Pastor Gary's OYB Devotion Archive for November 17

HAVE YOU HAD A HEART TRANSPLANT?

From: November 17, 2024

“And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules” (Ezekiel 36:26-27 ESV).

After Jerusalem fell to Babylon, God gave the prophet Ezekiel an encouraging word for the Jewish exiles. They had been unfaithful to God, but He was going to one day restore them for His own name’s sake. Not because they deserved it, but because of His own holy name. God promised that one day He would give them a new heart and a new spirit, so that His laws would be written on their hearts.

God promised to give His people a spiritual heart transplant. This has been fulfilled in Christ. God’s laws are no longer merely written on stone tablets, but they are written on the hearts of believers. Not only that, but God’s Holy Spirit has been given to abide in us and to strengthen us to do His will. This is the prophecy of the New Covenant, which is ours in Christ Jesus.

PRAYER: Father, You have given us a new heart and made us a new creation. You have given us Your Holy Spirit. We are thankful. Now continue to sanctify us, making us more like Your Son in every way, that we might do Your will in all things. In Jesus’ name, amen.

WHY NOT ASK GOD?

From: November 17, 2023

“If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking” (James 1:5 NLT).

It seems self-evident that the one who lacks wisdom would ask the all-knowing God for help. Yet, asking God is often the last choice, rather than the first. Prayer is often only considered after every other human resource is exhausted.

But why not ask God first? Perhaps it’s because of pride. We think we already have wisdom on a matter when we don’t. Perhaps it’s ignorance. We don’t know what we don’t know. Or perhaps it’s lack of patience. We don’t want to ask anyone, much less God, because we want it now. We don’t want to wait, so we leap before looking. Whatever the reason, why not learn to ask God for wisdom?

For God is willing and able to answer. He is the God who knows and the God who speaks. When we learn to continually ask God for wisdom, we walk by faith and in humility. And we save ourselves a lifetime of self-inflicted hurts and disappointments. For God gives wisdom to the one who asks.

PRAYER: Dear Father, we desire Your wisdom today. Help us make wise choices this day. Renew our minds and transform our thinking, so that we have the mind of Christ on all things. Lead, guide and direct our steps. In Jesus’ name, amen.

“Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.” (James 1:2 NLT).

From: November 17, 2022

MOVING TRIALS FROM THE SAD COLUMN TO THE GLAD COLUMN

James described the spiritual mindset that the Christian should have when facing trials. What is this mindset? “Great joy.” Not happiness, which is based on external happenings, but “great joy,” which comes from within and is the fruit of the Spirit for the believer that abides in Christ. And not partial joy, but “all” joy. Pure and whole joy that comes from the knowledge that God is sovereign and that all things work together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Rom.8:28).

This mindset is a decision of the will that is empowered by the Spirit. The Greek verb here is in the imperative middle voice, meaning that one is to command oneself to choose joy. Like an accounting term, one can choose to move their emotional response to trials from the sad column to the glad column.

Rather than seeing trials as a reason to be discouraged, we can count them as a reason to trust God all the more. We can count it all joy because of Christ Jesus in us.

PRAYER: Dear Father, we are under Your care, therefore we trust that whatever comes, You are with us and never leave us. We are able to consider it all joy no matter what comes our way because we know that You are making us more like Jesus. We are more than conquerors in Christ’s love. We love You, Father. In Jesus’ name, amen.

“Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God” (James 1:5 HCSB).

From: November 17, 2021

WHY NOT ASK GOD?

It seems self-evident that the one who lacks wisdom would ask the all-knowing God for help. Yet, asking God is often the last choice, rather than the first. Prayer is often only considered after every other human resource is exhausted.

But why not ask God first? Perhaps it’s because of pride. We think we already have wisdom on a matter when we don’t. Perhaps it’s ignorance. We don’t know what we don’t know. Or perhaps it’s lack of patience. We don’t want to ask anyone, much less God, because we want it now. We don’t want to wait, so we leap before looking. Whatever the reason, why not learn to ask God for wisdom?

For God is willing and able to answer. He is the God who knows and the God who speaks. When we learn to continually ask God for wisdom, we walk by faith and in humility. And we save ourselves a lifetime of self-inflicted hurts and disappointments. For God gives wisdom to the one who asks.

PRAYER: Dear Father, we desire Your wisdom today. Help us make wise choices this day. Renew our minds and transform our thinking, so that we have the mind of Christ on all things. Lead, guide and direct our steps. In Jesus’ name, amen.

“Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death” (James 1:15 NKJV).

From: November 17, 2020

ONLY GOD CAN HELP US WITH OUR OVER-DESIRE

The Greek word translated “desire” is “epithumia,” which literally means “over-desire,” or “over-heated desire.” It might also be translated as “lust.”

Desire itself is not evil. God created us with desire. No one has to teach a baby to cry for its mother’s milk. It is born with the desire for food and drink. Yet, sin has has caused us to desire over-much, so that we become over-heated in wanting. We take shortcuts, we overeat, we overindulge and we over-do-it in getting things, but our desire cannot be satisfied because it always wants more.

James is graphic in describing desire as that within us which gives in to temptation. Having done so, it becomes like a womb conceiving and giving birth to sin. And sin, becomes a growing thing that when mature “brings forth death.” So desire is not only over-heated in its wanting, but also it is also easily tempted to want wrong things.

God has given us “every good gift” (James 1:17), yet we desire the gift over the Giver. However, when we receive the “word of truth” (James 1:18), which is the gospel, we are born again of the Spirit of God. And His Spirit gives us His desires and grants us self-control over our “over-desires.” Being born again, we begin to desire the Giver more than the gift.

PRAYER: Dear Father, forgive us for desiring more than we need and for desiring that which is forbidden. Give us the spiritual fruit of self-control and sanctify our desires, so that we only want that which You would have for us. Teach us contentment. We desire to be satisfied in You alone, knowing that all our needs are met in Christ Jesus. In His name we pray, amen.

“Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.” (James 1:2 NLT).

From: November 17, 2019

MOVING TRIALS FROM THE SAD COLUMN TO THE GLAD COLUMN

James described the spiritual mindset that the Christian should have when facing trials. What is this mindset? “Great joy.” Not happiness, which is based on external happenings, but “great joy,” which comes from within and is the fruit of the Spirit for the believer that abides in Christ. And not partial joy, but “all” joy. Pure and whole joy that comes from the knowledge that God is sovereign and that all things work together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Rom.8:28). This mindset is a decision of the will that is empowered by the Spirit. The Greek verb here is in the imperative middle voice, meaning that one is to command oneself to choose joy. Like an accounting term, one can choose to move their emotional response to trials from the sad column to the glad column. Rather than seeing trials as a reason to be discouraged, count them as a reason to trust God all the more.

PRAYER: Dear Father, we are under Your care, therefore we trust that whatever comes, You are with us and never leave us. We are able to consider it all joy no matter what comes our way because we know that You are making us more like Jesus. We are more than conquerors in Christ’s love. We love You, Father. In Jesus’ name, amen.

“Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death” (James 1:15 NKJV).

From: November 17, 2017

The Greek word translated “desire” is epithumia, which literally means over-heated desire or lust. Desire in and of itself is not evil. God has desires. But God’s desires are under His control, while ours are not. We desire over-much and we become over-heated in wanting, so we take shortcuts and we overeat and we overindulge and we over-do-it in getting things, but our over-desire cannot be fully satisfied because it wants over-much. James is graphic in describing this over-desire as a womb conceiving and giving birth to sin. And sin, as a growing thing that when mature “brings forth death.”

God has given us “every good gift” (James 1:17), yet we desire the gift over the Giver. However, when we receive the “word of truth” (James 1:18), which is the gospel, we are born again of the Spirit of God. And His Spirit gives us His desires and grants us self-control over our “over-desires.” Being born again, we begin to desire the Giver more than the gift.

“My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials” (James 1:2 NKJV)

From: November 17, 2015

James describes the spiritual mindset that the Christian should have when facing trials. What is this mindset? “All joy.” Not happiness, which is based on external happenings, but joy, which comes from within and is the fruit of the Spirit for the believer that abides in Christ. And not partial joy, but “all” joy. Pure and whole joy that comes from the knowledge that God is sovereign and that all things work together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Rom.8:28). This mindset is a choice of the will, one that can be “counted.” The Greek verb here is in the imperative middle voice, meaning that one is to command oneself to choose joy. Like an accounting term, one can choose to move their emotional response to trials from the sad column to the glad column. Rather than seeing trials as a reason to be discouraged, count them as a reason to trust God all the more.

“Know the state of your flocks, and put your heart into caring for your herds” (Proverbs 27:23 NLT)

From: November 17, 2014

This proverb encourages us to be responsible stewards of all that God has given us. This begins with knowing the state of your “flocks.” What are your “flocks?” Another way to ask this question would be to say, “What has God entrusted to you to manage?” Do you know the state of your finances? Do you have a budget and do you know how much you spend monthly? Are you saving for emergencies, retirement, college…? What is the state of your marriage? What is the state of your children? If you are a pastor, the state of your flock is relevant. If you are in business, do you know the condition of your store and its bottom line? Many of us go through life with a blind eye towards our “flocks.” But God would have us open our eyes and “know the state” of that which He has entrusted to us.

“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him” (James 1:5)

From: November 17, 2013

Do you need wisdom or understanding? Ask God. Open your eyes to the Lord and His Word. He is a God who freely gives. He wants to reveal Himself to you. He will give wisdom and more… He will give Himself. In most situations that’s the wisdom we most need– that God is with us.