Have Hope: a devotion by Ann Broughton

“Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God” (Psalm 42:11 NIV).

Are you in need of hope? When I was a little girl I use to watch Captain Kangaroo in the mornings before school. One time there was a puppet show and it went along with the song “High Hopes”. I can still see that rubber tree plant going down when the ant pushed it. The whole song was about if you have high hopes you can conquer any problems. It left an impression on me. Then I gave my life to Jesus and realized that there is another hope that is always there for Christians.

Sometimes life can weigh us down with sickness, debts, pain, or betrayal, to name a few, and it is easy to forget that our hope is in the Lord who can fill us with peace and joy even in the toughest moments. This verse should encourage you: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13 NIV).  What wonderful words!!! It is difficult to believe this if you are in the throes of an emotional storm. But trust me, because I have been there before, if you call on His name and pray, He will fill you with His peace and joy. It is such a wonderful feeling. The Holy Spirit is inside of you if you are a Christian and is able to do powerful things if you let it. “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us” (Ephesians 3:20 NIV). You have power inside of you that will help you through any trouble that you can encounter. Trust God and believe that He will help you. After all, we have an even greater hope to come: eternal life. There is nothing that can take that away from you. No matter what, keep believing and your head held high. Your hope is in the Lord who will never fail you and in the end will lead you to his heavenly kingdom. Have hope and believe. Your destiny is glorious.

Dear Lord,

Sometimes in life, things happen that can really weigh us down with despair. Help us always to remember that our hope is in you and that you alone can give us the joy and peace we require in our times of need.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen

Self-Control: a devotion by Ann Broughton

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Galatians 5:22 NIV).

All of these fruits are available to you as a Christian. Do people see them in your life?  I have difficulties with self-control. I recently got a Kindle Fire for my birthday and immediately downloaded many “free” games for it. You might say I have an obsessive personality to a point and found myself playing those games all day at first. It was fun and I found myself wanting to get to a new level. I did refuse to buy virtual things to win, which is a total waste of money. Soon hours went past and there I was still sitting playing the games when my husband came home from work. I knew it was out of control when I had dreamt all night that I had to match three candies (Candy Crush) in order to save someone’s life. Needless to say, I woke up thinking that I had a problem.  Then I heard a testimony on K-Love from a woman with two masters’ degrees and was addicted to Farm-ville, which I hadn’t played yet. She said she got up in the middle of the night to feed virtual animals. ‘Wow’, I thought, ‘That is way over the top’. But then I thought about how much time I was wasting sitting there playing those games and was ashamed. It was a wake-up call for me to stop it. I had let games take over my life and the desire to get to new levels was addictive. Plus, I hadn’t read the Bible or done my Bible study because of this. That is when I repented and decided to limit my game playing.  It is so important not to let your life get caught up in other things so much that you stop serving God and others.

Self-control is a fruit of the spirit, but you must ask God to help you to do it. He alone can give you the strength to stop whatever is addictive in your life. Gaming is minor compared to other things that can be addictive, but anything that becomes more important than God is a sin.

It is serious to not have self-control. Let me share a verse about the last days that Paul wrote, “But mark this; There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure, rather than lovers of God- having a form of godliness but denying its power” (2 Timothy 3:1-5 NIV). Quite a list isn’t it? The last part really hit me, “Having a form of godliness but denying its power”.

Are you doing that?  You have the power within you to have self-control, but you must pray and ask God to help you.

Dear Lord,

Help us to have self-control in our lives so that we can be good witnesses for you. Help us to put you first in every area of our lives.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen

Your Legacy of Faith: a devotion by Ann Broughton

“These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up” (Deuteronomy 6: 6-7 NIV).

Does your family really know how much you love the Lord? Do you speak of your faith with them often? My mother was a great influence on me in regards to having faith in God. She loved Him and I knew it. My mother took me to church every Sunday as a child, and I continued to go as a teenager also. Every day I would see her open up her Bible and read from it. I am privileged today to have that Bible and cherish it. She not only went to church every Sunday, but she showed me what it was like to serve God also. She would take me to visit shut-ins or older folks when I was a small child. She helped people when she could. She took me to prayer service, and I remember as a small girl kneeling with her and praying for those who were sick or in need of help. I knew she prayed for me also. I still remember her kneeling by my bed every night and saying my prayers with me. She volunteered to help in church in many ways. You see her example led me to believe that being a Christian was so much more than just going to church. It meant that you served Him by helping others, reading the Bible every day, and praying earnestly. It is because of her faithfulness to the Lord, that I have the faith I have today.  

Do you speak with your children and grand-children about your faith in God? Do you tell them that you are praying for them?  Do you pray with them? Do they see you reading the Bible every day? Do you have a family devotion time?  Have you talked with them about how God has answered prayers for you?  Do you take them to help others and do you teach them to give to others?  Being a Christian is so much more than just believing in the Lord. It is doing His will every day and showing others around you how important it is to pray, read the Bible, and serve Him in a sacrificial manner.

It is my hope that you will really pray about ways that you can show your family the importance of faith in God in every aspect of your life, and that you reveal to them how important Christ is in your life. It will impact your family in a wonderful way and you will leave a legacy of faith for generations to come.

Dear Lord,

Help me to speak of your love to my family and show them that you are a very important part of my life. Help me to take time to pray with them, read the Bible with them, and show them that it is important to give to others who are in need. I want those I love to serve you and believe that all things are possible through you.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen

God Has A Plan For You: A devotion by Ann Broughton

“Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7 NIV).

 “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10 NIV).

God does not care about your outer appearance. He cares about your heart.  Let me give you an example from the Bible. When David’s brother was considered for king, God rejected him. He wanted someone who trusted in God so He chose a shepherd boy named David. God said about David’s brother, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7 NIV).  So how does your heart measure up? Is it surrendered to the Lord’s will? Are you praying about His plan for your life?

God made each one of us with a special plan and we do not have to be perfect on the outside to do it. “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10 NIV). All of us, men and women, have good works to do for the Lord that He has prepared ahead of time for us. It is up to us to do them.

It does not matter how old we are or how we look, we are to be doing God’s will in our lives. God created us to be the ones to help others who are in great need. Each of you has a specific purpose. If you do not do it, then nobody else will.

It is not enough for us to say. “Why Lord, are you letting all these bad things happen to people?”  We are to be the ones to help them. He created us to do good works such as: give money to those in need, give food to those who are hungry, and encourage those who are lonely, ill, or sad. These are only a few things that we can do for Him. If you pray, God will place on your heart what you can do for Him to help others. Then do it.

This week do what you can for others and do His will. Stop fretting about your appearance. Work on getting your heart aligned to the Lord’s will for your life.

Dear Lord,

We oftentimes get all caught up in our outer appearances, when we need to take a long look at what is in our hearts and if our plans are measuring up to what you would want us to do. Help us to always do your good works that you have prepared in advance for us to do.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen