‘Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?’ Job 2:10 NKJV If you could ask God one question and be guaranteed an answer, what would you ask? When Barna Research asked this question in a national survey in the USA, the primary response...
Do Only What God Wants You To Do
‘I have brought You glory on earth by finishing the work You gave Me to do.’ John 17:4 NIV Over half of those who enter the ministry quit within ten years because of stress and discouragement. How can you avoid that? By following Christ’s example. How did Jesus do it?...
‘Yes, But’ People
‘They have an unhealthy interest in controversies.’ 1 Timothy 6:4 NIV Some people miss all the good things in life by focusing only on what’s wrong. They miss the flowers in the garden and point out the weeds. Who are they? They’re the ‘Yes, but’ people. In order to...
Prayers That Don’t Work
‘My prayers returned to me unanswered.’ Psalm 35:13 NIV Misdirected prayers. Some people turn the blessing at mealtime into a public airing of their frustrations. Others bounce their prayers off God, hoping to hit the person across the table—the one they’re trying to...
Forgive Them And Release Yourself
‘When you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them.’ Mark 11:25 NIV When someone hurts us, our natural response is to either hurt them back or hope they will suffer for what they have done to us. Yet as redeemed children of God, we know this is...
Do You Have A Difficult Boss?
‘Serve wholeheartedly.’ Ephesians 6:7 NIV If you think your boss is hard to get along with, imagine working for David’s boss, King Saul. The more David tried to help him, the more Saul tried to kill him. So what did David do? Every time his boss flew into a jealous...
Be Willing To Listen, Consider, And Yield
‘Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honour giving preference to one another.’ Romans 12:10 NKJV In the summer of 1986, two ships collided in the Black Sea off the coast of Russia. Hundreds of passengers died after being hurled into the icy...
Choose Joy
‘Do everything without complaining.’ Philippians 2:14 NLT Chronic complainers are almost impossible to help. You can never satisfy them but they won’t let you stop trying, so you end up feeling trapped. Once you get a reputation as a chronic complainer, people avoid...
People pleasing
‘I’m not trying to win the approval of people.’ Galatians 1:10 NLT People pleasing does two things: (1) It makes you neglect your own needs in order to meet other people’s. (2) It causes you to make decisions based on their approval. Either way, you can end up feeling...
The Most Important Thing
‘There is only one thing worth being concerned about.’ Luke 10:42 NLT Here are two enemies that threaten your spiritual life: (1) Boredom. Missionary and educator Frank Laubach said, ‘If you’re weary of some sleepy form of devotion, probably God is as weary of it as...
Most Recent Devotional Readings
Recovering from burnout
‘Even the youths shall faint and be weary,’ Isaiah 4 0:30 NKJV Dr Richard Swenson says, ‘You can go into the woods, select a 3m sapling [young tree], bend it over, and when you release it, it will return to its normal height. But if you keep bending it further and...
Memulihkan diri dari kelelahan
‘Orang-orang muda menjadi lelah dan lesu dan teruna-teruna jatuh tersandung,’ Yesaya 40:30 Dr Richard Swenson berkata, 'Anda dapat pergi ke hutan, memilih anakan [pohon muda] 3m, membengkokkannya, dan ketika Anda melepaskannya, ia akan kembali ke ketinggian...
Don’t give up on your Saul
‘Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for…Saul, for he is praying.’ Acts 9:11 NIV Has everyone else written off your Saul? ‘He is too far gone.’ ‘He is too hard, too addicted, too old, too cold.’ Joseph believed one day he would be reunited with the...
Jangan menyerah pada Saulus Anda
‘Pergilah ke jalan yang bernama Jalan Lurus, dan carilah di rumah Yudas seorang dari Tarsus yang bernama Saulus. Ia sekarang berdoa.’ Kisah Para Rasul 9:11 Apakah semua orang telah menghapus Saulus Anda? ‘Dia terlalu jauh.’ ‘Dia terlalu keras, terlalu kecanduan,...
You must care for the needy (3)
‘Blessed is he who considers the poor;’ Psalm 4 1:1 NKJV In October 2022, Forbes stated there were 2,668 billionaires in the world. It’s incredible to think that one individual, let alone 2,668 individuals, can be worth billions of dollars, and yet there are billions...
Harus peduli kepada yang membutuhkan (3)
‘Berbahagialah orang yang memperhatikan orang lemah!’ Mazmur 41:2 Pada Oktober 2022, Forbes menyatakan ada 2.668 milliarder di dunia. Sungguh luar biasa untuk berpikir bahwa satu individu, apalagi 2.668 individu, dapat bernilai miliaran dolar, namun ada miliaran...
You must care for the needy (2)
‘He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well.’ Jeremiah 2 2:16 NIV When he was a theology student, Jim Wallis and some of his classmates took scissors to the Bible and cut out every verse about poverty, wealth, justice, or oppression. And would...
Harus peduli kepada yang membutuhkan (2)
‘Serta mengadili perkara orang sengsara dan orang miskin dengan adil. Bukankah itu namanya mengenal Aku? demikianlah firman TUHAN.’ Yeremia 22:16 Ketika menjadi mahasiswa teologi, Jim Wallis dan beberapa teman sekelasnya membawa gunting dan memotong setiap ayat...
You must care for the needy (1)
‘Their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food.’ Acts 6:1 NIV Since the government didn’t care for widows and orphans back in New Testament times, the church took on that responsibility. Unfortunately, bias raised its ugly head, and Jewish...
Harus peduli kepada yang membutuhkan (1)
‘Pembagian kepada janda-janda mereka diabaikan dalam pelayanan sehari-hari.’ Kisah Para Rasul 6:1 Karena pemerintah tidak mempedulikan para janda dan yatim piatu pada zaman Perjanjian Baru, gereja mengambil tanggung jawab itu. Sayangnya, ada diskriminasi, para janda...