Christian Devotionals and Scripture Applied to Everyday Life

Knowing where to find answers is a crucial ability. Some may have encyclopedic knowledge, but there is no way one person can recall all information about every topic. However, when that person has the ability to search the appropriate source, they are well on their way to success. A huge part of my job is answering the phone. Throughout the day I answer questions or direct callers to someone who can give them the information they need. Many times I say, “Hold on, while I check on that.” I then make another phone call or search our files for the appropriate response. Hopefully, I can satisfy the customer’s inquiry.

Being young can feel like a detriment. Youths are generally energetic and enthusiastic, but their inexperience often leads to assumptions that they are not as competent as those who are older. This may be true in certain areas, but a young person’s good character will show itself by careful action and attitude. Timothy was a young man who had been given significant responsibility. Paul left him in Ephesus to instruct and lead the church there. Because of his youth some were not giving him the respect he was due, but Paul told Timothy not to worry about this. Instead he encouraged him to prove himself by his actions and his attitude. His speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity would speak louder than words and would give a good example to others, even those older than he. By living this way he would spur others to take inventory of their own lives.

The mindset of our culture and the mindset of God are diametrically opposed. We long for things in this broken world that God wants for us. Freedom, power, and peace are built into our psyches as humans, but our methods of achieving these goals have become skewed from God’s intention and design. Everywhere we go we see the error of our ways reinforcing the world’s lies and brainwashing us all, but especially our youth. The other day Abigail and I were shopping. We had taken a trip to the local mall and were enjoying some time together while searching for some needed clothes. We went in and out of several shops before ending up in the American Eagle Outfitters store. While Abigail perused the jeans section I took a look around the store.

Autumn is my favorite season. I delight in the cooler weather and vibrant foliage. Pumpkins, apples, scarecrows, hay bales, and candy corn – it all gives me a happy feeling. But this time of year also finds me constantly cleaning. The dust from the fields fills the air; leaves scatter daily over the porch; and, of course, there are all the pesky cobwebs. They show up overnight in the craziest of places. Regularly I find myself brushing them away so they won't create a real eyesore. As much as we fight to keep away the unsightly webs of a spider, I wonder how often we seek to clear away the cobwebs from our hearts. Life goes on from day to day, and without taking time to examine ourselves regularly we can fall into thought patterns or actions that are not appropriate for a child of God. Sometimes our sinful tendencies occur without our even realizing it. Jealousy, anger, anxiety, and more can pop up over night and threaten to overtake our well being if we do not regularly brush them away.

We live in a prejudiced world. Though our country has worked hard to eliminate discrimination in its outward manifestations, no one can erase the sinful tendencies of the human heart. Watching our words carefully is not enough. There must be a heart change. God is not a respecter of persons and those who belong to Him should not be either. Working in the auction business I often come across some interesting memorabilia. Monday our team spent the day recording and photographing items for an upcoming online auction. There were numerous old advertising signs. One that intrigued me reminded me of the discrimination that was prominent at one time in our country. The sign read, “Help Wanted – No Irish Need Apply.” That was a shocker for a family with the name of Sheridan. Who would have been so prejudiced to hang a metal sign like that outside their door?

It is easy to feel insignificant in such a huge world. We may have desires to do great things for God, but wonder how we can when we are unknown or seem to possess so little. But God is not looking for many mighty or noble persons. His eyes are searching to and fro throughout the earth for those who possess willing and obedient hearts. He has chosen the foolish things of this world to shame the wise, and, someday when we get to heaven we will find out, as Paul Harvey used to put it, “the rest of the story!” Edward Kimball was no one in particular. He lived in Boston in the mid 1800s and attended the Mount Vernon Congregational Church where he was committed to teaching a Bible class for young men. One particular Sunday an obviously poor and uneducated boy joined the class. This “greenhorn from the country,” as the other teasing students dubbed him, did not know much about the Bible and struggled to find the passages they were studying.