Pastor Stephen Dedman

Tag: bible

Spend Time With God

Encouragement

“Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭46:10‬

We use the excuse sometimes that we don’t have enough time. While that may be true for some things it’s not for others. In fact most of the time it’s just simply an excuse.

Take a look around and think about your life and your schedule. We live busy lives but there are certain things that we must take time for. We have the time; it’s more of a priority issue than a time issue.

Sometimes God will slow us down so that all we have is time. Time to pray. Time to meditate on His Word. Time to spend with family. Time to do the necessities. Time to reach out to a neighbor in need. And time to rest.

The Bible says to seek His Kingdom first. This means that He should be our highest priority. Seeking God should not be something that we just “fit in” our schedule, it should be the most important thing we do. Our time spent in prayer with God and time spent in His Word should dominate everything else we do.

Today’s verse shouts the importance of being still and taking time to listen to God. It’s His small still voice that we cannot ignore. How can we hear God speak if we are always in a rush and trying to “fit in” time for Him? We can’t!

The Bible reminds us that God wants to spend time with us. He wants to commune with us and allow us to be in His presence and to see His glory. How devastating our lives are when we are not still long enough to allow God to do His work in and through us.

Are you making the most of the time you have? Are you investing your time into the things of God? Make sure that you prioritize time with God so that He doesn’t have to slow you down.

Pray

Lord, I want to hear your small still voice. I want to make sure that I listen and obey. Help me to manage my time more wisely.

Justifying Evil

Encouragement

Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
Isaiah 5:20

Have you ever been tempted with the idea that telling a lie would actually accomplish more good? I think we all have! 

Do you ever mention someone in a prayer request but end up gossiping instead of praying? Or have you ever pushed your agenda ahead of others for personal gain? 

We all face the temptation to justify something good that God has declared wicked. We’ve also been tempted to call evil that which God has declared good. God says it is good to love our enemies, yet we often make it our job to hold them responsible for their actions. It happens so quickly.

Satan tries to convince people that what God has called good is actually evil and what God declares evil, is in fact, good. In the beginning Satan persuaded Adam and Eve that disobedience towards God would guarantee a better life. The believed him and immediately began to suffer the consequences of sin.

We need good discernment when Satan tries to deceive us into doubting what God has clearly stated as truth. Allow God’s word to hold you accountable. Stop searching for exceptions to His commands and start obeying whole heartily. 

Pray

Lord, help me to overcome the temptations of the devil. Give me courage and wisdom to notice when I am convinced that doing wrong is better than doing good. Let Your truth outweigh the lies of Satan.

Be Encouraged

Encouragement

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. “
II Corinthians 1:3-4

Do you put a smile on other people’s faces? Better yet, do you know someone that needs to be comforted today? 

We all need to be encouraged. The entire world needs to be comforted. But who is going to do it?

In today’s Scripture, Paul says that just as we are comforted we should also comfort others. So let me encourage you to be an encourager. 

That was Paul’s point that he was getting across to the church at Corinth. The world needs to see that Christians are people who are encouraged by God and through His word and through His Spirit.

The best way to encourage others is to be positive and uplifting. We love being around people who uplift us and make us feel great. We love to surround ourselves with people who bring out the best in us. 

So let’s be that person that we love to be around. We need to be the person who instills positive beliefs into other people. The only way to do that is to be encouraged yourself.

Here is the thing… when we are encouraged, we can encourage others. When we are positive we can instill positive motivation into others. We have to feed ourselves first and then we can give what we have to others. This is why it is important for us to stay in the Word of God and meditate on it. 

Today, there is going to be someone close to you that needs to be encouraged. God is entrusting you to be the one to share a positive influence of Christian belief. 

Take God’s promises to heart and live them out through your words and actions. Motivate others to focus on what is true from God. His promises will endure forever and His words lead to life everlasting.

Pray

Lord, instill into me the courage and joy that I need today. Out of the abundance that You have given me, I will give to others. Let others see You in me.