Luke 16:10 “Whoever is faithful in very little is also faithful in much, and whoever is unrighteous in very little is also unrighteous in much.” ~CSB

​Have you ever had morning chaos? I mean, you wake up fine, but then 'little things' start happening. You can’t find your house shoes. You are ‘half sleep’ using the bathroom and realize the toilet paper is out. You get dressed and find you don’t like what you have on. You can’t find your car keys. 'Little things' pushing those panic, stress, anger, and ‘struggle’ buttons. How do we handle this chaos?

​Most of the time, these little things change our whole attitude.  It could be just one, or it could be a barrage of many, but they cause a negative effect on our ability to project peace and love. In other words, peace and love no longer exist because the ‘little things’ that happened to us in the morning have changed the way we will treat, talk and respond to all those we are about to encounter. 

How do you think that will go over with our spouse, our children, our co-workers, and boss? What do you think the responses will be toward us when we give them the negative that has grown in us from what the ‘little things’ have seeded in us? Sometimes not good.  But there is a blessing here.

You see, it is in the ‘little things’ we need to practice. Because it we don’t, when the greater chaos comes our way, we will break under that pressure.  If we have not trained in the 'little things', which we can handle, we won’t be able to handle the greater negativity. How do we do this? In the little things we must become spiritually faithful in our situations, instead of allowing the situation to dictate our mood.

When we can’t find our house shoes in the morning, is that the end of the world? Spiritually if we can not find our car keys, maybe there is an accident avoided because you were not there to be in it.  When we practice having faith in the little things, we program ourselves to have faith in the larger ‘things’ that come our way. Because we serve a God that wants the best for us, we know that the situation we are in is already blessed by Him.

When we do this, and our faith grows in the larger chaos, we then are strengthened in our ‘righteousness’.  We don’t blow off being righteous in little things like giving, paying for someone’s groceries, paying the rent of a loved one or just being there for someone who has no one. This righteousness grows strong and is held high when tested by the huge temptations and oppositions of the world influenced by the enemy.

The ‘little things’ present opportunities for us to grow strong in our faith and being righteous. God created us with the strength to excel in both. Thank Him every morning for this ability and fight hard every day so that the ‘little things’ don’t take over your day. Use the ‘little things’ for practice. So that you can tell the greater adversary that you are the child of the One True God.

Be thankful that God chose you to speak, live and walk on His behalf. May God always cover you in His love and power. In Jesus’ name,

​Amen 

Blessings,
​Billy

Matthew 3:8 “Therefore produce fruit consistent with repentance.” ~CSB

When I became a deacon at my church.  I was very proud to hold the honor of the position.  I taught the New Members Class and enjoyed teaching God’s word to hungry souls.  Problem was, (and I didn’t know this yet), I wasn’t saved.  I thought I was, but I wasn’t.

I believed in my heart God’s Word, but I now know that at that time, I did not know the love God has for me. For example, I would come across a scripture like, Ephesians 5:18 “And don’t get drunk with wine, which leads to reckless living, but be filled by the Spirit.” ~CSB

​As an alcoholic, I would ignore that scripture. I would excuse my behavior and think, “That’s not me.”  “I drink but I will not live a reckless life.” In fact, I skipped over that scripture and would find another one that spoke of ‘prosperity and wealth’.  Picking my own scriptures to teach.  I would later learn that this was not God’s way for me.

Repentance means deep sorrow for a past sin, wrongdoing, or the like. I was in a stage of convincing myself that I was doing nothing wrong. I was in denial.  But because of loved ones praying for me, and the fact that I was in the Word of God every day, the intervention of the Holy Spirit led to my transformation. It was a painful transformation but one that had to be made. I was in the grip of a poison, and I could not break the grip under my own power.

When God took away my craving for alcohol, I became aware of many things.  One of them being repentance.  I was so grateful for God’s forgiveness and mercy in my transformation. Because of my accountability, my punishment could have been much worse.  Friends and family look at me and how I walk because of my accident and feel sorry for me. 

I tell them there is nothing to feel sorry for me about.  This limp is a reminder of who I was and who I’ll never go back to being. I am now "...filled with the Holy Spirit..." Repentance was born from all the pain and gratefulness. It is repentance you hear in my sermons. It is repentance you hear when I teach, and it is repentance you see in my actions.

I pray that the fruit produced from my lifestyle in Christ blesses others God places in my path. I pray that God’s healing hand always stays on my shoulders and guides me to teach, preach and walk in His will and way. This is the calling of a servant.  I live my life for the One who gave up His life for me.

I don’t deserve it, but He did it anyway.  This is where my repentance stands every day. The fruit born of this will be God’s will in blessings to others He allows me to serve.

May the Lord bless and keep you in Jesus’ name,
 
Amen

Blessings,
​Billy

Proverbs 11:25 “A generous person will be enriched, and the one who gives a drink of water will receive water.” ~CSB

When I practiced football in Alabama, there were some really ‘hot’ days.  We would run and hit with those pads on. Shoulder pads covered with a hot jersey. The jerseys we wore in the 70’s and 80’s were thick and heavy. And the helmet that closed in around all the heat that was attempting to leave our bodies, caused an incredible thirst. I can still remember the salty taste in my mouth yearning for some water. But the coach would make us run the play until we got it right. I cannot describe the joy in relief when he blew that whistle allowing us to run over and get a drink of water. That water, on that day, stands out as one of best examples of refreshing relief that I have in my memories.

Now let’s take that ‘refreshed relief-visual' of thirst and relate it to one’s need to be refreshed in life from time to time.  There are those that God will place in your life that will have a thirst.  That ‘salty’ taste the world has given them when they needed provision to eat, to pay a bill or even just to have peace of mind. And look what happened, God placed one of His best servants in their path…you! Quick story:

I heard a testimony this past weekend. A young lady said that she was standing in line at the grocery store and the spirit put on her heart to pay for the person’s groceries that was in line behind her.  She said she looked back at the person’s cart and said, “Oh no!”  The person behind her had a lot of groceries. 

She said to herself, “I just can’t pay for all of that, I don’t have that kind of money.” But the spirit told her, “You do have it, because it has been provided to you.”  God has given us what we have so that we may do His will, not for us to hold onto for our own.  The young lady continues to testify that she did pay for the groceries and was later blessed with more than she spent. 

God is saying in the text, “…the one who gives a drink of water…”  The one who provides refreshment, relief, and reassurance to another, will, “…receive water…”  They will also receive from the Lord that same refreshment, relief and reassurance. 

The bible says in Luke 6:38, “Give, and it will be given to you; a good measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over—will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.” ~CSB

​Look at it this way, a person prays for God’s help in their time of need.  What an honor for Him to have blessed you, to bless them.  And because you are obedient and perform the actions of a godly servant, that which you have given will be given back to you, “…pressed down, shaken together, and running over…” 

We know this order comes from God because our relationship with the Father is strong.  Become that hearer and doer of God’s Word. In doing so, you will become that “…generous person…” A person God will “…enrich…” as only He can.  May God continue to bless, keep, and guide you in His Son Jesus’ name.

Amen

Blessings,
​Billy

Hebrews 4:15 “This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for He faced all of the same testings we do, yet He did not sin.” ~NLT

As a Christian I pray on and write these devotions with Jesus Christ as my foundation. I say this because I do not know who the Lord will bless with them as others with different beliefs also have access to them. I saw a post on social media the other day that read: “There are 4200 world religions, but there’s only one empty tomb. There’s only one man who conquered sin, death and hell forever.” There’s only one way to Heaven. And that is through Jesus Christ! Jesus says in John 14:6, “…I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.” ~NLT  

Social media vs scripture. The post read well and was interesting, but, I referenced the post on social media because I wanted to show you that a decision had to be made in my life. I chose to let go of my personal feelings and strengthen my relationship with God through His Word. In other words, if I can’t back any claim up by scripture, then the claim is packed away in a ‘worldly’ suitcase.

I live my life by scripture.  Jesus said you must know Him in order to come to the Father.  Jesus said you must love and live Him in order to come to the Father. This means strengthening your relationship with Him.  Like losing weight, or eating right, this will not happen overnight. But we must position ourselves and work on making our spiritual journey a spiritual ‘habit’.  And we can only do this if we, (at first), make scripture a priority.

Jesus is the ‘Truth’ because He was without sin but took on our sins for us.  He is the ‘Truth’ because He faced hardships, tests and trials just like we do.  He could have rained down the angels from heaven to stop His agonizing torture, but He did not because He knew that a part of being an advocate for you and me was that He had to see it through.

He is the ‘Way’ because God chose Him to be. God cannot not associate with sin. We are with sin. God loves us and wants us to have the chance to be with Him so He chose His Son to take on sin, die with it and be resurrected for our salvation.  It is the belief and faith in this sacrificial act that we are allowed access to the Father!!!

He is the ‘Life’ because He repaired the access to ‘eternal life’. That access was broken with Adam but repaired by Jesus’ sacrifice and resurrection! We must not live our lives thinking we are alone in what we are going through because Jesus, “…understands our weaknesses, for He faced all of the same testings we do…”  The “…Way, the Truth and the Life…”  How awesome is it to have a Savior?!!!

Stand firm in knowing who Christ is. He is the, “...Way, the Truth and the Life…”! Seek the Father through Him by exercising and practicing verse 16 of Hebrews chapter 4, “…let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God.”  Get in the good habit of reading, studying, hearing, and doing the Word of God until you have it down to a daily practice. And then, “…There we will receive His mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.” ~NLT

That is the Word of God for the People of God. Let all God’s people say,
 
Amen

Blessings,
​Billy