“But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.” James 1:6-8
Today’s daily devotional
“I wonder if there really is a God.” Lisa puffs on her cigarette and blows the smoke into a smooth and steady stream right out the window.
We were lying on her bed, our heads facing the clear night sky. How small we felt in the scope of the universe. I beheld the beauty, but the vastness did not make me feel like there was no God, it only solidified my belief in Him. Even if He was unseen, His presence was quite obvious to me. I looked over at Lisa with sympathy. How hopeless the world would be if you could not recognize God, even when His presence was clearly all around you.
“My dad loves God. He talks about Him all the time.” She tapped her ashes into a Dixie cup by her nightstand.
“He is always telling me to go to church, to be a good girl and then he gets arrested and thrown into jail again. He will not be up for parole for another seven years.” I could see her thinking hard as she stared into the black sky peppered with stars.
“I want to believe in God, but how can I? My dad’s God never saved him. Dad always had his Bible and his weed.” There were no words of comfort my nineteen-year-old mind could come up with. We continued to search the night sky as if there would be an answer that would fall from it.
Perhaps the God that Lisa’s dad worshiped was not the God he claimed with his mouth. God is a God of hearts. Whomever we worship with our lives, actions and words is truly the God we serve.
To the world, when we say we love God it is crucial that our actions line up with our words. If we bare the name of Christ, we have a big responsibility. We carry His reputation everywhere we go. Many people will either open their hearts or close their hearts to Him, based on their personal experience with “God’s people”.
God is counting on us to be a light to the world. He says in James 1:6-8 that our faith only works when we are consistent. Our testimony works the same way.
It is crucial for us to forget ourselves and remember that there are people who are still lost out there. Many might never find the way unless we bring them into the light. Be a light.
“Dear Heavenly Father,
I have let you down once again. I keep forgetting that the focus of my life should be centered on your goals for me.
I keep serving my needs and myself before I even stop to ask what you think or want.
I know there are many sins I have grown quite comfortable with, explaining that I am only human. I am human, but there is a MAJOR difference between the average human and I. Because I have asked Christ to live in me, I have the power of God inside of me. I can do more than I am currently doing.
Forgive me for not taking your reputation seriously. It is an honor to bare your name. Give me the grace to bare it well. In Jesus’ precious name, forgive me and bless me to be a blessing and a light to others, Amen.”
Thank you for reading today’s daily devotional.
Please check back and see what we have for you tomorrow!
Author: Julia Shalom Jordan