Good News Brief For Men

Psalm 16:8 I have set the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved. (NKJV) In the previous devotional David spoke of God’s direction and guidance (Psalm 16:7). David depended upon that relationship. That relationship was so secure, that David would move forward in all the things that God had called him to do almost as a second nature in his life. David was reverent. He approached God with great love and faith. David’s faith had been proven time and time again. As a result, we see the praises he offered up through the many Psalms. We see in many Psalms that the agony of the journey was clearly in play, but through God David overcame the sense of agony. David moved forward in the direction God had called him, rejoicing along the way. Sometimes sadness accompanies us through a certain journey, like the loss of a loved one, the loss of employment, sickness, or even a wayward child (adult or otherwise). If we move with today’s verse with God before us, the...

Psalm 16:7 I will bless the Lord who has given me counsel; my heart also instructs me in the night seasons. (NKJV) The solidity and strength of God in our lives through the Holy Spirit that lives within us as believers is a powerful tool! Often, we do not take time to recognize His presence in times where we do not sense direction in the way we need to go in certain situations. God provided guidance in the life of King David all through His journey. God provided instruction for his Journey. Every detail David needed, God provided. His relationship with God was that close. Our relationship with God can be that close as well. Paul instructs the Roman Christians that the Holy Spirit moves in our lives as we sleep and communicates with us in ways we cannot understand. Paul, in his travels through various cities, towns, and villages, experienced direction from the Holy Spirit and He makes mention of these events here in Romans 8:26. Romans 8:26 Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weakne...

1 Corinthians 1:30   It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness, and redemption. (NIV) As believers, do we really appreciate all that Jesus Christ did for us on the Cross? The wisdom of God was poured out through Christ on the Cross. God poured through His Son the wisdom we would need to live out our salvation from day to day. Paul says in Philippians 2:12 that we are to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling (NIV). We should be fearful of our past prior to salvation and run from its actions as fast and as far as we can. The effort needed to run away from our past, even though forgiven, takes work on our part to build a resilient Christian life around the Scriptures. Our resources are found in God’s Word. Our time in reading and studying of God’s Word can be time consuming. However, beginning with fifteen minutes a day will make incredible advances in working out your salvation as a “l...

Psalm 86:11 Teach me Your way, Lord, that I may rely on Your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear Your name. (NIV) Anything that is introduced into our lives that takes us away from God’s intentions for us makes us divided. When God calls us to focus on a particular thing and we become distracted our faith begins to waiver and we become divided. I knew a man some years ago that I would weekly meet for breakfast for some time of sharing. We would discuss the things of Christ. As time went on, he began to reveal what was really bothering him. He had been called into the ministry as a Pastor some years before and he had considered himself unworthy of God’s calling on his life. This really bothered him. To my knowledge, I was the only person he had shared this with. He was a very private person. He was so ashamed, it burdened his heart. I could not provide the relief that he needed even through sharing the Scriptures, but he continued to share over the next severa...

Luke 11:39 Then the Lord said to him, "Now you Pharisees make the outside of the cup and dish clean, but your inward part is full of greed and wickedness.” (NKJV) Do you know someone like this? Is that person looking at you in the mirror?   In Matthew 23:25-28 Jesus condemned the Pharisees and religious leaders for outwardly appearing saintly and holy but inwardly remaining full of corruption and greed. Living our Christianity merely as a show for others is like washing a cup on the outside only. When we are clean on the inside, our cleanliness on the outside will not be a sham. Living two lives like this is a lot of work. You have to work at guarding your life so no one will see the real inside of you. You also have to work at how others may see the outside of you and hope they do not discover your real heart on the inside as you live from day to day. I watched a young man try to do this and he was exhausted. He was trying to live the life of a believer at home in fron...

Acts 1:8 “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (NKJV) When we look at understanding the power of God THROUGH the Gospels, we see all that was accomplished through the crucifixion. We are given the power of our testimony, we are shown the strength of our testimony, and we are experiencing the presence of the Gospel through our testimony. Let’s face it; we are being watched by other believers and unbelievers alike. When we accept Christ as our Savior the Holy Spirit comes to live in our hearts and He never leaves. God provides peace, strength, comfort, and courage and He can direct our desires in life toward that which is best for us as His children. Ask the Lord to help you share the Gospel of Christ’s free offer for salvation through the forgiveness of sins to as many people as possible. Your desire to speak the truth in Christ disables Satan and e...

Romans 1:16 "For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek." (NKJV) Only God has the power to do what He did to give us the opportunity for salvation through His Son Jesus Christ. Now that is real power, the power of eternal love. The Lord wants us to gain in greater experience the power of His Gospel. The power to change lives is incredible. Changing lives comes through the Holy Spirit. He works into our thought life and through our reasoning skills improving us through His great power along the journey. When we read the Scriptures, we give the Holy Spirit tools to work with. When we get up in the morning, we need to plug Scriptures into our hearts and minds so God can empower our lives for the day. He knows what is ahead of us, and we need His presence to be active and sharper than any two-edged sword (Hebrews 4:12). Entering the day whether we are retired or still a...

Colossians 1:11 We also pray that you will be strengthened with all His glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy. (NLT) The Lord wants us to grow in our appreciation of His mighty power. He also wants us to experience the joy life has to offer through knowing Christ as our Savior and Lord. Often this takes endurance and patience, both of which we need in life. Endurance for the long haul and patience to conquer the necessary steps along the way. Endurance would be like reading the Bible through in a year, where patience would be the life lessons along the journey. Life lessons by far would take more time and effort as we encounter the development of patience while dealing with verses along the way. Personally, I have found the Word of God (Bible) to be excellent in developing patience because I am depending upon the One who created me and knows my character as only the Creator can. God knows what I need, and when I need ...

2 Tim 1:7 “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.” (NLT) The Lord does not want to see us hindered by our fears. Fear of the unknown is reasonable, but it shouldn’t paralyze our spirit to inaction. Have you ever wanted to share your life in Christ with others? Have you ever seen someone with a serious health issue that would benefit from your testimony in Christ? When Nehemiah was standing before King Artaxerxes in Nehemiah 2:1 he had already spent time anguishing over the news from Jerusalem. He had already been praying about what needed to be done. What we don’t see is that God was already preparing the heart of the King to answer what needed to be done. Verse 4-5 The king asked, “Well, how can I help you?”  With a prayer to the God of heaven ,  5  I replied, “If it please the king, and if you are pleased with me, your servant, send me to Judah to rebuild the city where my ancestors are buried.”  God had ...

Philippians 1:2 (1-11) Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ., (NKJV) Paul wrote this letter while imprisoned in Rome. His environment was dark and dismal. Even from there he offered this small struggling congregation ENCOURAGEMENT. Philippi was a city of idolatry and paganism. This church suffered persecution, internal strife, and discord among the congregants. They lacked leadership. In spite of these difficulties, Paul wrote this encouraging letter covering the following issues they were facing. God has not given up on you. Don’t give up on yourselves He reminded them that they were part of God’s family. They were facing discouragement and needed to remember where they had come from. We need to remember how we came to faith in Him. We need to remember where we began and the place where we found forgiveness. We need to return to the place where we experienced God’s grace. We need to return to Calvary, to that Old Rugged Cross. As we close our eyes in p...

John 15:16 You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you. (NKJV)   The life of a believer must be a fruit bearing life. Fruit bearing is giving something back to God, other than our tithes and offerings.   Bearing fruit represents our gratefulness to God and reflects our trust in Him to help us bear fruit in Christ, in all we say and do. God wants us to have His best. It does not come to us if we sit still asking for God’s best without positioning ourselves to receive this great gift.   We position ourselves by reading His Word, prayer, and meditation on what God has poured into our hearts. We need to watch and wait expectantly.   Key Point: We need to watch as God places the ingredients of blessings into our lives and move toward what He may be expecting from us through a fruit bearing life.   Prayer: Dear Father in He...

Joshua 24:14 Now therefore, fear the Lord and serve Him in sincerity and truth; put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. (NASB) I remember when I accepted Christ as my personal Savior in October 1992, at the age of 35, I knew there would be changes in my life. At first, it was very frustrating waiting for God to move. But I waited and I studied His Word. The more I studied, the more I learned through the Holy Spirit. As a result of my newfound desire to seek Him, He answered my prayers.  Many of the friends I had before 1992, I still have today. You see, I thought I was saved since 1971, but I never actively made the commitment to accept what Christ did for me on the cross. So even before I was saved, I was active in my church through choir, Sunday School, and various other ministries. But I did not know God. In 1992 I settled it for good, and now I know beyond any doubt that I am His and He is mine. I have experienced God grow...

Philippians 1:10 so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ. (Phil. 1:9-11) (NIV) Through the knowledge and depth of insight, it is Paul’s prayer that we will be able to discern what is best and pure and blameless and that we hold onto these values until the coming of our Lord. Through time as we learn, these values become a great asset. We grow deeper in wisdom through the study and application of God’s Word in our lives.  Sometimes we need to look at our lives in comparison to the life of Christ and make adjustments in our course that will guide us to that spiritual discernment that God has for us. Our scale of comparison is Christ himself. Yes, it is true; we can never be identical to Him in His absolute completeness for if we could then the Cross would not have been necessary. We could have done this on our own.  It is interesting to match our personal life silhouette outlines with the life of Christ. Everyw...

Philippians 1:9   And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, (NIV) In today’s verse, we see Paul’s concern for the Philippians. His prayer is that their love will abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight. Depth of love can be better understood when we compare it to the love that Christ has for us as believers. God only wants what is best for us as His children. His best involves the same depth of love that took Christ to the cross, dying for our sins that we may spend eternity with Him in Heaven. The knowledge and depth of insight involving the love Paul is referring to does not include selfish motives. The knowledge and depth of insight concerning the kind of love Paul is referring to is the same kind of servanthood love that only comes from the desire to love someone through the giving of oneself as Christ did throughout his ministry here on earth. This kind of love does no...

Psalms 1:1-2 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night. (NIV) The other day I was in my morning quiet time and God drew me into this verse. We get the warning first, and then we get the benefit. We are not even to give thought of walking in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of the scornful. We are to steer clear of the things that can cause us harm. We are to express delight in the law of the Lord and in His law, we meditate day and night. This is to bring us incredible pleasure. When we dwell on Bible verses, we need to invite God to lead us throughout the day with reflection of His Holy Word. Our quiet times alone with the Scriptures and time in prayer, God impacts our lives in powerful ways. We need to remember to be still and know that He is God (Psal...

Proverbs 9:10 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” (NKJV) Here the “The fear of the Lord” is not a terrifying fear, but a reverential fear pointing to His power, awe and might, a holy respect of who He is as God. As we grow in the Word of God by the reading and studying, along with prayer, we continue to further our wisdom and knowledge of who God is to us as individuals. We learn of His desire to fellowship with us from here throughout eternity. We were created for fellowship even in the beginning in the Garden of Eden. As Adam spent all of his time in the garden he experienced a time of divine visitation with God. Do not be tempted to sin breaking the fellowship, with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Adam and Eve had an incredible time being in the presence of God as they walked in the garden of Eden. When we sin as believers, we do NOT lose our salvation! We lessen the impact of what God is trying to do through our ...

Psalm 121:3 He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber. (NKJV) As King David had discovered along his journey, his position in fellowship with God is strong and powerful, but more than that, it’s reliable. God’s position in our life as a believer will not change. If it did, His strength through us could waiver. His stance in our life could change. He would be moving about, and it would be hard to anchor into Him because the anchor would not be secure. God is not like that. He is the immovable God, He waivers not. When the storm winds are blowing you about, He is the stable one. We find strength in His presence. We find stability in His Word. We find promise in His Son Jesus Christ. We can rely on God to keep the security of our stance in place as He builds Himself into our lives hour by hour. We may have ideas concerning things we need to do, but Proverbs 16:9 A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps. (NKJV) God w...

I Thessalonians 5:19-20 19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not treat prophecies with contempt (NIV) We have a warning from Paul that we should not "quench the Spirit," so we must always be aware of how the Spirit is quenched. When we quench the Spirit, it is like putting out a fire. Our sins quench the Spirit. Our decision to turn from God and respond in a bad way to the temptation of sin and commit sin quenches the Spirit. God sensitizes our hearts to do what is right and good. We desensitize it by the frequency of sin that we allow into our lives. Some people say that this is our conscience letting us know when we do wrong. God has placed safeguards in our lives to make us aware of His presence. We know when we do wrong and this quenches the Spirit. Making us aware of the wrong we have committed is one of the tasks of the Spirit. We must adapt to a conscious awareness of when we quench the Spirit, so we will be aware of what is taking place in our lives. We will be held a...