ABUNDANT FAITH CHRISTIAN...

ABUNDANT FAITH CHRISTIAN CENTER 30 DAY DEVOTIONAL

June 1st- June 30th

“But thanks be to God! He gives us the Victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” 1 Cor. 15:57

Post By: Pastor Rick Warren

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VICTORY “In Life”

1 Corinthians 15:57 “Thanks be to God, he gives us the VICTORY through our lord Jesus Christ.” Dear Family, Our May devotional titled “Victory in God” covered various ways we can choose to walk in and live a Victorious life in God. The daily readings spoke about: Winning the War Inside; Change Requires making Choices; Ask God for a Repeat Performance; God Says You are Capable; Focus Only on Doing God’s Will; Created to Become Like Christ, and the list goes on. This month we will continue the series on Victory by focusing on living victorious in our everyday life’s and having Victory in every aspect of our lives. We all have encountered various times in our lives when we have felt defeated and just wanted to give up and give in. But, just as a reminder Gods words tells us: “Thanks be to God he gives us the VICTORY through our lord Jesus Christ. As you spend time with God in these next 30 days. This devotional time will speak to you through topics such as, God has a Plan for your Life; Jesus Laughed; Don’t understand? Trust God; Ask with the Right Attitude; The Mark of Maturity and How God Builds your Faith. I would like to challenge you to experience “VICTORY” as you devote the next 30 days learning how to have “Victory in Life”. Be blessed, Pastor and Gita

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God Has a Plan for Your Life

Sunday June 1st

“And let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us.” Hebrews 12:1c (NLT)

I’ve said many times that God has a plan for your life. But what I want to emphasize is that his plan, which Paul describes as a race in today’s verse, is custom-designed for you and you alone.

You are supposed to run the race God has set for you. Not the race you set for yourself, not the race other people set for you, and not the race culture sets for you. You only run the race God has set for you. If you try to run any other course, you are going to fail and get discouraged.

The reason why so many people are discouraged today is that they are trying to please other people. Living for the approval of others is a weight that holds you back. You need to stop!

How do you know what is the race God wants you to run? Look at your SHAPE. Your SHAPE is your Spiritual gifts, Heart, Abilities, Personality and Experiences. What are you gifted to do? What do you love? What are your abilities? What is your personality? What are your experiences?

God doesn’t want rabbits to fly and eagles to swim. They are shaped to do what they are supposed to do, and you are shaped to do what God wants you to do. So stop trying to run other people’s races and go run God’s race for you!

Focus on What Matters

Monday June 2nd

“[L]let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily hinders our progress ….”Hebrews 12:1b (NLT)

If you want to finish the race of life, if you want to make it to the finish line, you’re going to have to let go of some things that may be holding you back in the race. Call it de-cluttering; call it simplifying; there are some things that need to be laid aside in order to finish well.

What kind of things am I talking about? The things that cause you to get discouraged. Think of it this way. If you attach one light bulb to a battery, the battery will run for a long time. If you attach 100 light bulbs to a battery, it will go dim and dark really quick!

When you keep adding things to your schedule and your life, you will quickly become discouraged and tired.

In today’s verse from Hebrews 12:1b, I want to focus on two words, “weight” and “sin”, because these are the two things that hold you back in the race of life.

A weight is anything that slows you down. It could be a relationship, a job, an activity, or a sport. It doesn’t have to be a bad thing. A weight can be a good thing, but if you get too many good things in your life, you’re going to collapse because you don’t have time for all of them. You need to learn to say no to grow. God doesn’t expect you to do everything.

A weight can also be an unrealistic expectation that comes from peer pressure or the need to please someone, or it can be a memory. You might be stuck in the past, holding on to a happiness or hurt. The problem is that you can’t live in the past or even in the future; you can only live in the now. Trying to do anything else will weigh you down.

Whatever the weight is, if it isn’t working in your life, if it’s dragging you down, you need to let it go.

Identifying sins are easy, right? Sins are the things that you know to do but you don’t do them. You know the keys to living a healthy lifestyle or keeping your finances in good shape. But do you do them?

James 4:17 says, “Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins” (NIV).

So if you know that you should spend less than you make to stay financially healthy, don’t go on a spending spree that puts you further and further in debt. You don’t need to keep up with the Joneses or the Smiths or whoever you’re comparing yourself to. You don’t need to use the charge card.

Live within your means so you can lay aside the weight of financial debt and run your race well.


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You’re Not Alone

Tuesday June 3rd

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of

witnesses to the life of faith …” Hebrews 12:1 (NLT)

What do you do when you feel like giving up? Everyone has that moment where they’ve been struggling with something – maybe a health issue, a broken relationship, financial problems, or depression – and they start to wonder if they have the strength to keep going because they just can’t see any light at the end of the tunnel.

If you find yourself at that point today, I want to share some encouragement with you from Hebrews 12 and give you a powerful reason to keep on keeping on.

Hebrews 11 is the “faith chapter” that tells us about great people of the faith – Abraham, Moses, David and many others. They’re stories are sources of encouragement in and of themselves. But a phrase that starts off the first verse of the next chapter is what I want to focus on. Hebrews 12:1 says, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith …”

What Paul is saying is that you don’t want to give up because heaven is watching and cheering for you. That’s encouraging news!

You have an audience. Nothing you do is private. Nothing you have ever done has been hidden from heaven. God sees it all. As Job says, “He sees everything I do, and every step I take” (Job 31:4 LB). And Jesus tells us, “Every hair on your head has been counted” (Luke 12:7 GW). God knows every detail of your life. He watches every breath you take; there are no secrets in your life.

And it’s not just God who’s watching. Abraham, Jacob, Moses and all the other saints are there as well.

How is this encouraging? When you start to get discouraged, remember that people who have gone through much worse circumstances than you are watching to see how well you’re enduring.

When you feel like giving up, remember that people are watching you and offering you encouragement through their life stories of faith




God Will Defend You

Wednesday June 4th

Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Proverbs 30:5 (NIV)

Historian Stephen Ambrose says that during World War II, “The Allied bombers bristled with machine guns, in the nose, under the belly, on top, in the rear.” He reports the workhorse of the air war was the B-17 bomber, known as the “Flying Fortress” because it carried thirteen .50 caliber machine guns.

Surprisingly, scientific testing suggested the B-17 would be safer without the guns. Without the weight of the guns and the crew members required to shoot them, the planes could fly faster and higher, increasing the chance of survival during daylight missions.

But the pilots said there was no way they were going on a mission without guns mounted on the plane. They wanted to be able to shoot back.

We make the same choice when it comes to our own battles. God tells us we don’t need the guns; we can soar higher and faster with him. “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does” (2 Corinthians 10:3 NIV).

God says the weapons he will give us “have divine power to demolish strongholds,” and we no longer need to use the “weapons of the world” (2 Corinthians 10:4 NIV).

But we say, “No thanks. We have to shoot back!” and defend ourselves with an arsenal of angry words, demanding attitudes, manipulative maneuvers, excessive excuses, and bombs of blame.

It takes faith to stop using these weapons of the flesh and instead “take up the shield of faith” and arm ourselves with the weapons of God, starting with the bomb of love (Ephesians 6:16 NIV).

It’s the kind of faith David showed when he approached Goliath, saying, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied” (1 Samuel 17:45 NIV).

Could God’s spiritual arsenal defend you as well? “He is a shield to those who take refuge in him” (Proverbs 30:5 NIV).

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Jesus Laughed

Thursday June 5th

I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the

world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. John 17:13-14 (NIV)

Have you ever considered that Jesus laughed? Can you imagine him as a joyful man, full of humor? Perhaps his eyes twinkled with grace and acceptance?

Jesus said he wanted to pass the full measure of his joy to those who believe in him (John 17:13).

If we’re always frowning and glowering, is it any surprise that non-believers have difficulty understanding how Jesus brings us into a joyful, abundant life?

I once interviewed Bruce Marchiano, the actor who played Jesus in The Gospel According to Matthew. He said the greatest surprise he found in playing Jesus was portraying him with joy. Bruce said most portraits of Jesus show him as constantly serious; yet, the Gospels reveal Jesus to be full of joy and compassion.

One scene in The Gospel According to Matthew shows Jesus, portrayed by Bruce, healing a man and they both fall on the ground hugging and laughing. It is a joyous moment for Jesus as he gives the man new health, and it is a joyous moment for the man as he receives this gift from Jesus.

Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ is known for its bloody presentation of Christ’s final hours, but one scene that is often overlooked is Jesus in a playful conversation with his mother, Mary. He smiles and laughs.

Back in the 1960s, Playboy magazine printed a drawing of Jesus—laughing. Although the magazine’s philosophy stood counter to God, their point was that Jesus must have been a joyful man, because who would be attracted to a frowning, judgmental teacher? They were also reacting to a world full of frowning, judgmental Christians.

Jesus came enjoying life and he wants us to enjoy life too (Matthew 11:19). Becoming like Jesus includes learning to laugh and smile with the full measure of his joy.




His Eye is on the Sparrow

Friday June 6th

Eventually that entire generation died and was buried. Then another generation grew up that didn't know anything of GOD or the

work he had done for Israel.Judges 2:10 (MSG) The other night Jennifer Hudson was on a late night talk show. The host asked her how she started singing, and she said it was in the church. Because her voice is so incredible, she said she became the singer of choice whenever there was a funeral. She added that families would always ask her to sing “His Eye is on the Sparrow”.

The young talk show host said he wasn’t familiar with the song, so he asked Jennifer to sing it. She gave a soulful rendition that captivated the audience, but I was still thinking about the talk show host not knowing the song. I just assumed everyone knew it. In fact, if you are of a certain age and were raised in the church, you are most likely familiar with “His Eye is on the Sparrow”.

But the truth is, if you were not raised in the church, then no one should expect you to know the song. For that matter, there are probably plenty of churches that never use the song in their worship services.

None of this is to knock the talk show host, anyone who isn’t familiar with “His Eye is on the Sparrow”, or congregations who worship in different ways than the churches I grew up in (mumble mumble) years ago.

Here are two points for us all to consider:

• First, no matter what generation you are in, eventually everyone in your generation will die and be buried. Then another generation will grow up, and it is up to us to make sure they know about God and the work he has done for us. I’m not talking about teaching them certain songs or hymns; I mean we need to teach them about Jesus and the work he did to connect us to the Father.

• Second, we should never assume what younger generations know. Just because we know the Bible, just because we know Jesus, doesn’t mean the next generation has any idea about the things we’ve learned or experienced. We are responsible for teaching the next generation about God so they will know him “and they in turn will teach their own children. So each generation should set its hope anew on God, not forgetting his glorious miracles and obeying his commands” (Psalms 78:6b-7 NLT).





Don't Understand? Trust God

Saturday June 7th

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make

your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV) You may be facing a dead end right now—financial, emotional, or relational—but if you will trust God and keep on moving in faith, even when you don’t see a way, he will make a way.

It will become more understandable as you head down the path he sets before you, but understanding is not a requirement for you to start down the path. Proverbs 4:18 says, “The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining brighter till the full light of day.” (NIV) One day you will stand in the full light of eternity and view the big picture. You’ll see God’s purpose behind the path he specifically chose for you.

In the meantime, do what Proverbs 3 says: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”

Be patient. God knows what He’s doing. God knows what is best for you. He can see the end result. You can’t. All those problems, heartaches, difficulties and delays—all the things that make you ask “why”—one day will all be clear in the light of God’s love.

But for now, we’re learning to trust God.


Tuning in to God

Sunday June 8th

“God does speak—sometimes one way and sometimes another—even though people may not understand it.” Job 33:14 (NCV)

God designed you to hear his voice. In a sense, there is a “receiver” in you that allows you to get guidance from God.

What channels does God use? The primary way that God speaks is through the Bible. This is why we need to read the Bible every day. God’s will is found in God’s Word.

God also speaks through godly Bible teachers. Have you ever been in church or at a Bible study and you feel like the teacher is speaking directly to you? In that moment, God is speaking directly to you.

God also speaks through other Christians. He even speaks through you. If you’ll stay in tune to him and learn his Word, sometimes God will use you to say things to people that he wants to say to them. It’s not something special reserved only for pastors; God speaks through every believer at different times.

God also speaks through your circumstances and your pain. God is speaking all the time. But we must listen. Tune in to God and he will lead you on the right path.


Ask With the Right Attitude

Monday June 9th

“If you want to know what God really wants you to do, ask him . . . but if you don’t ask in faith, don’t expect the Lord to give you any

solid answer.” James 1:5-6 (LB) God wants to direct you in life, but two things need to line up: You have to ask the right person—God—and you have to ask with the right attitude—in faith—expecting an answer.

Have you ever asked God for something and didn’t expect to get it? That’s why you didn’t get it. God works in our lives according to faith. So many times we say, “God, please guide me!” and walk away not even waiting for guidance. We just immediately start to work. We say, “God, I want you to give me wisdom. Help me make the right decision.” But we don’t really expect Him to do that. We think it all depends on us.

God has promised to give us wisdom, if we will ask. Wisdom is seeing life from God’s point of view. Wisdom is the ability to make decisions the way God makes decisions.

Think about this: God never makes a bad decision. He never makes a mistake. He says if we trust Him and listen to Him, He will guide us. But we must ask in faith.




A Guide to Help You Decide

Tuesday June 10th

“He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his

way.” Psalm 25:9 (NIV)

The Bible says there are several things we need to do to receive guidance from God, but the very first thing is this: I need to admit I need a guide!

Sheep, by nature, tend to wander off the path. The Prophet Isaiah says, “All of us like sheep have strayed away! We have left God’s paths to follow our own.” (Isaiah 53:6 NLT)

Most of the time we don’t want to follow God or anybody else. We want to go our own way. We don’t want to admit we need direction or that we need a guide.

Another thing about sheep is that they have poor vision. They can’t see very far ahead. That’s why they need a shepherd.

God made you so that you would not be able to see into the future no matter how much you try. Why did God do this? He did it so you would depend on Him.

Proverbs 14:12 says, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.” (NIV) We’ve all made decisions that at the time seemed right but later on turned out to be wrong. Some paths lead to dead ends and we end up off track. That’s why we must admit, “God, I need help.”




God’s Antidote to Indecision

Wednesday June 11th

“He guides me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.” Psalm 23:3b (NIV)

Sometimes we’re afraid of making the wrong decision, and that creates stress.

God says there is an antidote to our indecision. Psalm 23:3 tells us, “He guides me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.” We handle the stress of decision-making by letting God guide us.

You may be thinking, ‘But I’ve tried this!’ There were times when you asked God to guide you but then you became more confused. You still couldn’t figure it out, and you kept thinking, ‘Why is knowing God’s will so difficult?’

Is God playing games with us? Of course not! God wants to guide us. He wants us to know His will more than we want to know it. The problem is we often look for the wrong thing when we’re trying to find God’s will.

Some of us look for a feeling to tell us God’s will. Some of us want a formula to tell us God’s will. Some of us look for a fantastic sign that will show us God’s will.

All of these ways lead to frustration and can cause us to miss God’s will.

God does not want you confused or stressed over making any decision. He is always with you and he wants you to look to him for guidance.




Jesus is the Truth of God

Thursday June 12th “[T]he Son of God came so we could recognize and understand the

truth of God—what a gift!—and we are living in the Truth itself, in God’s Son, Jesus Christ. This Jesus is both True God and Real

Life.” 1 John 5:20 (MSG) When we go on mission for God, like Jesus, we “teach the way of God in accordance with the truth” (Luke 20:21 NIV). We report that Truth is a person and that God is love.

We report what we’ve seen and what we’ve heard, what God has done and what he does, what he’ll do in our lives and what he’s done in the lives of others (Matthew 11:4–5).

We tell them of a love so powerful it defeats all fear, all hatred, all injustice, and all sin. We tell them of a love that lasts forever and ever, that is never-ending.

We tell others that Jesus is the Truth and that he is the only way to life with the Father (John 14:6). We tell them “that the Son of God came so we could recognize and understand the truth of God—what a gift!—and we are living in the Truth itself, in God’s Son, Jesus Christ. This Jesus is both True God and Real Life” (1 John 5:20 MSG).




How Do You Spell D.A.D?

Friday June 13th

He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers … Malachi 4:6a (NIV)

Note: For almost 15 years, Erik Rees has been a pastor at Saddleback. In March, doctors discovered an inoperable brain tumor in Erik’s 12-year-old daughter, Jessica. He wrote this powerful reminder that the time we have with our children is a gift from God.

D-Depend on God! Start each day asking God to give you the wisdom and strength to be the best dad you can be. Never ever sacrifice your family on the altar of work. Yes, God is first in your life, but your family is second, and work is third. This also means stop looking at your phone during dinner or emailing while watching TV. My kids know when I'm engaged and when I'm just in the room.

A-Always Love Them! Give your kids a hug and tell them you love them each and every day. No matter what age, hug them and talk to them. Don't replace authentic love with texting and emails. Use your voice and use your arms to convey love. It will reassure them that they are your priority. If you don't know the love languages of your kids, learn them so you can connect with them through the way God wired them.

D-Devote Your Time! Kids spell love T-I-M-E, so make time to be with them. I don't know what this means for you and your kids, but find a way to give your kids the best part of your day (instead of the leftovers). It is too easy to slip into busyness and allow other things to suck your day away. Be deliberate in finding ways to give your kids your time.

I hope these reminders help strengthen your relationship with God and your kids. God gives us the gift of fatherhood, and we need to fight to be the best we can be.




Fathers: Show Your Children the Meaning of Commitment

Saturday June 14th

“For their sake I dedicate Myself to You, in order that they, too, may be truly dedicated to You” (John 17:19 TEV). Jesus taught the disciples about commitment by showing His commitment to them. You will not be able to lead your children any farther spiritually than you are yourself. Jesus said, “For their sake I dedicate Myself to You, in order that they, too, may be truly dedicated to You” (John 17:19 TEV). As a parent, you can say, “For my kids’ sake, I dedicate myself completely to God so that they, too, will be completely dedicated to God.” Here’s a very important question: What do your kids see that you are dedicated to? What do your kids see that you are committed to? What do you want them to see that you’re committed to? I suggest you commit yourself to God’s five purposes for your life so that they will commit to that, too. • Commit yourself to knowing and loving God (worship). • Commit yourself to learning to love other people (fellowship). • Commit yourself to growing in Christ like character (discipleship). • Commit yourself to serving other people unselfishly (ministry). • Commit yourself to sharing the good news (missions). They will become purpose driven children rather than pressure driven, guilt driven, worry driven, resentment driven, crowd driven, or peer driven. Jesus knew He wouldn’t be with the disciples forever. He knew at the Last Supper that He would be hanging on a cross within a few hours. This is what He prayed: “Now I am departing the world; I am leaving them behind and coming to You. Holy Father, keep them and care for them” (John 17:11 NLT). You’re not going to be with your children forever. Parenting is a season. It isn’t going to last forever, but it’s never too late to start leading. You may be a grandparent now, but you can still be a spiritual leader to those around you. You can echo Jesus’ prayer, saying, “Father, before I depart the world, help me to impart godly truths to my children and grandchildren. Before I leave them behind and come to you, guide me to be a good steward of those you put in my care. And then I can give them back to you, knowing you have always and will always care for them.”




Fathers: Pray Fervently for Your Children Sunday June 15th

“I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those You have given Me, for they are Yours” (John 17:9 NIV). Jesus reflected the father heart of God when He prayed for the disciples. As a father, or mother, you can pray that your children will focus on the five purposes of God. God’s five purposes for your children are the same as God’s five purposes for your life, and the same as the five purposes for the church. Jesus prayed for all five purposes in the lives of those He was leading. Jesus said, “I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those You have given me, for they are Yours” (John 17:9 NIV). We can pray that our children will live for Christ joyfully: “I say these things while I’m still in the world so that they will have the same joy that I have” (John 17:13 GWT). We can pray that our children will grow strong spiritually: “I’m not asking You to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one” (John 17:15 NLT). We can pray that our children will serve Christ effectively: “Make them ready for Your service through Your truth; Your teaching is truth” (John 17:17 NCV). We can pray that our children will experience fellowship personally: “My prayer . . . is that they will be of one heart and mind, just as you and I are one, Father . . . and the world will believe You sent me” (John 17:21 LB). We can pray that our children will bring others to Christ regularly: “I pray not only for them, but also for those who will believe in Me because of their message” (John 17:20 TEV). Even if you are not a father, or a mother, you will help others move toward the heart of God by praying for them and the purposes God has planned for their lives.



God Wants You to Be Real

Monday June 16th

“When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites! They love to stand up and pray in the houses of

worship and on the street corners, so that everyone will see them. I assure you, they have already been paid in full” (Matthew 6:5 TEV). We worship God when we’re honest with God. In New Testament times, the Pharisees were pros at pretentious prayers. It became quite a source of pride. They were showing off, trying to impress people with their prayers. The problem is, they weren’t impressing God. God wants us to be honest when we pray. Being genuine when we approach God and talk to God is part of worship. Jesus taught that prayer is not something you do to be seen. Here are two suggestions for helping you to get real with God: Don’t try to impress others with your prayers. Have you ever heard a prayer prayed and when the person finished you wanted to go, “Wow! What a performance!” It sounded so good and you thought that it was great. Or, have you ever been in a prayer group and everybody’s praying around a circle and you’re thinking, “There's only three left until me . . . only two left . . . only one . . . I’m next! What am I going to say that hasn’t already been said? What are they going to think?” When you stop worrying about what other people will think about your prayer life, then you’ll be released to enjoy prayer. God doesn’t care how you say it. Don’t try to impress God with your prayers. Often we do this unconsciously. We pray things that we think God wants us to say, rather than praying what’s really on our hearts. God made you the way you are, so He wants you to be real when you talk to Him. He already knows the real you; He knows all the great things about you and He knows all the bad things you’ve done—and He still loves you!



The Mark of Maturity

Tuesday June 17th

“This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” John 15:7 (NIV)

God has a plan for eternity and you have a role in it. God wants you to grow to spiritual maturity so that you can bear spiritual “fruit”.

Here is the best way I can describe it: How do you know when a tomato plant is mature? It bears tomatoes. How do you know when an apple tree is mature? It produces apples. How do you know when a human being is physically mature? He or she has the ability to reproduce. How do you know when you are spiritually mature? You spiritually reproduce, or as today’s verse says, you “bear much fruit”.

What is fruit? In the Bible, the word “fruit” is used four different ways. It refers to the fruit of repentance, the fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control), the fruit of answered prayer, and the fruit of another Christian – spiritual reproduction.

God wants to you to bear much fruit, to reproduce many Christians. This includes people in your family, in your community, and in the whole world.

Acts 1 teaches, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:7-8 NIV). Jerusalem represents your immediate family and friends, Judea represents your community, Samaria represents your cross-cultural relationships, and the ends of the earth refers to your global calling.

If you want God’s blessing on your life, your family, your finances, your health, and your relationships, then you need to get with God’s agenda! He is building a kingdom, a church, a spiritual family for all of eternity. He wants his lost children found. And that’s where you come in. The more you make God’s agenda your own, the more God is going to bless your life.

Instead of saying, “God bless my plans”, pray, “God, help me to do what you are blessing.” This is the first step in spiritual maturity, and it will lead to fruit in your life.


Common Ground

Wednesday June 18th

On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a

doctor, but the sick …. For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Matthew 9:12–13 (NIV)

Jesus’ actions teach us that our witness to non-believers starts with friendship: We earn the right to share the gospel through relationship, where we show that we care about the person.

The apostle Paul encourages us to find common ground with non-believers. Finding common ground is an act of friendship; it guides us to look for the positive instead of the negative in those outside the faith.

When Jesus met the woman at the well, he pointed to what they had in common rather than the things he could rightfully condemn (John 4). As a result, she not only became friends with God, she brought her friends and family into the presence of Jesus.




It Takes All Kinds of People

Thursday June 19th “From him the whole body … grows and builds itself up in love, as

each part does its work.” Ephesians 4:16 (NIV) A church needs more than just a pastor or a worship leader. Whether it’s a new church or one that’s been around for years, it takes all kinds of people to grow a church.

Are you good at math, organization, or working with children? How about sign painting? All of these abilities are needed. So what can you contribute to your church?

When Kay and I started Saddleback Church, we had one service with 15 people that grew to a core of 60 people by the end of the first year. These people weren’t preachers or teachers; they were just normal people doing different kinds of normal things. Thirty-one years later those people are still at the heart of our church. And if you ask any of them if the time and abilities they have contributed were worth it, they would tell you “yes”.

Serving the church is probably the most important and significant thing you will do in your life, because the church will outlast everything. Your job and hobbies will not go into eternity. Even nations and governments will not go into eternity. The church, the family of God, is the only thing that’s going to last forever.

The Bible says, “When you meet together, one person has a song, and another has a teaching. Another has a new truth from God. Another speaks in a different language …. The purpose of all these things should be to help the church grow ....” (1 Corinthians 14:26, NCV). Everybody should bring what they are good at to the table, because no one person is good at everything.

You have God-given gifts and abilities that the church needs. Whether it’s your home church that you’ve attended for years or a new church plant that’s just getting started, what will your contribution be?




It Takes All Kinds of Churches

Friday June 20th

“There are different kinds of service to God, but it is the same Lord we are serving. There are many ways in which God works in our

lives, but it is the same God who does the work in and through all of us.” 1 Corinthians 12:5-6 (LB)

I’ve learned several things in all my years being a pastor, and one of them is this: it takes all kinds of churches to reach all kinds of people.

God loves variety. He never makes a duplicate of anything. Even identical twins are different. God’s creations are always unique, even with churches.

God wants every church to grow and bear fruit just like plants in a garden. Some churches grow small, some grow medium, and some grow big. As the apostle Paul says, “God gives the plant the form he wants it to have and each kind of seed grows into its own form” (1 Corinthians 15:38 GW).

Why does it take all kinds of churches to reach all kinds of people? Because we like to make choices. Some people want a small church; others prefer a large church; still others like a church that is medium-sized.

I think you can classify churches into one of three categories, each with its own size and strength --

1. The Rabbit Church. A rabbit church is a micro church or house church with a small group of people. For the first 300 years of Christianity, all churches met in homes. There were no church buildings. They followed Jesus’ teaching, “Where two or three come together in my name, I am there with them” (Matthew 18:20 GNT).

The strength of a rabbit church is its simplicity. It doesn’t take a lot of organization to form a rabbit church, just one person who says, “I’m willing to host a small group in my home.”

2. The Tiger Church. A tiger church is a mid-sized church of 100-400 people. Most churches are like this. They have more infrastructure, but also offer more support than a rabbit church.

The strength of a tiger church is fellowship because its size allows you to know everybody in the church.

3. The Elephant Church. An elephant church is a megachurch. The strength of an elephant church is full service. It is able to offer things to the community that a rabbit church cannot offer, such as specialized ministries and outreach opportunities. For example, Saddleback Church operates its own food pantry. We’re able to feed a few thousand families each week in our community. Another example, we have 150 counselors who provide over 50,000 hours of free counseling a year.

No matter which church you choose, God has a place there for you to serve him and fulfill his purpose for your life.




When You Are Applauded, Choose to Hope

Saturday June 21st

“All that’s left now is the shouting – God’s applause!” 2 Timothy 4:8 (MSG)

If you live for applause, then you are living for something that won’t last. The Bible says, “Though a man calls himself happy all through his life – and the world loudly applauds success – yet in the end he dies like everyone else” (Psalm 49:18-19 LB).

Our focus should be on what will last – the hope we have in Christ.

When you are applauded, thank God in your mind. It helps you put the applause in perspective. In the end, all praise will go to God.

Now some people, when they receive applause, will say, “Oh it wasn’t me; it was God.” This actually bugs me for two reasons –

First, what they did to get the applause came from a gift God gave them. If God had done it himself, something miraculous would have occurred because God’s ways are so much bigger than anything we can do.

Second, saying this insults the person who gave the compliment. I know people don’t mean it this way, but they’re basically saying, “Oh, you shouldn’t be giving me a compliment.”

I know some people aren’t very good at receiving a compliment. They think it might make them prideful. But the right thing to do when complimented is to receive the compliment and thank God in your mind.

When you do that, you hope. You look toward eternity, remembering what you’re really working for in life. The Bible says, “All athletes practice strict self-control. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize” (1 Corinthians 9:25, NLT).



When You Are Rejected, Choose to Forgive

Sunday June 22nd

“You must make allowance for each other’s faults and forgive the person who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you

must forgive others.”Colossians 3:13 (NLT) It’s tough being rejected, especially when it is by someone you love. It might be one of your kids, your spouse, or a close friend. But the Bible says you need to forgive that person because God forgave you.

The key to being able to forgive somebody is in today’s verse. It’s the word “remember”. When you remember what Jesus Christ did for you, then you have the power to forgive somebody else.

If you hold on to the hurt, it will only end up hurting you. When you don’t forgive others, it creates bitterness and anger in you. It will eat you up on the inside and drain you of your energy, leaving you tired all the time.

Every time you start to feel bitterness towards someone, remember Jesus on the cross, how he loved you enough to give his life so your sins can be forgiven. He was rejected and insulted as he hung there, but he looked at everyone and prayed, “Father, forgive them. They do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34 NIV).

In complete meekness and humility, Jesus gave his life because he loves you. He wasn’t thinking of himself; he was thinking of you. Peter says, “They called him every name in the book and he said nothing back. He suffered in silence, content to let God set things straight” (1 Peter 2:23 MSG).

The definition of forgiveness is found in two words in that verse: “let God.” You let God set things right. Forgiveness is not about trusting the person again or forgetting everything that happened. It’s about putting the situation in God’s hands instead of seeking revenge or holding a grudge.

As you read this, someone might be coming to mind. Don’t wait. Take a moment right now to pray this prayer: “God, I am giving you this hurt right now. I am letting it go to you. You’re in charge. Enable me to forgive the person who hurt me.”

This probably won’t be the last time you pray that prayer. If it’s a deep hurt, you might have to pray that 70 times a day as you struggle with it. But keep doing it, and then maybe next week you’ll only have to pray that prayer 30 times a day, and maybe only 10 times the week after that. And eventually, there will come a time when you realize that you haven’t thought about the hurt for several months.

That’s how you let go and let God.



Stretching Your Mind

Monday June 23rd

In the book Putting the One Minute Manager to Work, one of the key concepts is this: Don’t Just Do Something—Sit There! Too often, many of our problems arise from acting before thinking. We confuse activity with productivity. We think, “I’m so busy, I must be accomplishing something!” In reality, we may just be spinning our wheels. Like sitting in a rocking chair, you can expend a lot of energy and create a lot of motion, but you still aren’t going anywhere. Progress and productivity always require thought! The Bible says: “A wise man thinks ahead; a fool doesn’t and even brags about it!” (Proverbs 13:16 LB). “A good man thinks before he speaks” (Proverbs 15:28 LB). “The wise man looks ahead. The fool attempts to fool himself and won’t face facts” (Proverbs 14:8 LB). “A wise man is cautious and avoids danger; a fool plunges ahead with great confidence” (Proverbs 14:16 LB). Unfortunately many parts of your work seem to conspire to keep you from thinking! Pressures, deadlines, appointments, and interruptions fill your day so you have no time to think. You stay so busy swatting mosquitoes that you have no time to drain the swamp. Nothing is as important to your job as thinking, yet nothing is harder to take time to do. The solution is to schedule “think” time. Make a daily appointment with yourself to simply think about your work. Think about what you do, how you do it, and the results you are getting: “Any enterprise is built by wise planning, becomes strong through common sense, and profits wonderfully by keeping abreast of the facts” (Proverbs 24:3 LB). Your mind is like a muscle. It develops with use. The more you develop it, the more productive you will be. Your brain is God’s gift to you. What you do with it is your gift to God. Think about it!



The Six Phases of Faith Tuesday June 24th

“Then Jesus touched their eyes and said, ‘Let it happen, then, just as you believe!’” (Matthew

9:29 TEV) God takes our belief and He blesses us through it, and that makes life a great adventure. It is critical that we cooperate with God as He builds faith within us. Because of its importance, I want to review the six phases of faith we’ve studied over the past week. This will also let you see them all in one place. Phase 1—Dream: Do I have a dream planted in me by God? If you don’t have a dream, start praying, “God, give me Your dream.” If you can’t write down the dream God has given you, you need to be praying. If you don’t have a dream, you’re not living; you’re just existing. God placed you on this earth for a purpose. Phase 2—Decision: Do I need to make a faith-decision that will help that dream become a reality? Some of you have a dream from God, but you haven’t made a decision to follow it. You’re still on the fence. God’s word for you is “Go for it!” Some of you may need to make the decision to give your life to Christ. Some of you may need to make the decision to join a church. Some of you may need to make the decision to get involved in ministry. Phase 3—Delay: What has caused my dream to be delayed? If your prayer hasn’t been answered, that’s okay. It just means you’re in God’s waiting room. Now is not the time to detour. When things don’t happen on our timetable, we tend to run ahead of God and create detours to make it happen. You may end up making the wrong decision. Wait, wait, and wait for God to work His hand. Phase 4—Difficulty: What difficulties have I faced waiting for the dream to be fulfilled? You are being tested, but it’s not going to be the last time. You’ll go through many, many tests in life. God says, “I know exactly what you’re going through. I see it. I’m watching. Don’t think I’ve forgotten you—I haven’t.” Phase 5—Dead End: Have I come to a dead end yet? Some of you are there ready to give up. But the truth is—you’re right where God wants you. You’re getting prepared for deliverance. God’s word for you is “Hang on! Keep on believing! Don’t give up!” Phase 6—Deliverance: Do I expect and trust God to deliver me? “According to your faith will it be done to you” (Matthew 9:29 NIV). God is faithful. What He tells us to do, He will do. But it doesn’t happen overnight. You go through the faith-phases of Dream, Decision, Delay, Difficulty, and Dead End . . . and then comes Deliverance.




How God Builds Your Faith: Dream Wednesday June 25th

“Now glory be to God, who by His mighty power at work within us is able to do far more than

we would ever dare to ask or even dream of—infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, or hopes” (Ephesians 3:20 LB). Faith is like a muscle: it can be strengthened. It can be weak or it can be strong, depending on how much you use it. How does God build your faith? He uses a very predictable pattern that we will look at this week, and, if you understand it, you can cooperate with Him in developing greater faith. It’s like when the father, seeking help from Jesus for his son, said, “Have pity on us and help us, if you possibly can!” (Mark 9:22 TEV) Jesus replied, “What do you mean, ‘If I can?’ . . . Anything is possible if a person believes” (Mark 9:23 NLT). The first thing God does to build your faith is give you a dream. When God wants to work in your life, He’ll always gives you a dream—about yourself, about what He wants you to do, about how He’s going to use your life to impact the world. There are many examples in the Bible of this. • God gave Noah the dream of building an ark. • God gave Abraham the dream of being the father of a great nation. • God gave Joseph the dream of being a leader that would save his people. • God gave Nehemiah the dream of building the wall around Jerusalem. How do you know when a dream is from God or when it’s just something you’ve thought up yourself? The Bible tells us that God, “by His mighty power at work within us is able to do far more than we would ever dare to ask or even dream of—infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, or hopes” (Ephesians 3:20 LB). In other words, if a dream comes from God, it will be so big in your life that you can’t do it on your own. If you could do it on your own, you wouldn’t need faith. And if you don’t have faith you’re not pleasing God, because the Bible says whatever is not of faith is sin (Roman 14:23). God starts to build your faith by giving you a dream. He may be speaking to you now, but you just don’t recognize it for what it is. That dream you have—the idea, the concept, that thing you’ve been thinking about doing that would be of real benefit to other people—where do you think that idea came from? God will never tell you to do something that contradicts His truth. In other words, He won’t give you a

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dream of leaving your family and kids and moving to Hollywood to be a movie star. If you’ve got that dream, then you can know it is not from God. God starts with a dream as He works within your life to build faith.

How God Builds Your Faith: Decision Thursday June 26th

“But when you ask Him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with

divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind . . . Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do” (James 1:6, 8 NLT). After God gives you a dream, the next step for building your faith is decision; God challenges you to do something about your dream. Nothing is going to happen to that dream until you wake up and put it into action. You’ve got to make the decision: “I’m going to go for it!” For every ten dreamers in the world, there is only one decision maker. A lot of people have dreams but they never get to step two: making the decision to trust God and follow their dream. James says, “But when you pray, you must believe and not doubt at all. Whoever doubts is like a wave in the sea that is driven and blown about by the wind. If you are like that, unable to make up your mind and undecided in all you do, you must not think that you will receive anything from the Lord” (James 1:6-7 TEV). Faith is a verb. It’s active and not passive. It’s something you do. Decision making is a faith-building activity. You use your muscles of faith. Faithful decision making requires two things: You must decide to invest your time, money, reputation, and energy. You lay it on the line; you take the plunge. You say, “God, You’ve told me to do this and I’m going to be faithful to do it!” You have to let go of security. You cannot move in faith and hold onto the past at the same time. You have to move forward. God told Abraham that He was going to make him the father of a great nation, and that meant Abraham had to leave his home for an unknown destination. Moses had to let go of his position in Pharaoh’s kingdom in order to do God’s will. Nehemiah gave up a secure job in order to go build a wall around Jerusalem. In other words, if you want to walk on water, you’ve got to get out of the boat. A great illustration of God’s plan is a trapeze artist. They swing out holding onto a trapeze bar, and then they let go in order to grab hold of another trapeze bar that swings then to the other side. But, at one point, they’re not holding on to any bar. They’re suspended in air for a split second. Have you ever been there in a career, where you’re leaving one job for another and nothing’s in between? You’re 180 feet above the ground with no net below and holding onto nothing.



But if you don’t let go and grab onto the vision God wants you to have, you swing back. Only you don’t swing all the way back; instead, you swing back lower and lower until you’re finally stopped, hanging there in the air. And there’s only one way out: down! That’s why God brings you to a point of decision, so your faith will build as you swing toward the dream God has given you.

How God Builds Your Faith: Delay Friday June 27th

“But these things I plan won’t happen right away. Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches

when the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow, do not despair, for these things will surely come to pass. Just be patient! They will not be overdue a single day!” (Habakkuk 2:3 LB). Even as you make a decision to follow the dream God places in your heart, you can expect a delay. God will not fulfill your dream immediately because this is another step toward building your faith. In Habakkuk 2, God says, “These things I plan won’t happen right away. Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled.” In this step of faith-building you will most likely start asking the question, “When, Lord? When are You going to answer my prayer?” And we hate to wait. We don’t like to wait in a doctor’s office, or in traffic jams, or at restaurants, or for Christmas presents, or for anything else. But what we hate worst of all is waiting on God. Have you ever been in a hurry when God wasn’t? It’s so irritating! You’re ready, but God isn’t. God wants to work on you before He works on the project. Every believer must go through the University of Learning to Wait (ULW). Some of us are still working on our degrees from ULW! • Noah waited 120 years from the time he started building the ark until it began to rain. • Abraham was told he would be the father of a great nation and didn’t have a child until he was 99. • God told Moses he would be the leader to lead his people out of 400 years of slavery, but then made him wait in the desert 40 years. • Joseph spent years in prison before God raised him up and he became the ruler God wanted him to be. • God had David anointed as king, but then David waited for years until he actually got to be king. We all have to go through these waiting periods. Even Jesus waited for 30 years in the carpenter’s shop before setting out on his public ministry. Why do we wait? It teaches us to trust in God. We learn that His timing is perfect. One of the facts we have to learn is this: God’s delay never destroys His purpose. A delay is not a denial. Children must learn the difference between “no” and “not yet,” and so must we. Many times we think God is saying, “No,” but He is saying, “Not yet.”



How God Builds Your Faith: Difficulty Saturday June 28th

“This means tremendous joy to you, I know, even though you are temporarily harassed by all

kinds of trials and temptations. This is no accident—it happens to prove your faith, which is infinitely more valuable than gold” (1 Peter 1:6-7 PH). In order to build your faith, God will give you a dream, then He’ll urge you to make a decision, but then He’ll allow a delay, because in the delay He matures you and prepares you for what is to come. The truth is you’ll have difficulties while God delays. This isn’t because He doesn’t care about you or that He’s forgotten your circumstances; rather, it’s one of the ways He pushes you toward the deep end of faith. As God delays, you’ll face two types of difficulties: circumstances and critics. This is a natural part of life. God designed it this way because He knows we grow stronger when facing adversity and opposition. When Moses led the children of Israel out of Egypt into the desert toward the Promised Land, he had one problem after another. First there was no water. Then there was no food. Then there were a bunch of complainers. Then there were poisonous snakes. Moses was doing what God wanted him to do, but he still had problems. David was anointed king, and then for the next several years he was hunted down by Saul. Joseph had a dream of becoming a ruler, yet he was sold into slavery and thrown into prison on a false charge where he languished, forgotten. Imagine the difficulties Noah had building a floating zoo! The Bible says that when Moses died, Joshua was appointed the new leader. Moses led the people across the desert and then Joshua led them into the Promised Land. Did he get the easy part? The Bible says that when the Israelites entered the Promised Land there were giants in the land. Even in the Promised Land there were problems! God does this because He is building our faith and character. When we finally come to a place where the difficulties become so bad, where we’ve reached our limit, where we’ve tried everything and exhausted all our options, it is then that God begins a mighty work through us: “I know, even though you are temporarily harassed by all kinds of trials and temptations. This is no accident—it happens to prove your faith, which is infinitely more valuable, than gold” (1 Peter 1:6–7 PH).


How God Builds Your Faith: Dead End

Sunday June 29th

“At that time we were completely overwhelmed, the burden was more than we could bear, in fact we told ourselves that this was the end. Yet we believe now that we had this experience of coming to the end of our tether that we might learn to trust, not in ourselves, but in God who can raise the dead” (2 Corinthians 1:8–9 PH). When the pursuit of your dream deteriorates from difficult to impossible; when the situation looks hopeless, congratulations! You’re in good company. Even Paul went through dead ends: “At that time we were completely overwhelmed, the burden was more than we could bear, in fact we told ourselves that this was the end. Yet we believe now that we had this experience of coming to the end of our tether that we might learn to trust, not in ourselves, but in God who can raise the dead” (2 Corinthians 1:8-9 PH). If God can raise people physically, He can raise people who are dead emotionally. He can raise a dead marriage. He can resurrect a dead career. He can resurrect you from a health problem. If God can raise the dead, He can do anything. In Abraham’s situation, God said, “I want you to become the father of a nation,” but then Abraham had to wait until he was 99 years old before he had his first child. The Bible shows Abraham’s situation going from difficult to impossible. He looks at his body and says, “No way!” Then he looks at his wife and says, “Double no way!” But Sarah got pregnant and they laughed about it. When the baby was born, they named him Isaac, which means laughter. God often lets problems become impossibilities. The disciples planned to follow Jesus. They thought He was the Messiah, but then the next thing they know Jesus is hanging on the cross, dying. Was this a dead end for the disciples? For three days it seemed that way, but then Jesus walked out of the tomb. When you face a dead end, you may start asking, “What’s going on, God? Did I miss Your will? Your plan? Have I missed Your vision?” Keep in mind that dead ends are part of God’s plan for you. What’s the best response to a dead end? “He has delivered us from such a terrible death, and He will deliver us; we have placed our hope in Him that He will deliver us again” (2 Corinthians 1:10 HCSB).



How God Builds Your Faith: Deliverance

Monday June 30th

“‘What do you mean, ‘If I can’?’ Jesus asked. ‘Anything is possible if a person believes’” (Mark 9:23 NLT). God will build your faith by planting a dream within you. But that dream will require a decision of faith, and then God will stretch your faith as you face delays, difficulties, and dead ends. It is then that God comes in and delivers. God does a miracle. God provides a solution. For instance: • In Moses’ case, God parts the Red Sea. • In Abraham’s case, he and Sarah miraculously conceive a child. • In Joseph’s case, all of a sudden his dream comes true and he finds himself no longer imprisoned in a dungeon; instead, he is the second in command in Egypt. And Jesus was resurrected! God can even turn a crucifixion into resurrection, and that means He has the power to transform your dead ends into deliverance. He builds your faith through delays, difficulties, and dead ends, so that when He delivers you—God gets all the credit! When faced with a dead end, the best response is to expect God to act. What are you expecting God to do in your life? Jesus says, “According to your faith will it be done to you” (Matthew 9:29 NIV). When you wait for deliverance, then God gets the credit. And you can look back to see how God led you through a path of faith, expanding and increasing your trust of Him with every step. Your faith is stronger and now you can say with confidence: “I am expecting the Lord to rescue me again, so that once again I will see His goodness to me” (Psalm 27:13 LB).



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