Devotional Archive - November 2009
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November 29, 2009
Set:
King Josiah was just eight years old when he began to change his world. Even at such a young age he decided to live in the ways of the Lord and do what was right in His eyes. I wonder if we are doing what is right in the eyes of the Lord at our age.
God asks us to change our lives—our worlds. If we think about it, our personal lives are pretty much our world. We feel like the world is falling apart when we are having difficulties. We do have the power to change a world—our world—when we rely on Christ, “not turn[ing] to the right or to the left.” And I believe that we can have an impact on others as well when we do “what is right in the Lord’s sight.” Don’t just read it!
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November 28, 2009
Set:
Wicked people live life with their heads on a swivel—looking for anybody or anything that might be after them. They might even sleep with one eye open! They live restlessly and peace is a foreign object. On the outside, these people may look like they have it all together, but inside their lives are complete messes. They only know wickedness, so they suspect everybody is just like them. Hence, they run even when no one is pursuing them.
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November 25, 2009
Set:
Moses warned the Israelites against failing to serve God. We should take this warning to heart. Jesus tells us, “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me” (Matthew 25:40b). When serving God, we cannot help but serve others; and in serving others, we serve God.
Sports like tennis and volleyball require serving the ball. In an article, “Six Steps to a Better Serve,” the author wrote, “Serving is a skill that takes years of practice to master, and something that you can always improve upon. . . . Keep at it, take your time, and practice lots.” This applies to serving others as well.
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November 24, 2009
Set:
Hockey Chat: The Stanley Cup is the only trophy in professional sports that has the names of winning players, coaches, management and club staff engraved and passed to the new winner year after year.
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November 23, 2009
Set:
Mike was a great athlete. He could play almost any sport with ease. He was popular, and everyone wanted to follow his example. Mike had given his heart to Christ and had begun following God's plan, but his old friends and old ways resurfaced often. So, when he was approached recently by his friends who were going out to party and wanted him to attend, Mike had to make a choice.
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November 20, 2009
Set:
God doesn’t always work the way we think He should. Sometimes the things that we think are tragedies turn out to be blessings. In the Bible, Joseph serves as the perfect example of tragedy-turned-blessing. When Joseph received a dream foreshadowing his role to reign over his brothers, his brothers grew angry and sold him into slavery. When Joseph was later falsely accused of a crime and thrown into prison, it seemed that his dream would never come true.
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November 19, 2009
Set:
When a player gets double teamed up against the boards they know their in trouble. As they battle for the puck, they’ll often hear a familiar voice of someone on their team calling out instructions on a safe place to pass it. They would stay in trouble and lose the puck if someone didn’t call out to them.
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November 16, 2009
Set:
In conversation with a student this week, we talked about the intense competitiveness of guys and how in a recent intramural game, students nearly came to blows. It got me to thinking about tests, not necessarily the most pleasant of topics for students at this time of the year!
In my younger days, I was very competitive and hated to lose or to perform badly. I threw tennis rackets, slammed my hand down on ball returns, and murmured expletives to myself when I missed jump shots. Then I made the decision to follow Jesus and every time I picked up a ball or a racket, the test began. Did Jesus really make any difference in my life?
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November 13, 2009
Set:
Rulon Gardner and Dremiel Byers were both vying for one spot on the 2004 U.S. Olympic wrestling team. Gardner was the 2000 Olympic gold medalist and 2001 World Champion and Byers the 2002 World Champion. Gardner won a pair of 2-1 overtime matches at the Olympic Trials and Byers laid down his pride and went to Athens to help prepare his friend for another gold-medal run by serving as his training partner. Gardner came home with the bronze medal and a gold-medal friend. Would he have done the same for Byers? No doubt about it!
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November 13, 2009
Set:
Have you ever had a change of plans? This week I was at a friend’s house planning to eat dinner and watch a movie and just relax. It had been a busy work day after a busy weekend, and I still had another conference the next morning. We wanted to just sit and relax for an evening, but God had other plans. My friend had forgotten that he had committed us to speak at another church opportunity. So, off we went.
God’s Word is very clear that when we have the opportunity to bring the Good Word, we are to seize the moment. Second Timothy 4 tells us to preach the Word whether now or later. When opportunity knocks, we are to speak out for Christ whether to a group of two or 200. We must take the chance to share about God with those who are willing to listen.
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November 11, 2009
Set:
Glory – it is such a simple word. It is what all of us play the game for. We want the glory associated with being an athlete. We want to be recognized for our skill. Who doesn’t want to win a championship this year? How many times have you put your goals for the season down and listed “To NOT be remembered”?
At first glance, we have it all messed up. We should not want to get the entire spotlight. We should want to be a team player. We should not want to be so focused that we “win at all costs.” It’s in the nature of a competitor to “go for it.” Shouldn’t we want to be that focused?
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November 06, 2009
Set:
It’s not from the world of sports, but it is what we’re all talking about today: the shootings at Fort Hood in Texas. There are so many questions to be answered, so many emotions to be addressed, so much pain to be endured. Our prayers are with the families of those killed and wounded today as they pick up the pieces and begin life under very new circumstances.
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November 06, 2009
Set:
Have you ever heard the phrase, "God didn't promise you it would be easy?" Boy, I have thought about that a lot lately. Tough days at work, at church, with family health issues, and the list keeps going and going. When will it stop I wonder? I know God is there, and I know He hears me when I pray, but wow. Some days it just rains and pours.
Have you ever been there? Where do we go when that happens? What do we do? Let's find out.
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November 05, 2009
Set:
Many of us have wondered if our lives really matter. Are we really good enough for God, our family, or ourbteam? Does anyone really care about us? Do we make a difference to anyone? By obeying this verse—by putting on God’s truth—we find answers to these questions.
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November 02, 2009
Set:
How many times do you make a promise and really keep it? Every day, my 7-year-old comes to me with my baseball glove and asks me to play catch. I sometimes catch myself saying, “I promise, in a few minutes.” Then he walks away, and time goes by without me keeping my word. He gets disappointed, and I feel bad for forgetting. I never intend to go back on my word, but it does happen from time to time.
One thing we know from God and His Word is that when He makes a promise, He always follows through. Here is a great definition of a promise: an assurance that God gives His people so that they can walk by faith while they wait for Him to work. Here are four promises that God has given us:
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November 02, 2009
Set:
It seems like lately as I watch different sporting events, I’m hearing a lot about having a short memory. I hear a lot about it while watching professional golf on TV. A golfer misses a short putt or has a drive out of bounds, and the announcers talk about having a short memory. About how that golfer has to forget about the bad shot and move on to the next. I hear it while watching football, pertaining to a quarterback who just threw an interception that was run back for a touchdown, or a running back who fumbled the ball while the offense was just putting together a great drive.
