Devotionals

“Then Peter began to speak: ‘I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right’” (Acts 10:34-35). Read Acts 10:1-48. In the days of the early church, Jews did not associate with non-Jews. In fact, they had nothing to do with them. Peter, though he was an apostle of Jesus Christ, was a good, rule-keeping Jew. It wouldn’t have even crossed his mind to associate with a Roman centurion, nor would he have ever considered sharing the Gospel with such a man. But God chose Peter for this very assignment. The Lord was gracious to prepare Peter’s heart for such a task. God granted him a vision of unclean animals coming down from heaven on a sheet. These were the sorts of creatures that Peter never would have eaten; they were forbidden by the kosher food laws in the Old Testament. And […]

“Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on” (Mark 2:4). Read Mark 2:1-12. In this passage, we see an example of four faith-filled friends who did something quite uncomfortable in order to bring their disabled companion to Christ. They arrived at a house in Capernaum where Jesus was teaching, and they could not navigate their way through the crowds—not with the stretcher they were carrying. No one was willing to move because no one wanted to miss a thing Jesus was saying. But these four friends made the decision to move out in faith. They were going to move out of their comfort zone in order to bring their friend to the feet of Jesus, and nothing was going to stop them. They could have easily said to one another, “Well, we gave […]

“Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me” (John 15:4). When we are sealed by the Holy Spirit and experience the moment-by-moment filling of the Spirit, we begin to bear the fruit of the Spirit. We begin to manifest the outworking, or the results, of the Holy Spirit’s presence. His work is manifested in our thoughts and emotions and in our behavior toward others. If you have ever watched the harvesting of grapes, you know that two people usually work together. One person holds an open basket while the other cuts the grapes and lays clusters in the open container. In a similar way, as long as a person is walking closely connected to the Lord and is keeping his life open to receive the daily filling of the Holy Spirit, he will see his life […]

Michael Youssef, Ph.D. “When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. . . . Jesus wept” (John 11:33, 35). Because we do not see God in the way we see other people—in a physical, tangible way—we often shy away from asking Him for help. Sometimes it can take us a long period of time to bend our knees and to ask God to intervene on our behalf. Deep down, we may even wonder if He even knows how difficult we have it on earth. Jesus, God’s only Son, walked on the same earth we do, and He had many of the same experiences we face each day. Even though we may read the Bible daily, we can quickly forget that Jesus experienced life in a similar fashion to us. When we hear about the ordeals that others are enduring—ordeals we have experienced in the […]

Michael Youssef, Ph.D. “So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16). As we examine the power of God’s grace, we must be careful how we handle it. God’s grace is not a free pass to sin, acting in whatever ways we please because we know God will forgive us later. Rather, God’s grace gives us the incredible freedom to passionately pursue God without fear of condemnation. Each day, we are faced with numerous decisions—many of which are opportunities to honor God. If we choose wisely, then we experience the blessings of God. If we choose unwisely, then we will deal with sin’s consequences. However, if we do make the wrong choice, God’s love for us does not waver. He doesn’t cast us aside nor break ties with us. This is when God’s grace and mercy shine. In the same way a coach gives a player a vote of confidence […]

Michael Youssef, Ph.D. “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10). Have you ever had a confidant—someone you knew you could count on when life turned dark and stormy? Have you ever played sports and had one teammate who you knew could win the game for you, no matter how far behind you were? Have you ever experienced someone meeting your biggest need when you least expected it? Just when we think we are finished, God begins a new work in our lives. Just when we think we have made a mess not even God can clean up, He redeems our messes. God’s grace gives us confidence because He does things in our lives we could never do. He transforms and changes us into new people. He takes the messes we make and converts them into works of art. Suddenly, we are not helpless […]

Michael Youssef, Ph.D. “In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity” (2 Corinthians 8:2). In 2 Corinthians 8-9, Paul deals extensively with what it means to practice grace giving. In fact, in these two chapters alone, the word “grace” is mentioned six times. We learn from these chapters that grace giving is God-honoring. When everything is going well in your life and you give God the crumbs, you are not honoring God. But when everything is blowing up in your face and you give to God sacrificially, you honor God—something He will never forget. Problems are a part of living, but don’t use problems as an excuse not to practice generosity. It is because of the grace that we have freely received that we can be sympathetic with other people’s trials. Our trials give us the ability to minister to others with compassion. That is the difference the […]

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power” (Ephesians 6:10). Read Ephesians 6:10-13. Satan and his minions are always looking for opportunities to pull us away from the path of Truth. However, there is good news. God has not left us on our own. He has not left us without the help we need to live a victorious Christian life. Ephesians 6:10 tells us, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.” Notice Paul does not say to find strength within. He doesn’t tell us to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps. He says to be strong in the Lord. Our strength comes from God and God alone. You may be asking, “Well, how do I tap into that strength?” The Word of God tells us: “Put on the full armor of God” (Ephesians 6:11). God intends for His people to put this spiritual armor on and keep it on. The armor of God […]

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you” (Isaiah 41:10). Scientists and psychologists alike have researched different ways to overcome fear. Some believe they can develop drugs to combat phobias, while others believe we should just fake it until we make it. But there is a secret to courage that God reveals over and over again in Scripture. It is the same thing He told Moses after asking him to lead the Israelites out of slavery, and it is the same thing Jesus told us after giving the disciples the Great Commission (see Exodus 3:12; Matthew 28:19-20). In Haggai 1:13, God reveals the secret to courage once again. Once the Israelites recommitted themselves to the Lord, He responded, “I am with you.” The Lord knew they would need courage to continue His work and rebuild their faith. He knew they would need His […]