Pastor Stephen Dedman

Tag: daily devotional

A Forgiving Heart

Faith, Trust

“Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”
‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭4:32‬

Is there someone you are having a difficult time forgiving? We’ve all had people that did something against us to makes us bitter.

Maybe it was a false accusation or someone stole something from you. Maybe it’s your spouse, a family member, a co-worker, an ex-employer, or even yourself. We must come to the point of forgiving that person and that offense.

We should know what the Bible says about forgiveness. But do we do it? The Bible says to forgive others just as Jesus has forgiven you.

How many times have you asked for forgiveness and recommitted the very same sin? Over and over we sin against God but He is gracious to forgive us.

The reason we must forgive others is to show the love of Christ that is living inside our hearts. When we don’t forgive we are storing up bitterness and anger which will eventually pour out like water.

If you don’t forgive that certain person you will eventually become a miserable person. Just save yourself the time and energy and start practicing forgiveness.

Sometimes forgiveness can be a difficult task. There are some very cruel people in our world that do cruel things. But here’s the thing… we cannot let someone else’s action dictate who we are or who we become. We cannot let a bad situation control our lives and make us live in agony.

The power of forgiveness is beautiful. It releases the turmoil that has been living in your soul and gives you freedom to live in peace.

Pray

Lord, help me to understand true forgiveness and mercy. Help me to have a forgiving heart that shows others Your grace. Forgive me of my sins.

What Do You Do When…

Encouragement, Trust

“My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.”
Psalms 121:2

What do you do when you feel helpless? When life seems to spiral out of control, what do you do?

Helplessness can turn to hopelessness if you don’t know where to turn. At some point in time we all need assistance. We all experience situations in life that stretch our abilities and resources to the max. It is at this point when we ask, “Where does my help come from?”

God will allow difficult circumstances in our lives for us to turn to Him for what we need. When we face impossible situations we have a choice to make. We can continue to feel helpless and hopeless or we can turn to God.

We don’t ever need to think that God is not wanting to help us or that we have done something so bad that God won’t come through for us. We all make mistakes and we all need God’s help.

That is what makes God an awesome God. He forgives and He extends grace to those who don’t deserve it.

Obviously the psalmist was facing some very stressful circumstances that required the Lord’s assistance and he knew God was going to do something for him.

Most of the time we ignore the signs of needing God and we try to accomplish difficult tasks in our own strength and wisdom. But wouldn’t you rather have the One who created the heavens and the earth to help you?

God knows what you need and knows how to help you. He is just waiting for you to say, “Help!”

Don’t wait until you have exhausted all of your abilities and resources. Immediately when you realize you need help just ask God. He will be ready to give you comfort and hope.

More than anything we need to know that God cares for us and is desiring to show us how much He loves us. God loves you and will be your help.

Pray

Lord, I need you today. Help me in my time of trouble. You are my rock and my shield. I trust You and know You are doing something about my circumstance right now.

The Lord Is With Me

Encouragement, Trust

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”
Psalms 23:4

When you read the first verse of Psalm 23 you will notice that David is talking about the Lord. He says, “The Lord is my Shepherd… He makes me to lie down… He leads me… He restores my soul.”

Then in verse 4 there is a change. He transitions and begins speaking to the Lord. He says, “You are with me… Your rod and staff comfort me.” David is getting personal with the Lord.

Sometimes it takes valleys of darkness to make us get personal with God. When everything seems to be going great we don’t get very personal with God. But the moment we enter into a dark, lonesome valley, we let the Lord know we mean business.

It’s in those times of being in the valley that we turn to Him for help and comfort. And He is always there for us! God wants to be close and personal to us.

How often do you get personal with God? In other words, when do you turn you situations over to the Lord and trust Him to carry you through? Most of the time it is late in the game when we are down and there is no way out.

Instead, we should be personal with God everyday and with everything. We shouldn’t wait until we are in a deep valley of despair to seek Him. We need to seek Him daily and openly.

We need to understand that God wants to be in every detail of our life. Not just the bad but the good as well. We praise Him when things are good and we praise Him when things are not so good. If we keep a personal walk with the Lord, we will know He is always with us.

Pray

Lord, forgive me of my sins. Bring joy into my heart today. Let me see your glory in every direction I go.