Pastor Stephen Dedman

Tag: daily devotional

Jesus Knows

Encouragement

‘But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.” ‘
Luke 5:5

Have you ever failed at something that you were good at? Do you remember that feeling of failure and frustration?

No one knows how to help you in times of discouragement like Jesus does. He will not just encourage you to do better next time, instead, He gives you a recipe for victory.

Peter was cleaning up after an all night fishing failure. It wasn’t like he had just caught a few fish; he had nothing, and he was a profession. There was nothing to show for his effort. He was ready to throw in the towel and give up. Needless to say, what he needed was a victory.

Jesus could have said to Peter, “Don’t worry about it. You’ll be in a different line of work soon.” Instead, Jesus instructed him to launch back out into the deep and let the nets down. That sounds crazy! A carpenter instructing a skilled professional fisherman where and how to catch fish! But even crazier was the fact that they caught so many fish that the nets were breaking and they had to call for help to carry in the weight of so many fish.

This is how Jesus works in our life. He will take us right back to where we were unsuccessful in order to build us back up. The problem may have been that you were relying on your own strength and understanding and He wanted you to rely and trust in Him. We must learn from our faults and failures so that next time we will experience victory in the supernatural, spiritual strength of God.

Pray

Lord, I know that I need Your help and Your strength. Comfort me with Your Holy Spirit and show me what to do next. Your ways and plans are much better than mine and I will follow Your lead.

A Transformed Heart

Encouragement

‘I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. ‘ Ezekiel 36:26

Your attitude towards God comes directly from your heart. At the moment of salvation when the Holy Spirit comes into your life, your heart is permanently transformed. God’s greatest desire is to see that His people love Him with all of their hearts.

Apart from the cleaning work of the Holy Spirit of God, our hearts are deceitful (Jeremiah 17:9). In Psalm 51, David prayed that God would cleanse him and create in him a clean heart (Psalm 51:10). Jesus said we are blessed when our hearts are made pure (Matthew 5:8).

We know that sin hardens our heart the more we sin. The longer we hold on to unconfessed sin the harder our hearts become. Even to the point when people around us can tell a difference in our demeanor.

Sometimes we go through seasons when our hearts grow cold and we become desensitized to the important things of God. Much of the time we have a feeling of despair or “I don’t care”. The good news is that the Holy Spirit can change our hearts and soften our heart of stone.

Make sure to check your heart’s condition today. If your love for God and others is not what it should be then you should ask Him to renew your heart and restore your devotion to Him.

Pray

Lord, there are things that are not right in my heart and I need Your help. Change my heart and help me to love like You love. Set my heart on fire for the things that are important to You.

Does God Hear My Prayers?

Faith, Trust

Listen! The Lord ’s arm is not too weak to save you, nor is his ear too deaf to hear you call. It’s your sins that have cut you off from God. Because of your sins, he has turned away and will not listen anymore.
Isaiah 59:1-2

Do you ever feel that God is not listening to your prayers? You don’t want your prayers to be hindered because when your prayers are hindered, it means you are not connecting with God.

It’s at this point that God seems distant and you don’t sense His presence like you did before. There is nothing more terrifying than for a Christian to feel disconnected from God our Father. 

For an unbeliever this is a way of life. There’s no peace, no grace, no forgiveness and no fellowship with God. They know something is missing but are so spiritually blind they cannot see the Light of Jesus Christ. Hence the reason we as Christians need to fill the gap and be an influence in their life. 

People need to witness the power of our prayers. That is what gets people’s attention most. When we pray and seek God and He answers our prayers, people are amazed. In fact we’re drawn to prayer warriors who seem to have a direct connection with God. We all need to be these types of prayer warriors. Do people see the power of God in your prayers?

There are several things that can hinder our prayers but one of the most obvious reasons is due to our sins. Unconfessed sin can clog our direct line with God. The way we live results in our prayer life. It makes sense that God will not hear from those who cherish sinful behavior. We must have our sins removed so God will answer us. Here are some other reasons why your prayers may be hindered. (10 Ways Prayers are Hindered)

Pray

Lord, please remove any sins that are keeping me from having good fellowship with You. Make me to know my sins and where I have stumbled. Renew me and cleanse me from all unrighteousness.