Tag: stumbling

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Luke Devotionals

When we fall

Simon, Simon, look out. Satan has asked to sift you like wheat. But I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail.

And you, when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers. (Luke 22:31-32)

Peter ended up failing pretty miserably by the end of this chapter, denying that he knew Jesus right in front of His eyes.

But then again, all of us fall flat on our faces sooner or later. All of us fail Jesus. How do we come back from that?

The best thing we can do is remember Jesus’ words. Remember that he’s praying for you.

He hasn’t given up on you. He’s interceding for you even now. So return to him.

And if you see others who have stumbled along the way, strengthen them. Tell them, “I understand. I’ve failed too. But he’s forgiven me. And he’ll forgive you too. Let’s go back to Jesus together.”

One of Satan’s greatest lies is, “You’re the only one. You’re the only one who has failed like this.”

But the truth is, all of us, even the best of Christians fall.

And the truth is, Jesus hasn’t given up on us. He’s praying for us and he’s just waiting for us to come back.

Let us always remind and strengthen each other with those truths.

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1 John Devotionals

No cause for stumbling

1 John

The one who says he is in the light but hates his brother or sister is in the darkness until now.

The one who loves his brother or sister remains in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him.

But the one who hates his brother or sister is in the darkness, walks in the darkness, and doesn’t know where he’s going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes. (1 John 2:9-11)

Anger.

Hate.

Resentment.

How much stumbling comes into our lives because of these three things?

Just thinking about the people who hurt us is like a knife that cuts afresh into our hearts.

Sometimes because we feel all over again all they did to hurt us.

Sometimes because we know our attitude toward them isn’t right and our conscience slices into us.

Sometimes both.

And so we get angry all over again.

At them.

At ourselves.

The result?

Our anger, hatred, and resentment hang like a millstone around our neck, dragging us down.

How different is the person who has let all that go.

John says that for that person, there is no cause for stumbling in them.

They are free.

They walk with their heads held high.

Their lives are filled with the light of joy.

And of God’s love.

How about you?

How are you walking?

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Hebrews

When we trust God

Hebrews

Have you ever noticed the people that the writer of Hebrews mentions as “paragons” of faith in verse 32? Most of them were hardly paragons.

Samuel, though he was a great judge and prophet, failed greatly when it came to raising his sons.

And while David was the greatest king in Israel’s history, he stumbled badly twice, once in his sin with Bathsheba, and once in counting his fighting men out of his pride.

Yet at least for the most part, these were good and faithful men.

The rest?

Most people when they think about Gideon only think about his triumph over the Midianites. But after that, his actions were hardly stellar.

He took vengeance on two cities that refused to help him in his fight against the Midianites.

Then, although he refused kingship, he nevertheless started to act like one taking multiple wives, and even naming his son Abimelech which means, “My father is king.”

More, he made a golden ephod which was usually a garment that priests used for consulting God. So it almost looks like he was trying to take on that duty as well.

Worse, the people started to worship that ephod and it became a snare to him and his family.

Barak? He refused to go to war against Israel’s oppressors unless Deborah the prophetess went with him.

Samson? Sure he brought a measure of deliverance to the Israelites from the Philistines. But he broke all his Nazirite vows in the process, drinking wine, touching dead carcasses, and allowing his hair to be cut.

More, he was sexually immoral and vindictive. The fact that he delivered the Israelites seemed more incidental than intentional on his part.

Jephthah? By a foolish vow he made, he either unintentionally was forced to put his daughter into the service of the Lord, never to marry or have children, or he actually sacrificed his daughter on an altar, completely contrary to the commands of God.

Why in the world, are these latter 4 mentioned as paragons of faith?

Maybe for the simple reason that they are not paragons.

They were ordinary sinners just like us. They did many awful things. But when they actually did put their trust in God, they did awesome things.

What can we learn from them? God can use you to do great things if you’ll just trust in him day to day.

But when you fail to do so, you are also capable of doing horrific things.

How people will look at you at the end of your life will greatly depend on how you live.

Will you consistently, day in and day out, put your trust in God? Then people will look at you as they do with Daniel and his friends. As men that shut the mouths of lions and quenched the fury of the flames.

But if you are one day trusting him, and one day living for yourself, you’ll find yourself with the legacy of a Samson or Gideon. People who accomplished great things when trusting God but making an utter of mess of things when they didn’t.

Which will you choose?