and swerving to miss her. Those following closely behind were faced

with snap judgments. Many responded defensively, pulling over in time to

allow the wrong-way vehicle to pass by, unharmed yet unyielding.

Gabriel watched as car after car avoided her. Then, without warning, the

woman pointed her car right at the overpass abutment and slammed into it at

somewhere around seventy miles an hour.

Paramedics responded quickly but were unable to save the woman. She had

not been wearing her seatbelt and had been ejected through the windshield.

State patrol investigators later determined the woman was mentally unstable.

They found a suicide note on the passenger seat, the distraught woman saying

she could no longer live without her children. Further investigation revealed

they had been killed in an accident seven years before. She had been driving.

h

Life can be cruel. And many suffer for reasons not of their own making.

Just like Isaac, this woman’s children did not ask for their fate. Yet trag-

edies happen, and we must do our best to deal with the loss.

But what of the unsuspecting martyr and what of those times we suffer

when we feel it isn’t fair? Jesus told us we would have trials in this world. He

did not make the statement to scare us, rather to prepare us to choose how we

will respond as we meet life’s trials in our walk with Him.

If we find ourselves walking a road full of peace and prosperity, walk in

grace. If, however, we find ourselves on a road marked with sorrow and grief,

walk in communion with God, trusting Him to go through it with you.

Prayer

“Walk with me, Lord. Help me cope with the troubles

of today. Show me how to be gracious in the good times

and to lean on You in the bad. In Jesus’ Name, amen.”

 Redeemed

October 7

It was not with perishable things … that you were redeemed.

1 Peter 1:18

Sally had been attending services for about two months when the pastor and an

elder dropped by to visit her husband, Bob. They brought him an information

packet that included a CD of the most recent sermon. Following an extended

visit, they said good-bye, and invited for Bob to come check them out.

“Vietnam left deep scars on too many good men and women,” the elder

remarked, alluding to Bob’s comments about taking part in the fighting and his

struggles with God since then.

The following Sunday, Sally showed up alone. The pastor asked, “Do you

think Bob will come?”

“I don’t know. Maybe someday. But not today,” she said with deep sadness.

“Don’t give up,” the pastor encouraged.

Halfway through praise and worship, Bob walked through the door. And

that very day, he gave his life to Christ!

There was a church picnic that afternoon right across the street from Bob

and Sally’s home. Midway through the picnic, Bob appeared from the house

and approached the pastor. “I wasn’t going to come today,” he began. “As a

matter of fact, I turned around three times. But I wanted to see if you were as

good in person as you were on the CD,” he said sheepishly. Growing serious,

he reached in his pocket and stretched his closed hand toward the pastor. “I

want you to have this. I was going to use it. But I don’t need it anymore.” And

with that, he dropped a nine-millimeter bullet with his name written on it into

the pastor’s hand.

Since that day, Bob has grown to know the One Who saved him with His

redeeming power.

h

Nothing of intrinsic value could have redeemed us. The price sin required was

Jesus’ blood.

Some believe they’ve done too much, committed too heinous a crime to be

of any use to God. But no matter where we’ve been or what we’ve done, Jesus’

blood is sufficient to cover that sin.

God wants us to know our worthiness has nothing to do with salvation

through His Son. He just calls us to come and be redeemed.

Prayer

“Lord, I feel unworthy. But Your Word says if I

accept Your Son, You will redeem me anyway. Forgive

me, Lord. I want to be redeemed. Amen.”

 Just One Thing

October 6

But one thing I do.

Philippians 3:13b

Byron had asked Shane to run for a seat on city council. “Look, Shane, I under-

stand your reluctance, but think about it.”

“I hear what you’re saying. I’m just not sure I agree. There’ll be many

opposed to my holding political office if they find out about my past. You know

campaigns are anything but private, and the other camp will surely dredge it

up.”

Shane wasn’t afraid of being found out; he just didn’t want to drag his fam-

ily through an unnecessary mudslinging contest.

Sixteen years ago, he’d been arrested for possession of marijuana and

cocaine and had done a short stint in the county jail. He’d gotten clean and

stayed that way. Yet he knew society could be a cruel reminder.

But Byron had witnessed the change in Shane and appreciated how he

approached life today. “At least discuss it with Carol and see how she feels.”

That evening, Shane posed the question to his wife. “What would you

think about me running for the vacant city council seat next November?”

“I think you will be a good councilman,” she said with finality and a twin-

kle in her eye. She understood his concern; she just wasn’t going to let it dictate

their lives. If it came up, so be it. It was what he did, not who he was.

Shane was sworn in on a windy and cold January evening and would faith-

fully serve the City of Grayson, being reelected to six consecutive terms.

h

We all have pasts and have fallen short of the mark. Too many of us let those

mistakes define who we are today. If our personal sin were laid bare for all to

see, we would cease throwing stones of incrimination, and we would judge less

critically.

Paul was aware of his shortcomings to the point of listing many of them

in the hope that others would understand the importance of not allowing past

mistakes to affect present performance. So I emphasize his words for you:

“Forgetting what is behind, and straining forward, I press on!” Do just that one

thing; press on!

Prayer

“Forgive my mistakes, Lord. Help me not allow what I’ve done

in the past dictate who I am in You. In Jesus’ Name, amen.”