ChristianForums.net Devotionals

One Day at a Time.

 Saturday, February 27, 2010

              “Then he said to them all, ‘If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” Luke 9:23 (NIV).

              This passage comes from an often preached passage in Luke, when Peter confesses His faith in Christ as the Messiah. Jesus warns the disciples not to tell anyone what Peter has confessed, and then He tells them how His life will end. After this foretelling of His death, Jesus then gives an address to His disciples that begins with this verse.

              Jesus teaches here that anyone who wants to live as Christ lived must start by taking these two steps. First, a person must deny themselves. This means that we must put what we desire behind us. When many new Christians meet Christ, it isn’t too hard to give up our sinful desires for a day or two, but as we continue to live for Christ we often forget to surrender these wants each day. This isn’t just a struggle for new Christians. If it is tough for those who have just met Christ and have felt embraced by His love, those who have continued in a habit of only seeking God when they need Him, or who just haven’t felt as near to the Lord as they once did, will find themselves struggling to take up their cross at all.

              It may sound simple, but the best way to feel close to Christ again is to do the second thing Christ instucted His disciples to do, and take up your cross today. If you can decide for one day that you will come to God with every decision you make, you might find that God is right there with you all over again. You may have had a huge stumble just yesterday, or you see things lining up to knock you down tomorrow, but that doesn’t mean you have to surrender today to sin and doubt. Sometimes, to make progress we can’t think about where progress will take us. When we start looking too far into the future we miss the road blocks that are still in front of us today.

              If you want to live for Christ today, take up your cross today. Christ will forgive anything you did yesterday. God does not promise anyone a tomorrow. The only day we can live each day, is today. This is how we can take up our cross daily. If we live for today and let God be our guide for how we live the day, then we begin to do just what Christ taught us to do. After several days of living just one day at a time, you might be able to look back and see that Jesus never stopped being with you.

              Give Him today, and then see what differences He will make in your life.

Written by Timothy Hegerich and Edited by Caroline Hegerich

There is truth in our world, and it lies within the word of the One who created the world. It is my prayer that my thoughts and writings echo this truth and inspire you to seek it for your life today!

Before You Know It…

Sunday, January 31^st, 2010

Today, I was excited about what God was doing in our worship service. I was excited because I could sing in the choir and not feel like I had lost my gift for singing when I had my tonsils removed six months ago. I was excited because God was bringing to my mind ways to seek him out for my desire to preach his word around the area my wife and I live in. I left the church excited, because I knew that tonight I was going to be writing again, looking to share with you who will read this something God could use to help you in your walk.

As we left the church this morning, we went to a Mexican restaurant for lunch with a group of friends.  We had ordered our lunches about 20-30 minutes ago and while everyone else around the table was eating their lunches, I was still waiting for mine. I had been patient for so long, and the waiter knew that he had forgotten my order and had gone to make sure it was being made. However, when my order finally came out I made a comment to my wife that could only be seen as less than Christ-like about the service.

In the course of just one hour I had gone from excited and ready to be used by God, to having an attitude too sour for the Gospel in my life to be seen. Sometimes we fall into sin out of nowhere, and when we least expect to.

Before you think this isn’t the case for everyone, think back to what we learn about Peter in Matthew 26.  In verses 31-35 Jesus predicted that the disciples would fall away. Peter had promised Jesus that he would not, but Jesus told him that before the rooster crows Peter would deny Christ three times. Peter replied that even if it meant his death, he would not deny Jesus. In verses 69-75 of Matthew 26, Jesus’ words are proven true as Peter does exactly what it was he said he would die before doing.

It doesn’t take much time at all for us to fall into sin. We are human, and it is our nature to fall short of what God has for us. In fact, we cannot truly know God without Christ (Matthew 11:27).  The good news is that no matter how quickly or how often we fall into sin, God is able to forgive us of all our unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).

We all sin, and sometimes when we least expect to. While this may be true for every one of us, this does not mean we should make it easy for our hearts and minds to be caught off guard. We can hide God’s word in our hearts and press onward towards our upward calling (Psalms 119:11, Philippians 3:13-14).

We all might benefit from keeping this thought in mind; We are all vulnerable to sin, but that is all the more reason to learn more of the Christ who forgives it

Written by Timothy Hegerich

There is truth in our world, and it lies within the word of the One who created the world. It is my prayer that my thoughts and writings echo this truth and inspire you to seek it for your life today!

Seeking to Serve
Monday, January 18, 2010

Serving God is what the Christian life is about, right? How have you been serving Him lately?
I know from my own life that I have had times where I have struggled to find where God wants me serving him, and I have settled for something I could do well and in my strength. However, if I am serving him only in what I can do, I limit the work God can do because I’m not asking him to work through me.

The Bible has a few examples of those who wanted to serve in their strength and it was not God’s will for them. David wanted to build the temple but the Lord told him that it would be his son, Solomon, who would build the Lord’s temple (2 Samuel 7). In the book of Acts we see Paul wanting to go into portions of Asia, but the Spirit prevents him and then calls Paul and Timothy to Macedonia (Acts 16). In both of these occasions these men wanted to serve God, but he had other plans for them.

So how then can we know what God wants for us to do?

“Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it shall be opened.”
Matthew 7:7-8 (NASB)

No matter where we are or what we are capable of doing, there is a way for us to live for the Lord that he has already planned to bless. We know from the book of Jeremiah that he has plans for all of us. All we can do is seek Him and find out what He has in store for us.

What about you? Are you looking for where God wants you to serve Him? James teaches us that our faith without works is dead. Do you want to be living with a dead faith, or showing the lost how to live with a faith that is not only alive, but causes others to live? Live your faith and seek His will for your life!

Written by Timothy Hegerich and Edited by Caroline Hegerich
There is truth in our world, and it lies within the word of the One who created the world. It is my prayer that my thoughts and writings echo this truth and inspire you to seek it for your life today!

Christians on Defense: Part 4

More than Hope:

Thursday October 1st, 2009

This is part 4 in a 5 part series discussing the defense of our Christian faith. This is a series of messages based around 1st Peter 3:15

“…but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you…” 1 Peter 3:15 [NASB]

So step one of being a Christian who is able to defend his faith is setting Christ as Lord in your hearts. This meant that you would be convinced that Jesus is the Messiah he claimed to be, and that you believe he was all he claimed to be. The second idea of being a defense-ready Christian is that you are able to defend the convictions you have in Christ. This is made easier by getting serious about knowing His Word, the Bible.

Once you have these things set in your heart and you have learned his word to where you can defend what you believe, it becomes time to know what your beliefs create or provide for, and that will be the ‘hope that is in you.”

There are two dimensions to this hope we have. The first is the knowledge of what Christ promised us for our belief in him. This all comes down to John 3:16

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.” John 3:16 (NASB)

Now, as we grow in our faith, we will learn what things we can expect from this eternal life Christ promised us; but to defend our faith, we must know what it is we can expect for our beliefs. It is important to realize that, while we can be assured of this promise, Christ would be worthy of our worship without this promise.

The second dimension of this hope is what this hope is founded on. Since our hope is built on the truths of God and the promises of Christ, our hope is so much more than just beliefs we think might come true. Here’s how the writer of Hebrews put it:

“…Christ is faithful over God’s house as a son. And we are his house if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.”

How awesome is our hope! If we are Christ’s and live for him, we are indeed his. This is what our confidence and hope is for, and it is built on the power and integrity of our perfect savior, Jesus. When we confirm in our hearts that Jesus is who he claimed to be, our defense will be made also in defending the hopes he promised to give us for our faith. God is so full of grace that faith in his sinless son is all the hope and confidence we need for our faith. This is why Christ and his promise are worthy of our defense. With such a promise, why not make sure that you too can partake in this amazing hope?!

Written by Timothy Hegerich

There is truth in our world, and it lies within the word of the One who created the world. It is my prayer that my thoughts and writings echo this truth and inspire you to seek it for your life today!

Christians on Defense: Part 3

Defense That is Ready!

Thursday, August 27, 2009

This is part 3 in a 5 part series discussing the defense of our Christian faith. This is a series of messages based around 1st Peter 3:15.

“…but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you…” 1 Peter 3:15 [NASB]

The great thing about having set in your own heart that Jesus is Lord, is that the more You have your heart set on the truths of the gospel, the easier it becomes to be willing and able to defend what you believe. Think about it, if you had doubts about Jesus’ place in your faith, how could you share with any kind of confidence? When you take a test to prove what you know of a subject, which questions are harder to answer? The questions you are certain of? Or the questions that you can’t think of the answers to? Defending your faith is not really all that different.

Again, the best way to defend your hope in Christ is to know for certain whom your Lord is. Paul understood this better than anyone as he instructed Timothy several times about knowing and using God’s word for a defense.

“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, handling accurately the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15 [NASB]

“All scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”
2 Timothy 3:16-17 [NASB]

“Preach the word, be ready in season and out of season…” 2 Timothy 4:2 [NASB]

In the first passage we see that Paul reminds Timothy that a workman who is approved of God will be able to accurately handle the word of truth, the Bible. In the second passage Paul reminds Timothythat scripture, the Bible, is useful for teaching, reproving, correcting and training in righteousness. If it is useful for all these things amongst the people of God, then it must be useful elsewhere as well, and we see that as Paul says that knowledge of scripture equips a man of God for EVERY good work. In the last passage Paul just reminds Timothy of the need to be ready to preach the word, the Bible, in any season. In other words, we need to know the word and be ready to use it. This is what Peter is saying as well. Be ready to defend your faith, and the best way to do that is to know what your faith is about, to know God’s word.

Have you sanctified Christ in your heart? If you have, you need to be ready to defend that faith to any who ask. Can you defend your faith in Christ? If you are not sure, then really, just how sure are you of your faith in Christ? When someone comes to ask, will you be able to tell them why you know Christ is your Lord?

Written by Timothy Hegerich. Edited by Carol Jones.

There is truth in our world, and it lies within the word of the One who created the world. It is my prayer that my thoughts and writings echo this truth and inspire you to seek it for your life today!

Christians on Defense: Part 2

Defend Your Heart

Thursday, August 13, 2009

This is part 2 in a 5 part series discussing the defense of our Christian faith. This is a series of messages based around 1st Peter 3:15.

“(But) sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts…” 1 Peter 3:15 (NASB)

When we are asked why we are a Christian, it only seems logical to begin a defense of our faith with its founder, Jesus Christ. After all, the word “Christian” is defined by Webster’s online dictionary as, “one who professes belief in the teachings of Jesus Christ.” If the world knows that we are supposed to believe in the teachings of Christ, then certainly that is the place to start when we begin to tell others why we are a Christian.

So what are some of the things Christ taught us while he was alive?

Jesus taught that he alone is the way to God and heaven.

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me.”
John 14:6 (NASB)

Jesus taught us to forgive those who sin against us, even when they do it repeatedly, if they ask for forgiveness.

“Be on your guard! If your brother sins rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times a day and returns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ forgive him.

Jesus taught us to love our enemies, and to pray for them.

“But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you…”
Matthew 5:44 (NASB)

Jesus taught us that he is one and the same with God.

“I and the Father are one.” John 10:30

Jesus taught that God gave gives us eternal life through belief in Jesus.

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.” John 3:16 (NASB)

These are just a few things, that if we call ourselves Christians, we ought to believe. The apostle Paul put it best when he penned Romans 10:9.

“That if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the Dead, you shall be saved.” Romans 10:9 (NASB)

If you are truly a Christian, then you have set in your heart that Jesus is God, and that he is your only salvation from the death our sins have earned us. You must believe with all you are that Jesus is all he claimed to be. If you do not, how can you defend your hope in Christ? How can others be sure of Christ’s Salvation if you are not yourself?

Written by Timothy Hegerich/Edited by Carol Jones

There is truth in our world, and it lies within the word of the One who created the world. It is my prayer that my thoughts and writings echo this truth and inspire you to seek it for your life today!

Christians on Defense: Introduction

Monday, August 3rd, 2009

How many of you have been asked this question?

“Why are you a Christian?”

How do you reply when that question is asked? Why are YOU a Christian? For some of us, this is a really tricky question. Sometimes our answers are not good answers. Some of us do not even have an answer for this question. If you claim to be a Christian but do not know why you are, perhaps it’s time for you to get serious about this portion of your identity? Perhaps it is time for you to be able to defend this portion of your life.

The truth is that you are not alone if you are coming to the realization that you do not have a good defense for your faith in God. However Scripture encourages as follows:

“But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect” 1 Peter 3:15 (NIV)

Since God’s word encourages us to be ready to answer anyone, over my next 5 writings I will be taking an in-depth look into this passage and defending our Christian faith.

Written by Timothy Hegerich. Edited by Carol Jones.

There is truth in our world, and it lies within the word of the One who created the world. It is my prayer that my thoughts and writings echo this truth and inspire you to seek it for your life today!

Is it right? – Perspectives Part 3

Wednesday July 8th, 2009

This is an age old question; how can we know what is right and what is wrong? Who gets to decide what is right? A President? Someone of Royalty, perhaps? Maybe the courts should decide? After it’s been settled who will be trusted to determine what is right and wrong, you have to be sure they are using a right set of standards. However, since we are not sure as to what the right standards are, how do we know if we’ve given the right person the ability to determine what is right? Am I even asking the right questions?

Well, let’s start from what seems to be an accepted idea of who gets to determine what is right. When we are in school, it is the teacher who decides what is right and what is not. This is because the Principal has given her the authority to determine what is right for her class of students. In this instance and many others, the person or group of people with the most power will be the one permitted to establish a guideline for what is right.

In the Bible we see a particular phrase appear many times in the book of Judges. Here it is from the last verse of the book of Judges:

“In those days, there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” Judges 21:25 [NASB]

While there may have been tribal leaders, no one was in charge of the nation of Israel, and so no one would stand up and encourage the people to do was right to God. This was true for how the people of Israel treated God as well. The people did not treat God as their authority, so they did as they saw fit. Whether you are talking religious beliefs or any other form of morality, the fact is that the one in charge often sets what is acceptable as right.

So who should we recognize as our authority? I think this is an easy answer. The one with the most authority in life is God. He created us in Genesis 1. No person alive has the power to create a man out of dust. He also saved us from hell when he sent us Christ. Romans 6:23 reminds us that the wages of sin, doing wrong, is death, but because Christ died on the cross without ever doing anything wrong, he can now claim our lives as clean and blameless as well.

However if this path of logic doesn’t convince you, consider what is written in God’s word in Psalm 19.

“The precepts of the Lord are right; rejoicing the heart…” Psalm 19:8 (NASB)

The Bible gives us what we might use as a test here for what is right. The Bible declares that the precepts of the Lord ARE right. No doubts about it. However, for those who do doubt the Word of the Lord, just try doing something it says is right. If the word of the Lord is true and you find it rejoices your heart, then we can trust that God’s word is true. However to avoid the false positive of this test called selfishness, test this truth by thinking about how you would feel if someone else acted in the manner you wish to test.

Suppose you just got a new car. Not just any shabby automobile, but a Dodge Viper. This would make you happy. Now since the Bible does not claim new cars is right this is not a correct test. However, the Bible does teach that stealing is wrong. If you had your brand new car stolen, would your heart be rejoicing? I do not think so. This is how we know stealing is wrong. God’s command that we shall not steal should have been enough, but if you learn to accept this truth even if you did not believe at first glance, then you will be considered as right.

Doesn’t it rejoice your heart to know that even when we do something wrong, God will still forgive us? By this same test, we know that God’s salvation is real. It causes our heart to rejoice when we truly embrace it.

So what is right depends on what God has said is right. Is it right when you give in to sex before you have married the one you had sex with? Is it right that you may have stole from your parents or your boss, because you don’t think they appreciate you enough? God’s word teaches us what is right, but you need to know what God’s word says before you can live with that perspective of what truly is right.

Written by Timothy Hegerich/ Edited by Carol Jones

There is truth in our world, and it lies within the word of the One who created the world. It is my prayer that my thoughts and writings echo this truth and inspire you to seek it for your life today!

Timing is Everything! – Perspectives part two

Thursday, June 25th, 2009

Have you thought about time today? If you are honest you’d be saying how can someone not think about time? Time dictates much of our lives. Time tells us when we should go to bed and when we should wake up. Time tells us when we should go to work and when it is time to return home. As we grow through life, different stages of life all come with time. In time most people learn to walk, talk, read, and all sorts of skills. Let’s face it, time is something that will always play a big role in our lives.

What’s funny is that time is viewed differently by different people. To someone who is rushed by work, there just isn’t enough time; but to someone who is bored time cannot pass by quick enough. As we live each day, some things seem to happen just when we need them to, or at just the right time. Yet other events seem to occur at what we see as the worst times.

It’s these things, that seem to happen at the wrong times, that always seem to get us. Some people become friendless when they couldn’t need a friend more. Some will become angry when there is nothing they should become angry about. Some people will even walk away from God in unsure times when He is the only one in whose hands we can place our time here on earth. Time really matters.

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:”
Ecclesiastes 3:1 ESV

God’s word teaches us that there is a time for everything. Ecclesiastes 3 tells of all sorts of things that have their own place in time. Birth comes at the beginning of life, it is the time for birth. Reaping a crop comes after caring for it, or there is a time for harvesting. This passage in Ecclesiastes even teaches that there is a time for weeping and gladness. Everything has its place in time.

So what can we learn about time to help us to live as better Christians? Perhaps it’s as simple as saying that there is a time to let God lead our lives. When we start understanding that there is someone much more equipped at understanding and dealing with time, that’ll be when we begin to see just how time really does fit into everything about our world. What time is it for you and your life?

Written by Timothy Hegerich / Edited by Carol Jones

There is truth in our world, and it lies within the word of the One who created the world. It is my prayer that my thoughts and writings echo this truth and inspire you to seek it for your life today!

Perspectives

In a recent song entitled “Perspectives” sung by the band Kutless, there is a line in the refrain that goes, “Freedom is really just sometimes another perspective away.” I find these words to be so true lately. The truth is that a new perspective on a situation is bound to change the way we perceive it and may just make the situation easier. For the next few devotionals I’ll be writing about certain scenarios I see in the lives around me and how a Christian perspective may change the way we feel about the situation.

A Stack of Books? : Perspectives part one

Sunday, June 07, 2009

I know the image is fuzzy, but if you look you can at least see a stack of books. Well, what if I told you that this stack of books is the majority of my collection of Bibles? What would you think? To me, I might see this stack of Bibles as a decent supply of study tools. I went to college to study God’s word and to be able to teach it to others. In this stack of Bibles, I have at least 10 different English translations and a Greek New Testament which I can actually read.

Well this is a stack of my Bibles. What do you see in this stack of Bibles? Do you see just another person’s stack of books? Do you see the costs associated with all these books? Do you see it as a life line to God and a blessing of His ability to supply?

I want to inform you of the perspective of a Christian in China. In China, the Bible is not allowed to be printed and the government regulates what churches can do. In China, it is not uncommon for a house church to have just one Bible that has been handwritten by another believer somewhere in the country. If you do not believe me, just go to the website for Voice of the Martyrs. See the stories about the China, North Korea, and in the Middle East. To a Chinese Christian, my guess is that this stack of Bibles could be seen as an abundance of God’s blessing, and this stack of Bibles could serve as a supply for many churches.

What a difference! To me this is a good supply of study materials, but to some this stack of Bibles would be the most unattainable dream! Now think about this, what do you imagine a Chinese Christian would think if he found out that there are days I do not even pick up one of these Bibles because maybe I’m tired or just do not feel like reading? Can you imagine the disbelief they would feel, and the sense of greed and waste that might come to their minds?

Let me add this passage now:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” John 1:1-5(ESV)

In this passage John illustrated how the in the Word of God there is life and light. This means that God’s word is our source of life and light. If we treat the Bible as another book on a shelf, do you think a Chinese believer would be convinced we truly believe in the Word of God? How can we live in the light and not go to the source for our supply? Sure we can memorize passages and stay connected without picking up the Bible itself, but since we have God’s word at our finger tips why not go to it directly? Perhaps it’s time that some of us start thinking of God’s word as our source of life. Can you think of things in your life that would change if you do and if they would change, what is wrong with your perspective and habits now?

Written by Timothy Hegerich / Edited by Carol Jones

There is truth in our world, and it lies within the word of the One who created the world. It is my prayer that my thoughts and writings echo this truth and inspire you to seek it for your life today!