FRUSTRATED?

 

Thursday, August 20, 2026

 

FRUSTRATED?

 

Ezra 4:4-5

4 Then the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Judah, and troubled them in building,

5 And hired counsellors against them, to frustrate their purpose, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia.

 

Total span from Cyrus’s accession to Darius’s reign:

From 559 BC to 522 BC = 37 years.

 

Gal 2:21

21 I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.

 

          Only twice in our Authorized Version do we find the word “frustrate”. Once in the Old Testament and once again in the new. Let’s take a look.

 

          Ezra was trying to rebuild a damaged Temple and was frustrated by the people of the surrounding lands. Here the word is the Hebrew parar and it means “to break up or to violate.” The idea is to slow the progress of the Temple or to cause the work to cease. That’s what happens when we are frustrated. Our purposes are being hindered. Things aren’t going our way, or the progress is painfully slow.

 

          Paul, in Galatians, uses the Greek word atheteo which means “to set aside, to disesteem, or to neutralize.” He explains that he does not want to frustrate God by trying to purchase a salvation by his own works that has already been paid for on Calvary’s cross! I imagine the frustration of a teacher trying to get through to a “slow” student who persists in doing things the wrong way.

 

          If you feel frustrated today, then pay attention to the “IT” in our closing verse. Actually, the it is in italics indicating that it was included to make it more understandable in English. The phrase is “He shall bring to pass.”

 

Ps 37:5

5 Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.

 

Lord, it is frustrating to keep trying to do what You do not want done, but I am self-willed and obstinate. Lord, I do not know Your purpose, but please bring IT to pass. AMEN

 

THEY SHALL LAUGH!

 

Tuesday, August 18, 2026

 

THEY SHALL LAUGH!

 

Luke 6:21

21 Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh.

 

          The word “smile” appears nowhere in our English Bible. However, the word “laugh” appears 18 times in 17 verses. Did the characters in Bible times never smile? I think they did.

 

          A smile is much more subtle than a laugh. A smile can indicate a variety of things including deceit. Some smiles include a contraction of the muscles at the corner of the eyes, an action known as a "Duchenne smile". Smiles performed without the eye contraction may be perceived as insincere. Among humans, smiling is an expression denoting pleasure, sociability, happiness, joy or amusement.

 

          This old world is not a happy place. Jesus addressed those that wept and told them that their weeping could be turned into full blown laughter! The ultimate destination for believers is laughter and joy – uncontained and overflowing joy!

 

Ps 30:4-5

4 Sing unto the Lord, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness. 5 For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.

 

Dear Lord, thank you for turning mourning into rejoicing. AMEN

 

THAT YE MIGHT HAVE LIFE!

 

Monday, August 17, 2026

 

THAT YE MIGHT HAVE LIFE!

 

The phrase “that ye might have life” was spoken three times in the King James Version of the Bible; all three times it was used by John! It was John’s mission statement and life purpose that others might have life through Jesus the Messiah. However, each of the three times, John also speaks to a different powerful force.

 

1. THE POWER OF MAN’S WILLFUL REFUSAL!

 

John 5:40

40 And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.

 

There is a mighty power in man’s ability to freely choose. In John’s fifth chapter Jesus spends considerable time defending himself against unbelieving Jews who “sought the more to kill him because He had once again relieved human suffering on the Sabbath and because He had made himself equal with God.”

 

Those who were thoroughly unconvinced mingled with those who were nearly convinced but the decisive result was that they refused to come to Jesus that they might have life. To put it another way, a horrible way, they did not have and would not have life. It was a momentary decision with eternal results.

 

Throughout our lifetime this awe-inspiring gift of choice remains ours. In a thousand opportunities we must choose wisely.

 

2. THE POWER OF SATAN’S SINISTER SCHEME!

 

John 10:9-10

9 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.

10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

 

The scriptures say of Jesus that “in him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5) and John might here say of Satan “in him is no light whatsoever.” Satan’s total focus is to steal – to kill—and to destroy. The opposite is true of the Savior. He has come to give – to give life in abundance – and to repair and restore.

 

3. THE POWER OF THE WRITTEN WORD!

 

John 20:30-31

30 And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book:

31 But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.

 

Why would a rugged fisherman, a “son of thunder,” chronicle the life of a carpenter and itinerant preacher named Jesus? He answers for himself when he says that he wrote so that his readers might be convinced that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God and that in that believing they might have life, eternal life, through his name.

 

Our own powerful gift of free and willful choice will either doom or deliver us! Satan will influence and manipulate that choice if he can, to accomplish his purpose of stealing, killing and destroying but God has given us a living Word that we should read and heed…that ye might have life.

 

Dear Lord, may your Holy Spirit guide me and protect me today as I make life altering choices. AMEN

 

THE SHIPWRECK OF FAITHLESSNESS!

 

Sunday, August 16, 2026

 

THE SHIPWRECK OF FAITHLESSNESS!

 

1 Tim 1:18-19

18 This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare;

19 Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck:

 

          In Paul’s day travel by ship was the most common mode of transportation over large distances and could be considered luxurious by their standards. But travel by ship was subject to the dangers of weather and poor navigation and Paul chose the word “shipwreck” in verse 19 because the wreck of a ship at sea was one of the greatest disasters known at that time and perhaps because he had personally fallen victim to it.

 

          The 27^th chapter of Acts is an exciting story of sea danger and, while it is hard to cut a few verses out of such a story, the following will give you a taste of the drama.

 

Acts 27:40-41

40 And when they had taken up the anchors, they committed themselves unto the sea, and loosed the rudder bands, and hoised up the mainsail to the wind, and made toward shore.

41 And falling into a place where two seas met, they ran the ship aground; and the forepart stuck fast, and remained unmoveable, but the hinder part was broken with the violence of the waves.

 

1. HOLD ON TO FAITH!

 

          Faith offers no substance nor evidence, yet Paul says to hold on! The conflict of the present and the confusion of the future whip us as surely as the winds, yet faith provides the sure passage to the far shore. Faith is the persuasion of the mind that a certain thing is true. It is of no practical use without trust. Believing will do no good unless we commit ourselves by trusting to the foam of the sea of trouble. Without trust we stand as observers on the near shore. With a firm reliance on a God we believe is real and trust in His providence we commit ourselves to the sea of circumstance.

 

2. HOLD ON TO A GOOD CONSCIENCE!

 

          Mr. Vine says that “conscience” is “a knowing with.” It is counsel with oneself, and it is the faculty with which we discern the will of God. Conscience produces guilt when we violate a law or decide against reason. This same conscience assures us that a chosen way is right by condemning the bad and commending the good. By developing a sense of the presence of God we gain moral control of our actions. Hold on to a good conscience!

 

Titus 1:15-16

15 Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled.

16 They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.

 

Dear Lord, let me hold steadfastly to my faith and listen carefully to my conscience that I may be safely carried to the far shore. AMEN

 

A HUNGRY HEART FOR GOD!

 

Saturday, August 15, 2026

 

A HUNGRY HEART FOR GOD!

 

The true believer’s heart can’t be satisfied with the hog pen husks of this world’s philosophy. No, the true believer’s heart never rests until it has feasted on the milk and meat of the Word. It longs for manna from heaven. Moses throughout his long life consistently asked God for three things.

 

Ex 33:13-18

13 Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, shew me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people.

14 And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.

15 And he said unto him, If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence.

16 For wherein shall it be known here that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight? is it not in that thou goest with us? so shall we be separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth.

17 And the LORD said unto Moses, I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken: for thou hast found grace in my sight, and I know thee by name.

18 And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory.

 

1. SHOW ME YOUR WAYS! Unlike Moses, our minds are often focused on how we may improve our position, pamper our comfort or preserve our safety. God wants us to understand that His ways are unlike our own.

 

Isa 55:8-9

8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.

9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

 

2. SHARE WITH ME YOUR PRESENCE! If one of the horrible aspects of hell is separation of the soul from God, then it is a little bit of hell to not sense His presence. Moses did not want to lead these people alone. He knew the task at hand was a God sized challenge and, frankly, he wasn’t up to it. Better not to start such a job without the presence of God.

 

Ex 33:14

14 And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.

 

King David prayed…Ps 51:11 Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.

 

 

3. SHOW ME THY GLORY! That God keeps Himself invisible is a benefit to us now. He said, “no man hath seen God” and that no flesh could see Him in all His glory and still live. Yet, it is the great desire of our spirit to behold His glory.

 

Rev 1:13-17

13 And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.

14 His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire;

15 And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.

16 And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.

17 And when I [John] saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:

 

1 John 3:2

2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

 

Oh, yes! We shall see Him, but when we see Him we will be like Him; that is, we shall not be flesh but spirit.

 

“And Lord, haste the day when our faith shall be sight,

The clouds be rolled back as a scroll.

The trump shall resound – and the Lord shall descend,

Even so, it is well with my soul.”

 

Dear Lord, show me your ways – share with me your presence – and give me today a glimpse of your glory! AMEN

 

FACING A FEARFUL FUTURE!

 

Friday, August 14, 2026

 

FACING A FEARFUL FUTURE!

 

Gen 12:1

12 Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee:

 

          This one verse, simply read, does not reveal the extreme challenge to Abraham’s psyche and emotions. A thoughtful study is necessary to feel the impact of Jehovah’s invitation. So, let’s slowly peel away the various layers.

 

          Get thee out! God does not speak this way without cause. Abraham dwelt among a people who worshipped Nannar, the moon god. Whenever God challenges you to move, it is helpful to look around at what you now call your comfort zone. Would it be as attractive if it was the next destination instead of the point of departure? Have you become comfortable in an uncomfortable situation?

 

          The Lord had said! Had said! This indicates more than a single urging. God speaks gently but persistently. He knows our fears. He knows it often requires that He speak to us more than once. Has God been talking to you? Do the same thoughts keep coming uninvited?

 

          Unto a land! The Amplified Bible indicates a deeper meaning when it says: “Go for yourself [for your own advantage] away from your country.” In verses 2 and 3 God made promises of blessing! The fear remained but the incentive hung in the air like perfume. Details were completely missing! This would be an adventure.

 

          A decision was made! Verse 4 says: “So Abram departed, as the Lord had spoken unto him.” And that decision has made all the difference!

 

Dear Lord, help those you are leading to make right choices. AMEN

 

DISCERNING THE TIMES!

 

Thursday, August 13, 2026

 

DISCERNING THE TIMES!

   

Matt 16:1-3

16 The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would shew them a sign from heaven.

2 He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red.

3 And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?

 

          There is an old poem that says: “Red sun at night – sailor’s delight. Red sun at morning – sailors take warning!” It is basically what Jesus said in response to the Jews’ request for a sign from heaven.

 

          Here in North Texas, we are approaching the days of two seasons. Soon ranchers and all but the newcomers to our state will be carrying a jacket in their pickup truck. The jacket is for the cool mornings driving to work or feeding cattle. In the late afternoon the jacket is discarded because summer is clinging to life. It is an unconscious way of life here.

 

          But what are the spiritual signs and seasons that we might observe? Jesus only warned us that the spiritual of the world would be like that of the days just before the flood when Noah and sons were busy building the ark. (Matthew 24:37) People would be busy satisfying themselves. There would be a general disregard for things that are holy or even wholesome. Well, it has gotten much worse than that! It’s morning and the sky is red!

 

 “Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.” Matt 24:42

 

Dear Lord, we can sense that things are winding down here on earth. Help us to be both observant and prepared for your return. AMEN

 

HOW TO HAVE A BRIGHT OUTLOOK!

 

Wednesday, August 12, 2026

Please enjoy this “Classic” devotion

 

HOW TO HAVE A BRIGHT OUTLOOK!

 

Phil 2:13-15

13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

14 Do all things without murmurings and disputings:

15 That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;

 

Positive people produce a positive impact on the world around them. They are pleasant to be around, and others are attracted to them. Today is a fresh page for us and we have a choice. Here are a few suggestions from the Bible on how to have a bright outlook.

 

1. BEGIN WITH FAITH IN GOD!

 

Ps 37:3-5

3 Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.

4 Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

5 Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.

 

People of faith live as if they know a secret. Indeed, they do for they have an unseen helper in every trouble and an unseen guide in every confusing circumstance.

 

2. ADD GENUINE LOVE!

 

Love causes us to desire the very best for others.

 

1 Thess 2:7-8

7 But we were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherisheth her children:

8 So being affectionately desirous of you, we were willing to have imparted unto you, not the gospel of God only, but also our own souls, because ye were dear unto us.

 

3. LOOK FOR GOD IN EVERY CIRCUMSTANCE!

 

Joseph was sold as a slave by his brothers and falsely imprisoned by his master, but he kept looking for God’s purpose in it all.

 

Gen 50:20

20 But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.

 

4. VIEW YOUR WORK AS A GIFT TO GOD!

 

2 Chron 31:21

21 And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart, and prospered.

 

Col 3:23

23 And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;

 

5. LEARN TO FORGIVE!

 

Matt 18:21-22

21 Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?

22 Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.

 

Learning to forgive makes it unnecessary to carry around a heavy load of anger and hate. The mind is free to focus on productive things instead of always thinking of ways to get even.

 

6. CONTROL YOUR THINKING!

 

Phil 4:6-8

6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

 

Dear Lord, by your strength, let me turn my obstacles into steppingstones. Thank you that my future is bright because of your promises! AMEN