30 Day Devotional

Dear Crosspoint Family,

You will find, in this booklet, thirty devotionals centered on Christian transformation. Each is brief and will take a mere

few moments to read. Use them as daily family devotionals – before the evening meal, perhaps, when all in the family are present. Invite a friend over for a meal and read them aloud.

Discuss them over the meal. Ask and answer questions.

Our prayer is that, together, they will help sow the seeds of gratitude in our hearts, for all that we are richly blessed with, and cultivate a yearning to share them where there is need. We

are blessed, that we may in turn bless. God has blessed our church and we look forward to taking the Next Step with you.

Day 1 Where is your Hope?

Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything

for our enjoyment. 1 Timothy 6:17

A sailor who was shipwrecked on a desert island was captured by some of

the natives of that island. They carried him off on their shoulders to their

village, where he was sure he would end up being the main course. But

instead, they put a crown on his head and made him king. He was enjoying

all the attention he was receiving but was growing a little suspicious. He

started making inquiries and discovered that their custom was to crown a

stranger king for a year and at the end of that year the crowned king would

be sent to a deserted island where he would be allowed to starve to death.

Obviously, this did not appeal to the sailor. So he devised a plan. Since he

was the king and the natives obeyed his every command, he ordered them

to ship supplies to the island where he would be sent when the year was

up. He had them clear the land and build him a hut and plant enough

vegetables and fruit for quite an adequate garden. When his year was up

and was banned to the deserted island, he lived in abundance.

How are we using the good gifts God has graciously given us? Wealth and

authority can be a dangerous thing — or they can be a blessing. They can

be used to destroy and tear down, or to store up good things in heaven

with. The choice is ours. Let’s ask the Lord to help us to be wise in our atti-

tude toward our material possessions that we might not end up being rich

in things and poor with God!

Day 2 Reaping a Harvest

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

Galatians 6:9

An old mountaineer and his wife were sitting in front of the fireplace one

evening just whiling away the time. After a long silence, the wife said: ―Jed,

I think it’s raining. Go outside and check, will ya?‖

The old mountaineer continued to gaze into the fire for a second, sighed,

then said, ―Aw Ma, why don’t we just call in the dog and see if he’s wet.‖

We have a tendency to get lazy sometimes, don’t we? John Wesley traveled

250,000 miles on horseback, averaging twenty miles a day for forty years.

He preached 4,000 sermons, produced 400 books, and learned ten lan-

guages. At age eighty-three, he was annoyed that he could not write more

than fifteen hours a day without hurting his eyes. At age eighty-six, he felt

ashamed he could not preach more than twice a day. He complained in his

diary that he felt an increasing tendency to lie in bed until 5:30 in the morn-

ing.

Hmmm. There is much to do for the Kingdom today — none of us should be

bored! Let’s get up and do something for God today! There’s so much work

to be done!!

Day 3 Time to Pray

Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and

prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before. Daniel 6:10

Let’s consider Daniel for a moment. Here is one of the great rulers of the

Persian Empire, in charge of the King’s affairs and of the affairs of the

entire government. Now if anyone were really busy — it was Daniel! But in

spite of all this, he made it a point to set himself apart from the world and

prayed three times a day.

This really got me. I mean, how busy are we — really? And what are we real-

ly doing?

It’s like this. If we are neglecting the important things of God, we’re simply

doing more than God intended! Let’s keep our priorities in order! Let’s be a

people of prayer! There’s so much work to be done!

Day 4

Blessed to be a Blessing I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great,

and you will be a blessing. Genesis 12:2

When we read this passage of Scripture, the first things that probably come

to mind are all the promises that God gave to Abraham and the nation of

Israel. But it occurred to me that there is a bigger lesson that we can learn

here.

We tend to focus on the part of that Scripture where God does the blessing

— but why did He bless Him? The answer lies in the passage! The Lord told

Abraham: ―I will bless you — and you will be a blessing.‖ Abraham was

blessed so that he could be a blessing!

The same is true today. The Lord has done so much for us! He has blessed

us with so many things, the most important of which is His mercy in that He

died for sinners like us. He has bestowed us with so much grace. He has

allowed us to come into His Kingdom and be a part of the great things He’s

doing. What we have received should not just be for our own enjoyment,

but also for the salvation of a dying world around us.

God gives freely to us so that we may give freely to others. Let’s not be

afraid to give out the blessings God has granted us. Share God’s goodness!

To whom much is given, much is required!

Day 5

Willing to do the Little Thing His master replied, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!”

Matthew 25:21

I used to sell newspaper subscriptions door-to-door and deliver flowers for

a living. I also volunteered for years with my church’s inner-city bus minis-

try. My wife waited tables and cleaned houses. She volunteered with a

number of ministries, doing youth work and teaching worship dance among

other things. Never could we imagine that the Lord would take us to Israel

and use us in full time ministry there. Neither of us ever did anything great

by the standards of the world, but we were faithful in some little things and

God found it in His heart to promote us.

D.L. Moody once said, ―A good many are kept out of the service of Christ,

deprived of the luxury of working for God, because they are trying to do

some great thing. Let us be willing to do little things. And let us remember

that nothing is small in which God is the source.‖

The Lord is always looking for opportunities to promote us - to take us to a

higher calling. The problem is that we’re often so busy trying to promote

ourselves that He can’t get a word in edgewise!

Let’s not neglect the little things God has put in our path to do: Help clean

the church once a week, bless that neighbor or family member God has put

on our heart, share the gospel with a coworker. Those little things will even-

tually lead to bigger things — don’t you doubt it! There’s so much work to be

done!

Day 6

Are You Worried? Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough

trouble of its own. Matthew 6:34

When I first gave my life to the Lord, like many of us, I had no idea what I

was getting myself into. If God would have shown me, at that time, all the

things that would have to change about me, I think I would have run for

dear life!

Now, here we are in ministry in Israel, a whirlwind of events going on

around us, a toddler, a baby on the way, a growing ministry, all the trials

you can imagine in relating to a different culture, language, etc. Ha! If you

had shown me this picture back in the days of my rebellion, I think I would

have laughed my head off in disbelief!

But that is the Lord’s way. God is a gentleman. He doesn’t show us more

than He feels we need to know. He knows that we are weak and He’s

merciful enough not to give us more than we can handle. What He desires

for us is to lay our worries upon Him and trust Him for our future.

God has not given us power to overcome all the problems we have yet to

face. He has given us only the power to overcome what faces us today. Just

as the children of Israel could collect only enough manna for one day, the

power God gives us to face our trials — it only comes one day at a time.

God has so many wonderful adventures ahead for us who love Him and are

called according to His purpose — and He will surely give us the strength to

endure the trials we’ll face with each adventure. Let’s trust Him just for

today’s trials — and let Him worry about the rest!

Day 7

Being Trustworthy Well done, my good servant!” his master replied. “Because you have been trustworthy in a very

small matter, take charge of ten cities.” Luke 19:17

A young man once went to the beach. There, he saw miles and miles of

starfish washed up on the sand. ―If these starfish stay out here during the

heat of the day,‖ he thought, ―they’ll die.‖ So he began picking up starfish,

one at a time as he walked, and threw them back into the ocean.

An elderly man also walking along the shore approached him and said, ―Do

you mind if I ask young man, what you are doing?‖ ―I’m throwing these poor

starfish back into the ocean so they don’t die in the hot sun,‖ the youth

replied. ―But what difference can you really make,‖ said the old man, ―Look

at this beach — there are thousands, maybe millions, of starfish here!‖

The young man chuckled as he threw yet another starfish into the sea.

―Well — it made a difference to that one!‖

―Trustworthy in a very small matter,‖ the Word of God says. It is faithfulness

in the little things that the Lord rewards mightily.

The lost of the world are like those millions of starfish dying out in the hot

sun – and we have to reach out to those the Lord has put in our path. If we

all do our share, the job will get accomplished. There’s so much work to be

done!

Day 8

Building on the Rock Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and

beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built

his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.

Matthew 7:24-27

There are two rainy seasons that occur in Israel, ―Yoreh‖ the early rain and

―Malkosh,‖ the latter rain. Right now, we are in the midst of the Malkosh.

In this passage, Jesus is talking to Jews, of course. They were familiar with

the rain and how vigorously it came down these seasons. They knew not to

build their houses on sand — or else they would quickly collapse when the

rains came!

The Lord is warning us about building our houses on weak ground. He

knows that stormy seasons will come and He wants us to be prepared. We

don’t want to be one of the many whose houses will collapse because they

are built on fame, fortune and other transient things of this world. We must

be careful to build our house only upon Him. Even building our houses up-

on seemingly innocent things like family, tradition and good works is dan-

gerous. We want to be of those who’ve established our foundation upon

the ROCK of the truth of His Word and who will be able to weather the com-

ing storms because of it!

Are there storms raging about you today? Let’s hurry and examine whether

our lives are completely built upon the Rock.

Day 9

Are You Content? I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have

learned to be content whatever the circumstances. Philippians 4:11

Charles Swindoll wrote about the men who bring animals from Africa to

American zoos. They say that one of the hardest animals to catch there is

the ring tailed monkey. For the Zulus of that continent, however, it’s simple.

They’ve been catching this agile little animal with ease for years.

The method the Zulus use is based on knowledge of the animal. Their trap

is nothing more than a melon growing on a vine. The seeds of this melon

are a favorite of the monkey. Knowing this, the Zulus simply cut a hole in

the melon, just large enough for the monkey to insert his hand to reach the

seeds inside. The monkey will stick his hand in, grab as many seeds as he

can, then start to withdraw it. This he cannot do. His fist is now larger than

the hole. The monkey will pull and tug, screech and fight the melon for

hours. But he can’t get free of the trap unless he gives up the seeds, which

he refuses to do. Meanwhile, the Zulus sneak up and nab him.

There’s a pretty clear moral to this story, wouldn’t you say? If we really want

to be free, we must let go of the things we love. The more we hold on to our

earthly possessions, the more frustrated we will get and eventually, we will

be entrapped.

Let’s let go of the worldly things we’ve been holding on to. God has much

greater things for us to be doing than sitting here with our fists in a melon!

Day 10 Building for Eternity

By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is build-ing on it. But each one should be careful how he builds.

1 Corinthians 3:10

An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. His contractor was sorry to see

such a good employee go, and asked him if he would build just one last

house as a personal favor. The carpenter agreed but his heart was not in it.

He resorted to bad workmanship and using cheap materials.

When the carpenter finished his work, the contractor came over and hand-

ed the front-door key to the carpenter. ―I appreciate all the hard work

you’ve done for me all these years and I’d like you to have this house as a

token of my gratitude.‖

The carpenter was shocked! If only he had only known he was building his

own house, he would have worked much harder! Now he owned a house

that wasn’t built at all well.

We should think of ourselves as carpenters and our lives here on earth, as

our house. Each day we hammer a nail, place a board, or erect a wall, we

must build with care. It is the only life we will ever build. And what we do

here will count for eternity.

Our lives today are the result of our attitudes and choices in the past. Our

lives tomorrow will be the result of our attitudes and the choices we make

today! Let’s proceed with caution.

Day 11 Being Faithful

His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!

Matthew 25:23

It was a stormy night in Birmingham, England, and Hudson Taylor was to

speak at a meeting at the Severn Street schoolroom. His hostess assured

him that nobody would attend on such a stormy night, but Taylor insisted

on going. ―I must go even if there is no one but the doorkeeper.‖ Less than

a dozen people showed up, but the meeting was marked with unusual spir-

itual power. Half of those present either became missionaries or gave their

children as missionaries; and the rest were faithful supporters of the China

Inland Mission for years to come. Hudson Taylor was going to be faithful to

speak even if it was to only one person. Today, God may be calling you to

speak to that one person.

D.L. Moody once said: ―God has called us to shine, just as much as Daniel

was sent into Babylon to shine. Let no one say that he cannot shine

because he has not so much influence as some others may have. What

God wants you to do is to use the influence you have. Daniel probably did

not have much influence down in Babylon at first, but God soon gave him

more because he was faithful and used what he had.‖

God is looking for those who are willing to be faithful! He wants to use us in

ways we could never or would never have imagined – but in order for that

to transpire we need to be faithful in the little things and we need to be

available when He calls!

Day 12 Be Patient

So is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish

what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

Isaiah 55:11

I’ve never had a green thumb but I recently found out that my name

(George) means ―farmer‖ or ―worker of the earth". So is my word that goes

out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what

I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. I’ve never had a green

thumb but I recently found out that my name (George) means ―farmer‖ or

―worker of the earth‖. What does a farmer do? If he or she is a good

farmer, he works hard at preparing the ground for the sowing of seed. Each

year, he waits in expectation for a harvest. Hopefully he toiled the ground

well and the seed sank deep into the rich soil. Hopefully his watering was

consistent and the seed will grow and bear large delicious fruit. But really,

he can’t know for sure until many months later when it’s time for the har-

vest.

Perhaps you know that one of the trees for which Israel is best known is the

olive tree. It doesn’t take months, it takes YEARS for an olive tree to devel-

op fruit! Hmmm. Who wants to plant a tree that doesn’t bear fruit for many

years? But guess what, once it starts bearing fruit it can keep producing on

it’s own for dozens of years! That was an encouraging word to us personal-

ly.

But we are all called to be farmers — to bring in God’s great harvest! What

we often lack is the patience to wait to see fruit! We want those seeds to

sprout right now and we lose heart when we don’t see instant results.

The Lord promises that His Word will not be sent in vain, but will accom-

plish what He pleases and shall prosper where He sends it! Our job is to be

faithful and patient! Let’s not get discouraged when we don’t see our seed

producing. It will bring forth fruit in His timing! Be patient! Keep planting!

And expect a bountiful harvest!

Day 13 Be Available

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the

Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And

surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age

Matthew 28:19-20

At a time when thousands of people were dying each year of rabies, Louis

Pasteur, pioneer of immunology, was working on a vaccine. Just as he was

about to begin experimenting on himself, a 9-year-old boy, Joseph Meister,

was bitten by a rabid dog. The boy’s mother begged Pasteur to experiment

on her son. Pasteur injected Joseph for ten days– and he lived. Decades

later, of all the things Pasteur could have had etched on his headstone, he

asked for three words: JOSEPH MEISTER LIVED.

We are called to save lives too. Our greatest legacy will be those who live

eternally because of our efforts.

Thousands of people are dying each year, so many who don’t know the love

and truth of their Messiah. Let’s make ourselves available to be used by

the Lord for His Kingdom for Christ’s sake!

Day 14 Being Content

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, be-

cause God has said “Never will I leave your or forsake you.”

Hebrews 13:5

There is an old Persian fable of a hen, a mouse, and a rabbit who lived to-

gether in a little house in the woods. They shared all the work and lived in

harmony. The chicken found the firewood, the mouse brought the water

from a nearby brook, and the rabbit cooked the meals. Each did his work

faithfully and contentedly.

One day, while the hen was out in the forest looking for wood, a nosy crow

approached her and asked what she was doing. When he heard, the crow

began caw, ―That’s not fair! You’re doing the hardest part of the work! That

rabbit and mouse are taking advantage of you!‖

The chicken continued about her work, but try as she would, she could not

stop thinking about what the crow said. These feelings festered and fes-

tered, and by the time she got home, she was so upset that she burst out in

tears, screaming, ―It’s not fair! I do the hardest work of the three of us!

That’s it! I’m not going to gather this heavy firewood anymore!‖

Discontent spreads, as you know, and immediately the rabbit and mouse

also began to argue that they had been doing the hardest work and that

they were not going to do their jobs anymore either. The three argued until

they were tired and finally decided to switch jobs — from now on the rabbit

would gather the firewood, the hen would bring the water and the mouse

would cook.

As the rabbit hopped into the forest for wood, a fox trailed him, caught him,

and ate him. The chicken put the pail into the creek, but the current pulled

the pail down under and the chicken with it. The mouse, while sitting on the

edge of the big pot of soup, lost his balance and fell in.

Discontentment not only destroyed their happiness but their very lives.

We all have a job to do here. No job is greater than the next — no person is

greater than the next, no matter what those crows might tell you. We are all

working for the same King and we can worship Him even while gathering

firewood, if that’s what He’s called us to do!

Day 15 Grow Where You Are Planted

You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they

will reign on the earth.

Revelation 5:10

We came across this interesting story, written by Steve Brown of Key Bis-

cayne Florida.

In the eleventh century, King Henry III of Bavaria grew tired of court life and

the pressures of being a monarch. He made application to Prior Richard at

a local monastery, asking to be accepted as a contemplative and spend the

rest of his life in the monastery. ―Your Majesty,‖ said Prior Richard, ―do you

understand that the pledge here is one of obedience? That will be hard

because you have been a king.‖ ―I understand,‖ said Henry. ―The rest of my

life I will be obedient to you, as Christ leads you.‖ ―Then I will tell you what

to do,‖ said Prior Richard. ―Go back to your throne and serve faithfully in

the place where God has put you.‖ When King Henry died, a statement was

written: ―The King learned to rule by being obedient.‖

We are kings and priests! Furthermore, the Bible says that one day we will

rule with Him! We need to get ourselves ready!

Are you weary of parenting, ministering, praying or whatever other assign-

ments the Lord has given you for this season of your life? Please, be en-

couraged! God expects us to be faithful where he puts us, even in the small

things. Stay strong in the Lord! God is preparing us for great things — and

our efforts for Him will not go unnoticed!

Day 16 Spiritual ATM

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.

The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

James 5:16b

Ever wonder what someone who’s never seen the modern world thinks of

us approaching a wall, pressing a few buttons and out comes lot’s of mon-

ey? Cash machines — they’re everywhere — and if you’ve got cash in your

account, you can just go and make a withdrawal!

Imagine having a cash card that you could use to withdraw as much as your

heart desires anytime you want — with no limit.

We, who believe, have a card like that! We have direct access to the riches

of God’s grace. We have unlimited access to love, mercy, joy and all the

good things of the Lord, and we can access it anytime, anyplace and in any

circumstance. The strange thing is that we don’t use it nearly as much as

we could!

We need to tap into God’s wonderful bank of unlimited riches today! May

the righteous use their spiritual bankcards to withdraw much!

Day 17 Serving the Master

And whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.

Mark 10:44

Some time ago, a friend was helping us do a couple of things around the

house. When I asked him if he would mind doing one additional thing be-

fore he left, he jokingly responded, ―and would you like fries with that‖?

Hmmm. A wise man was once asked, ―How can I know if I have a servant’s

attitude?‖ The wise man responded, ―By how you act when you are treated

like one!‖

The word for servant in the above scripture is ―doulos‖, which literally

means ―bond slave‖ in the Greek. Thankfully, Jesus doesn’t treat us as

such but like it or not, we are the Lord’s bond slaves and we are called to

serve our Master’s every desire and respond immediately to his call at any

given time.

Lord forgive us for the times we fall short of this high calling! We humble

ourselves before you and recommit our mind, body and will, fully to you

once again today. It is a privilege and an honor to serve you. We love you

and bless you and thank you for your infinite mercy. There is none like you.

We pray in Jesus precious Name.

Day 18 My Home is Heaven

But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,

Philippians 3:20

In this verse, the word conversation (‖politeuomai‖ in Greek) means citizen-

ship.

When we think of being a good citizen, we probably think of a law-abiding,

productive contributor to society who takes pride in their country. I’m sure

all of us would like to be thought of as good citizens of the countries in

which we live. My wife has dual citizenship, she’s both Israeli and American

— I guess that means she has to work extra hard at being loyal!

We, as believers in Jesus, have to remember that we have dual citizenship!

We must become great citizens of both heaven and earth! How do we do

this? We love God with all our heart, mind and soul and love our neighbor

as ourselves. We become productive contributors in our local assemblies

and/or in our local ministries. We continually boast of the awesome work

the Lord has done — and all the great things He’s yet to do.

So often we often forget that we are ―strangers and pilgrims on the

earth‖ (Hebrews 11:13), but let’s remember that while we make our pil-

grimage in the flesh here on earth, we are here as ambassadors of the King

of Kings!

Day 19 Beyond Your Understanding

I will make you a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great and

you will be a blessing.

Genesis 12:2

When we read this passage of Scripture, the first thing that probably comes

to mind are all the promises that God gave to Abraham and the nation of

Israel. But it occurred to me that there is a bigger lesson that we can learn

here.

We tend to focus on the part of that scripture where God does the blessing

— but why did He bless Him? The answer lies in the passage! The Lord told

Abraham: ―I will bless you — and you shall be a blessing.‖ Abraham was

blessed so that he could be a blessing!

The same is true today. The Lord has done so much for us! He has blessed

us with so many things, the most important of which is His mercy in that He

died for sinners like us! He has bestowed us with so much grace! He has

allowed us to come into His Kingdom and be a part of the great things He’s

doing! What we have received should not only be for our own enjoyment

but for the salvation of a dying world around us!

God gives freely to us so that we may give freely to others! Let’s not be

afraid to give out the blessings God has granted us! Share God’s goodness!

To whom much is given, much is required!

Day 20 Be Ready!

At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones took their

lamps but did not take any oil with them. The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. Matthew 25:1-4

Notice that though all of the virgins here were expecting the bridegroom’s

return, only five were prepared. This parable was written about those of us

that have knowledge of Jesus and His return, but have not made ourselves

ready. The foolish virgins had not stored any oil for His return. Interestingly,

oil is symbolic of the Spirit of God.

This parable teaches us the importance of spiritual preparation. There is

really no substitute for it. When we prepare spiritually, by daily reading the

Word and practicing worship and prayer, we will become equipped with the

oil of His Spirit. Not only will we be preparing for His return but as an extra

added bonus, it will empower us to face today’s trials. And when those un-

expected challenges come, we’ll have the power of the Spirit already work-

ing within us, helping us through! What a great deal!

Let’s get ourselves ready so that we can help others get ready. He’s coming

and there’s so much work to be done!

here as ambassadors of the King of Kings!

Day 21 Being a Humble Servant

The greatest among you will be your servant. Matthew 23:11

If you were to visit Paris, you could see the statues of two men, both named

Louis. The first is of Louis XIV, France’s absolute monarch. He represents

one of the supreme achievements of greatness through power. His philoso-

phy of life was that the whole nation and the world, should serve him.

A few blocks away is another statue. There is no uniform on this figure

carved in stone, no badge of office, no sword, no crown. It is a memorial to

Louis Pasteur, a man whose life was unselfishly devoted to the research of

immunization and disease prevention.

The statue of the monarch, Louis XIV, is nothing more than a piece of sculp-

ture–who even remembers what he did? But the statue of Louis Pasteur

has become a place where pilgrims throughout all the world pay grateful

homage for his great work; and every time we drink a glass of milk, we re-

member his name. That milk we’re drinking has more than likely gone

through a process called pasteurization, named after Pasteur’s research.

It is the uncrowned servant of mankind who wears the real crown of men’s

love and honor. Let’s ask the Lord to help us become more humble and

available to serve to both Him and others. It is then that we will wear the

true crown of glory!

Day 22 What are You Seeking?

Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the LORD, and he

will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon.

Isaiah 55:6-7

The following is not a true story but it’s worthwhile and too good not to

share.

There once was a wealthy man from upstate New York. Among other things,

he owned much land, property and cattle. His beautiful estate was worth

many millions. Even with all his wealth, however, he was very unhappy. His

wife was growing old and the couple was childless. He had always wanted a

son to carry on the family legacy.

Years later, his wife miraculously became pregnant and gave birth to a little

boy. The boy was severely handicapped but the man loved him with his

whole heart. When the little one was five, his mother died of cancer.

Through this difficult time, his father drew closer to his special son. At thir-

teen, the boy’s birth defects cost him his life and sadly his father, too, died

shortly after, from a broken heart.

When the estate was auctioned, hundreds of bidders came from all over,

as there were many beautiful antiques and such to be auctioned. Everyone

sat and waited with expectancy. However, the first item offered was only a

simple painting of the boy. No one was interested. They waited like vultures

for the riches.

Finally, one of the housemaids, a sweet woman who helped raise the boy,

offered the little she had for the picture and easily took the bid. ―Wait a

moment, — there’s something here.‖ he said. Everyone watched as the auc-

tioneer ripped off an envelope taped to the back of the picture. In it was a

hand written will which said: ―To the person who thinks enough of my son

to buy this painting, to this person I give my entire estate.‖

All of us are guilty of seeking out things other than Jesus alone. May God

forgive us! And may we choose today, to let go of our own desires and cling

to His. God has such amazing things prepared for those who do.

The auction was over and the greedy crowd left in an uproar.

How many of us have sought after what we thought were true riches only to

find out later that our Father was prepared to give us His entire estate if we

had only sought after His Son alone?

All of us are guilty of seeking out things other than Jesus alone. May God

forgive us! And may we choose today, to let go of our own desires and cling

to His. God has such amazing things prepared for those who do.

Day 23 The Treasures of Your Heart

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not

destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Matthew 6:19-21

My wife has had an interesting life. Here, she shares a small portion of her

past:

I was born in Israel. My parents divorced when I was a toddler and my

mother met and married a hippie American tourist who was searching his

roots in Israel at the time. Later, we went back to the States with him. Little

did we realize that he was heavily addicted to drugs and this among other

things made for a very unhappy family and little on which to live.

Every once in a while my father in Israel would send money for my mother

to buy an airline ticket for me to visit him and the rest of my family. One

particular year when I about eleven or twelve, he gave me a nice chunk of

spending money for the duration of my trip, the equivalence of two hundred

and fifty dollars or so.

When my time in Israel that summer was coming to an end and I realized I

had hardly touched that money, I decided keep it and not tell him or any-

one else. I mean, my dad had assumed I’d spent it, right? No one would

have to know, ―I reasoned.‖ I’d take it back with me and have lots of money

to spend when I returned to Israel the next time.

When I got back to America, I put that stash away in a little jewelry box on

my dresser. No matter how poor we were, I always secretly felt rich knowing

that stash was there. The next summer, my father sent for me again. Be-

fore I left, I was sure not to forget to put my saved shekels deep in my pock-

et, as not to lose them. I was the richest girl in the world!

But when I reached Israel this time, my father gave me money unlike the

kind I had in my pocket. It looked funny — not at all like my long-awaited

spending stash. It was different in color and had a different design. ―That’s

strange,‖ I thought, ―How could this be?‖

To my great dismay, the currency had changed to the New Israeli Shekel

while I was away. The money I had was absolutely worthless now. I was sick

to my stomach.

What a waste! And worse, I couldn’t even tell my dad.

A wise man once said, ―Greed is the logical result of the belief that there is

no life after death. We grab what we can while we can however we can and

then hold on to it hard.‖

Our Father has given us some spending money, hasn’t He? And sadly, it is

our tendency as human beings to want to keep it to ourselves. Let’s not

hoard what He has freely given us. Let’s freely bless people around us in

need, whether it is with our finances, our possessions, our time and energy

or comfort. There is a lot more where those came from. And we can’t take it

with us anyway – the currency is different in heaven!

Day 24 The Pursuit of…

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. But you, man of God, flee from all this,

and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. 1 Timothy 6:10-11

Most westerners don’t like to talk about their finances but it never ceases

to amaze me how open Israelis are about them. It’s commonplace to ask

someone how much they make or how much they paid for their house or

car. People do it all the time, even total strangers! So I’m going to jump on

the band wagon and be bold because the subject has been on my heart

lately.

New York City’s Mayor David N. Dinkins, when urged by Manhattan officials

to buy some property thought to be an ―extraordinary opportunity for the

city,‖ said: ―If they’re selling elephants two for a quarter, that’s a great bar-

gain. But only if you have a quarter–and only if you need elephants.‖

How many of us are guilty of spending unwisely - and not allowing the Lord

to reign over our spending habits? While God doesn’t condemn the

possession of goods and money, He does speak against hoarding, covet-

ing, selfishness, stealing, dishonesty, and even mismanagement of

finances.

I believe the Lord wants to pour out a financial blessing upon us today. But

have we shown Him that we are trustworthy to use it in a manner pleasing

to Him?

Let’s put our finances and spending before the Lord today and ask Him to

be Lord over them all. God has great plans for us ahead if we will only lay

ourselves down!

Day 25 Wise Investing!

For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.

1 Timothy 6:7

The great pyramids of Egypt have become objects of fascination for many

involved in the New Age teaching. Some think they were built by aliens from

outer space. Others say they are containers of cosmic power. All of them

are trying to find the great ―secret‖ of the pyramids. What they are, really,

are structures of death, exaggerated tombstones, coffins. The pyramids

were made for death. They were built to house a dead body, along with the

useless riches of it’s rotting corpse.

The pyramid holds an important lesson for our lives, however. All the works

of our flesh and self-glorification end in waste, destruction, futility and

death. Our accomplishments in the flesh might be grand, exalted, and elab-

orate — but they’re really just a monument to ourselves that have no life

within them. If we want death, let’s look to the flesh and all the glories of

man — look to the pyramids. But if we want life, we’ll only find it by

abandoning the flesh, walking in purity and putting our faith in Jesus, the

one who gives us abundant life!

Investments in eternity neither rust nor rot, so let’s become wise investors

— investing in the Kingdom! There’s so much work to be done.

Day 26 Let Him Renew You Today

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being

renewed day by day. 2 Corinthians 4:16

Some of the wealthiest individuals in the United States are real estate de-

velopers. They make their money by buying a piece of property that is terri-

bly run down, seemingly useless, without any value to the naked eye and

reforming it completely, making it look brand new! These businessmen are

not as much interested in what is on the property as they are interested in

the land it’s on.

So it is with God and us. He’s not at all interested in what we’ve built with

our lives — he’s not interested in our wealth or the diplomas we’ve acquired

or the name we’ve made for ourselves. He wants to completely renovate

us! He has a vision for our lives much greater than we can imagine. All He

needs is for us to give up our land so that He can go to work and start re-

building.

We’re an old warehouse, slated for the wrecking ball! And we have the op-

portunity to be renewed today. Let’s give Him our lives yet again.

Day 27 Attitude Check

He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

2 Corinthians 3:6

The noted English architect Sir Christopher Wren was supervising the

construction of a magnificent cathedral in London. A journalist thought it

would be interesting to interview some of the workers, so he chose three

and asked them this question, ―What are you doing?‖ The first replied, ―I’m

cutting stone for a shabby 10 shillings a day.‖ The next answered, ―I’m

putting in 13 hard hours a day on this job.‖ But the last said, ―I’m helping

Sir Christopher Wren construct one of London’s greatest cathedrals.‖

Whether you realize it or not, we too are building something. We who be-

lieve are building up God’s Kingdom, the richest and greatest Kingdom this

world will ever see.

In light of this New Year, 2008, let’s examine ourselves and see if we need

to make some changes in our perspective. We have the privilege of

partaking in something amazing — and better yet, doing it for the King of

Kings!

Let’s give our will and our life back to the Lord today and focus on doing

great things for the Kingdom this year.

Day 28 Who do You Work for?

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will

receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. Colossians 3:23-24

Rivka, my sweet wife and wonderful mother to our two year old, once said

to me that she feels that she’s not doing enough for the Lord. It made me

think of a story I once heard.

A woman came in to see her Pastor with the very same concern. She said,

―Pastor, I just don’t feel like I have done much for the Lord with my life….

and now I’m old and tired and probably don’t have much time left, or ener-

gy for that matter, to do anything great for Him.‖

This particular woman had raised four boys in the nurture and admonition

of the Lord, three of which were doing full time missionary work in different

countries and one in Bible college aspiring to the same. ―Sister,‖ he said,

―I’ll be lucky to get a small mansion next to your palace in Paradise.‖

We may not be pastors or world traveling missionaries but one thing is for

sure. We each have been given gifts and abilities by the Lord for use in His

Kingdom. Right now, Rivka is called to be a full-time wife and mother and

do those things whole-heartedly unto the Lord. And you, perhaps, are called

to minister to the Lord by being a light to your co-workers at your secular

job, being available for a family member or friend in trouble, financially sup-

porting missions around the world, or even cleaning the toilets after

services at your local church.

Whatever the case, rejoice in the Lord and do what it is you’re doing unto

Him!

Day 29 A Thankful Heart

But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!"

Numbers 11:6

My wife and I are both big Keith Green fans. He sang a great song about

the children of Israel in the wilderness complaining to Moses that they

―Wanna go back to Egypt‖.

In the passage above, God had been sending manna from heaven to feed

them. You would think that the Israelites would remain in awe of how God

kept raining down this special heavenly delicacy that was able to feed

millions and millions of people. But after a while it just became

commonplace, even boring. Every morning they would witness God’s

miraculous provision right before their very eyes, yet they wanted

something else, something better!

But aren’t we to blame as well? We haven’t had a car in over two years

here in the Land. We were crying out to the Lord for a miracle and low and

behold, a few weeks ago the Lord provided. He enabled us to buy an oldie

that needs some fixing up, but nevertheless, a goodie, that will probably

last us a nice long time. But not a week later… we were discussing how

nice it would be to have something better!

We get accustomed to our blessings so quickly, don’t we? We’re always

looking at what others have and wanting more! Emerson said that if the

stars came out only once a year, everybody would stay up all night to be-

hold them. But we have seen the stars so often that we don’t even bother

to look anymore. We have grown accustomed to our blessings and that’s a

thing that we, as Christians, must strive to change.

Let’s examine our hearts today, and purpose to appreciate the goodness of

God’s provision upon our lives. Truly, we are blessed and we thank you Lord

for your goodness!

Day 30 Why do You Ask?

When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

James 4:3

Do you ever wonder why it is that sometimes we don’t get the things we

pray for? James hits it on the nail when he says that we ask amiss, that we

may consume it upon our lusts.

Think about this. You work for a large company such as, let’s say, IBM.

You’ve been with them for quite some time and been faithful and diligent to

do what’s been required of you. You’ve gained some trust and seniority.

One day, the boss decides to give you access to the company card, should

you ever need it, trusting that if you’ll use it, you’ll be using it to purchase

something for the good of the company.

We who know Jesus are in God’s company — and we have been entrusted

with the company card! When we swipe that card and ask for that thing in

the name of Jesus, we will get it — as long as it will benefit the company!

Is that thing for which you’ve been praying going to benefit the Kingdom? If

so, then pray in faith! God will do it! If not, let’s ask God to help us know

how to pray today!

May you be challenged and blessed to see the riches God has in store for you and your

church family.