364 Days of Devotion: A Devotional Book

By Andrew C Schroer

When you think of the ways God has blessed you, do you think of things that have happened today? Sometimes it's easy to miss God's blessings, even when they're right in front of you. Take a step back and enjoy the bigger picture with Pastor Andrew C. Schroer. Following his best-selling book, "364 Days of Thanksgiving," Schroer uses ordinary people, places, and things to point out God's wonderful gifts to you. This interactive daily devotional is packed with engaging anecdotes and relatable life scenarios that point to what God reveals about himself in the Bible. Over the course of a year, you'll be able to notice God's love for you even on the dreariest of days. Plus, space is included at the bottom of each short devotion so that you can continue your journey of gratitude!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Northwestern Publishing House
• Release date: Jan 1, 2021
• ISBN: 9780810031449

Book preview

DAY 1

COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS

Because of the LORD’S great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

LAMENTATIONS 3:22,23

Count your blessings. That phrase is used so often in our world today that it has become cliché. But do you know where it comes from?

It originates from an old Jewish tradition. According to Jewish law, a faithful Jew will speak one hundred blessings every day. In other words, he or she will thank and praise God out loud for one hundred different blessings every day.

SEE HOW GOOD GOD HAS BEEN TO YOU.

Orthodox Jews count their blessings to make sure they have said all one hundred. Imagine trying to come up with one hundred things every day for which to thank God. That must be hard to do.

Actually, it’s not.

As the prophet Jeremiah reminds us in the passage above, God’s mercies are new every morning. Every day God showers us with blessings—both old and new. The problem is that we don’t always notice them. We don’t always count them. We don’t always say, Thank you.

We take God’s blessings for granted so often. We don’t even notice the blessing of air conditioning until it breaks down in the middle of summer. We don’t recognize the gift of speaking until we lose our voices. We don’t appreciate the ability to walk until we are sitting in a wheelchair in the nursing home.

That’s why it is important to count your blessings.

See how good God has been to you. You have a home and food, clothes and cars. You have clean air to breathe and fresh water to drink. You have air conditioners, smartphones, computers, and indoor plumbing.

Even more important, you are forgiven. You have a home in heaven waiting for you because of Jesus. God even forgives you for all the times you failed to see his goodness, for all the times you blindly took his blessings for granted.

God has given us so many blessings that we can’t even count them all, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try. This book is a tool to help you do that. After every daily devotion in this book, there is a space to write down one thing for which you are thankful. Make a habit of writing one thing down every day. There is only one catch: you can never repeat. It has to be a different blessing every day.

Can you come up with a different blessing every day for a whole year? That’s the challenge. You don’t need to come up with one hundred a day, just one. As your list grows and this book fills, see if it doesn’t change how you look at your life. See if it doesn’t change how you look at your God.

Count your blessings every day of your life.

Today I am thankful for/that

Heavenly Father, open my eyes and my heart to see and appreciate all the blessings you have showered on me. Amen.

DAY 2

J. J. S. D. G.

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

1 CORINTHIANS 10:31

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) is considered one of the greatest composers of all time. Together with Beethoven and Brahms, Bach forms part of the big Three Bs of classical music. Christians still sing his hymns. Choirs still perform his cantatas. Orchestras still play his concertos.

Bach was a deeply spiritual man. He composed the majority of his music to be performed in church. His goal was to praise God and proclaim his love to the world.

Overwhelmed by the import of his work, Bach would often scribble two mysterious letters at the top of each score of music he composed:

J. J.

Short for the Latin Jesu Juva, it simply means Jesus, help. For all his talent and ability, Bach realized that he could accomplish nothing without the help of his God and Savior.

Jesu Juva. Jesus, help. What a wonderful reminder for us as we begin each task of our daily lives! Without our Savior’s help, we can do nothing. Without his help, it would all come to ruin. Because of our sinfulness—because of our selfishness and pride—we mess everything up.

Only with God’s help and the forgiveness, which Jesus won for us on the cross, are we able to do anything of value in God’s eyes. With his help, though, we—like Bach—can compose great works of art.

GOD GETS ALL THE CREDIT.

Sure, you may never compose a famous symphony or hymn, but a child raised in his Word is music to God’s ears. A life lived in humble service to God is a work of art. Your opus to God may be your faithful love to your wife or your diligence at your job. It may simply be your off-key singing of his hymns at church. With Jesus’ help, Jesu Juva, such simple songs of praise are wondrous symphonies to God’s ears.

Every time J. S. Bach finished one of his masterpieces, he scratched three more letters at the end of his manuscript:

S. D. G.

Short for Soli Deo Gloria, it means To God alone be the glory. Bach understood that everything he accomplished in his life wasn’t because of him. It was God working through him. Bach composed his music to thank God for his love and forgiveness. God gets all the credit.

As you begin each task of your life, whether it be a massive project at work or school or one of life’s simple, mundane duties, don’t forget to scratch your J. J. at the top. Ask your Savior for his help and blessing. Remember that without him, all our efforts come to nothing.

Then when you’ve finished, be sure to add your S. D. G. God gets all the credit. Everything we are and everything we accomplish is because of his power and love.

Today I am thankful for/that

Jesus, help me, for without your help I can do nothing. I thank you for everything I have and everything I have accomplished. To you alone be the glory. Amen.

DAY 3

JUST AS I AM

In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.

EPHESIANS 3:12

Charlotte Elliott was born in Clapham, England, in 1789. In her younger years, Charlotte was a writer and artist, but by age 30 her health began to fail. For the next 50 years, she would live in pain and illness. Because of her constant sickness, she frequently became frustrated and despondent. She would often say, If God loved me, why would he do this to me?

One day, a Swiss minister came to the Elliott house for dinner. During the meal, Charlotte, as she was prone to do, burst into a temper tantrum and stormed out of the room, much to the embarrassment of her family.

The minister followed her into the next room and quietly told her that she felt such anger because she had nothing to cling to. Her only hope, he told her, was to turn to the Lord.

But she didn’t know how she could do that. How could I, such an angry and bitter person, turn to God? she asked.

You can go to God, the minister told her, just as you are.

Charlotte Elliott never forgot that pastor’s advice and years later she penned what would become one of the most famous hymns of all time. She wrote: Just as I am, without one plea But that thy blood was shed for me And that thou bidd’st me come to thee, O Lamb of God, I come, I come (CW 397:1).

For those of us who struggle with self-esteem, who look at ourselves in the mirror and don’t like what we see, who feel like nobody who really knows us could love us, there were no more comforting words ever spoken.

God accepts me. God loves me. God receives me just as I am.

It is important, however, that we understand what that means. God accepts you just as you are, but that doesn’t mean you are acceptable just as you are.

GOD ACCEPTS YOU BECAUSE OF JESUS.

Acceptance doesn’t mean God sees the good in everybody. It doesn’t mean you are good enough just the way you are. You are a sinner. You are a liar. You are stubborn. You hold grudges. You worry. You doubt. You have dark and dirty sins no one else knows about. You are not good enough just as you are. You are not acceptable by God’s standards.

Yet he still accepts you because he made you acceptable in his eyes. God rejected his Son, Jesus—punished him for your dirty sins—so that he could accept you. You have been washed clean in the blood of Jesus and the waters of Holy Baptism.

God accepts you because of Jesus. He accepts you because of his love. His love and acceptance make you special. You are a dearly loved child of God. You are perfect in God’s eyes—not because you are perfect, but because you are washed in Jesus’ blood.

It doesn’t matter who you are or what you have done, you can go to God .  .  . just as you are.

Today I am thankful for/that

Just as I am, thou wilt receive, wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve; because thy promise I believe, O Lamb of God, I come, I come. Amen. (CW 397:5)

DAY 4

THE CHAIR

Pray continually.

1 THESSALONIANS 5:17

A young pastor moved to a new church. Soon after arriving, he received a phone call from one of his new members. She introduced herself and told the pastor that her father was bedridden and couldn’t attend church. She asked if the pastor would be willing to visit him, pray with him, and give him Holy Communion. The pastor said that he would be delighted.

The next day the pastor went to the member’s home where the young woman greeted him at the door. After some small talk, she told the pastor that her father’s room was the second door on the right and that he could go see him if he liked.

The pastor walked to the room and knocked on the door. Come in, a voice told him. The pastor opened the door and there he saw an elderly man lying on a bed. A chair sat alongside, facing the bed.

The man gave an exuberant, Hello! The young pastor replied with a smile, Hello! I see you’re expecting me.

No, who are you? the elderly man replied.

I’m your new pastor. I saw the chair sitting there and I just assumed you were expecting me.

Oh, the chair, the elderly man responded. Pastor, can you please close the door?

Curious, the pastor closed the door.

TALK TO JESUS LIKE YOU’RE TALKING TO ME RIGHT NOW.

Please sit down, pastor, the man continued. "For years I didn’t really understand what prayer was. I would go to church and we would pray. The pastor would always tell us to pray. I would say ‘grace’ at mealtimes. But I really didn’t understand what prayer was until a buddy of mine told me, ‘You know what you need to do, John? Put a chair in front of you and imagine Jesus sitting there. Remember he is there even though we can’t see him. Then just talk to Jesus like you’re talking to me right now. That’s what prayer really is.’

I tried it, pastor, the elderly man continued, "and I liked it so much that I do it for at least an hour every day.

But, he added, I have to be careful, because if my daughter catches me talking to an empty chair, she is going to send me to the old folks’ home.

The pastor smiled and encouraged him to continue praying in that way. They had a devotion and the pastor went home.

About two weeks later, the pastor received another phone call. It was the daughter. She was in tears. Her father had just passed away. She explained to the pastor how she had gone to the store that morning and when she came back, she found him dead.

But something strange happened, pastor, the young woman added. It seems that in the moments right before he died, my father got up from his bed, sat on the floor and laid his head on the chair next to his bed.

Today I am thankful for/that

Heavenly Father, thank you for the wonderful privilege of being able to talk to you every day in prayer. Thank you for always listening. Amen.

DAY 5

A DROP IN THE BUCKET

I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.

ROMANS 8:18

After Hurricane Harvey hit our community in 2017, there was a phrase I heard repeated again and again: This is just a drop in the bucket.

What we endured in Edna, Texas, because of Hurricane Harvey was difficult and frustrating. Our yards were a mess. Our roofs leaked. Trees and limbs wreaked havoc. Many residents were without electricity for weeks.

And don’t even get me started on the mosquitoes.

But what we went through was just a drop in the bucket compared to what Houston, Rockport, and other places suffered. They had it much worse.

When we suffer pain and loss, it helps to keep things in perspective. It’s good for us to remember those who have it worse than us. Comparatively speaking, our pains and problems are often just a drop in the bucket.

A pastor told me that even the flooding in Houston was just a drop in the bucket compared to another flood. That flood occurred thousands of years ago. The whole world was destroyed. Only eight people on the planet survived.

GOD POINTS US TO HEAVEN.

Compared to the biblical flood, Houston was just a drop in the bucket.

Such perspective can be helpful when we are facing the storms of life, but that’s not the perspective God gives us in his Word. To help us keep a proper perspective, God doesn’t point us to those who have it worse than us.

God points us to heaven.

The apostle Paul wrote to the Romans, I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. Because Jesus lived and died as our Savior—because God forgives all the junk and garbage of our lives—we have a home waiting for us in the glory of heaven.

When we get to heaven, even the worst pains and problems of this world will seem like an insignificant mosquito bite.

Right now it hurts. Right now it’s hard, but when we get to heaven the joy will overshadow the sorrow.

Paul compares our struggles to pregnancy. For nine months, the mother-to-be suffers nausea, discomfort, and sleeplessness. The labor is painful and traumatic, but when the nurse lays her baby on her chest, all of that becomes a distant memory.

She is left with pure joy.

Keep that perspective. Yes, it is helpful to remember that no matter how bad your situation, there are others who have it worse. Even more important is to remember that no matter how bad it gets here on earth, the happiness and joy of heaven will overshadow it all.

This is just a drop in the bucket.

Today I am thankful for/that

Lord, as I suffer the pains and problems of my life, help me to keep it all in perspective. Keep my eyes focused on the joy of heaven which is coming. Amen.

DAY 6

TRUE PEACE

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

JOHN 14:27

The story is told of two rival painters who were always trying to outdo one another. One day they decided to have a contest to see who was the better artist. The rules of the competition were simple: They would each create a painting that represented the idea of peace.

The first artist painted a beautiful mountain scene with a lake in the middle. The lake was as clear as crystal and as blue as the sky. No wind or movement interrupted its tranquility. For the first artist, that is what peace looked like.

The second artist painted a very different scene. He painted a violent waterfall. The sky was dark and ominous. The wind blew across the canvas. Alongside the waterfall stood a dead grey tree. A branch from the tree reached out in front of the waterfall. There on that branch of the dead grey tree, in front of the violent waterfall in the middle of the storm, quietly sat a small bird unaffected by the chaos which surrounded it. The bird was at peace.

On the night before he died, Jesus promised his disciples and us, Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

OUR ROAD TO HEAVEN WILL PASS THROUGH MANY HARDSHIPS.

Jesus promises us peace. But what kind of peace? God doesn’t promise us the peace of the first painting. He doesn’t promise us a life of tranquility here on earth, free of problems and pains. He doesn’t promise us that all our hurts here on earth will suddenly disappear if we merely believe or pray hard enough. God doesn’t promise us that kind of peace.

In fact, he tells us, We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God (Acts 14:22). Our road to heaven will pass through many hardships. On our road to heaven, we will pass through cancer and heart attacks, heartbreaks and hurt. We will see the greyness of death in the faces of people we love. We will face our own mortality. The peace God promises isn’t the absence of pain and problems here on earth. Rather, it is the peace painted by the second artist, a peace in the middle of the storm.

The peace the world cannot give is the peace of knowing that, because of Jesus, God forgives you and loves you even though you have said and done terrible things in your life. The peace the world cannot give is the peace of knowing that, because of Jesus, the tranquility of heaven is waiting for us where ‘there will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain (Revelation 21:4). The peace the world cannot give is the peace of knowing that our God will be with us, give us strength, and carry us through every hardship and heartbreak we face.

Don’t expect that God will take away your problems here on earth if you just have enough faith or pray hard enough. That’s not the peace God promises. Rather, find in our God—in his Word and sacraments—the true peace he promises: a peace in the middle of the storm.

Today I am thankful for/that

Lord, as I face the struggles and pains of this world, point me to your promises where I can find the peace the world cannot give. Amen.

DAY 7

SPLANCHNIZOMAI

When [Jesus] saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

MATTHEW 9:36

Splanchnizomai. That is my all-time favorite Greek word. It just rolls off the tongue. Try it. Say it out loud. Splanchnizomai.

Splanchnizomai is found 12 times in the Bible. Every time it describes what Jesus or God the Father was feeling. Splanchnizomai literally means to have your intestines moved.

I’m not kidding. Look it up.

When Jesus saw people hurting, lonely, or lost, the Bible tells us his intestines were moved. Most translations simply read, Jesus had compassion on them, but that’s not actually what it says. It literally says, His intestines were moved for them.

When we talk about our feelings today, we talk about our hearts. If your feelings are hurt, your heart breaks. If you’re in love, your heart swells. If you are full of joy, your heart bursts.

In Jesus’ day, they felt things a little deeper. If you think about it, it makes sense. Sometimes when we see something heartbreaking—people starving in Africa, a mother mourning her dead child, terrorists torturing and killing helpless victims—we don’t actually feel it in our hearts.

We feel it deep down in the pit of our stomachs.

When Jesus saw people hurting, when he saw them lost and confused, he felt it deep down in the pit of his stomach. When God the Father saw his lost son return in Jesus’ parable, he felt it deep down in the pit of his stomach.

HIS HEART ACHES FOR YOU.

When God sees you hurting, lonely, or afraid, he feels it deep down in the pit of his stomach. God’s love for you is boundless. His heart aches for you.

When he saw humankind fall into the dark depths of sin, it broke his heart. When he thought of you spending an eternity in the torture of hell, he felt it deep down in the pit of his stomach. So, he came to this world. He became one of us. He suffered our punishment and died our death.

That is how deeply your God loves you.

Sometimes it feels like God doesn’t care. Sometimes it seems like he is angry with us. We hurt. We struggle. We fall and he doesn’t pick us up right away. He doesn’t immediately take away our sorrows or pains.

Don’t think that means he doesn’t care. When you hurt, he feels it deep down in the bottom of his stomach. He loves you. He doesn’t want you to suffer, but he also knows that sometimes you need to struggle. Sometimes you need to hurt for a while to learn or to grow, or because in his love he has plans for you that you can’t see or understand at this moment.

When you are hurting, remember the most awesome of all Greek words: splanchnizomai. God knows your pain. He loves you more deeply than you will ever fully understand. One day he will deliver you. Meanwhile, he will be by your side to give you the courage and strength you need.

How do I know? Splanchnizomai. God loves you so much he feels it deep down in the pit of his stomach.

Today I am thankful for/that

Dear Jesus, thank you for loving me so deeply and for forgiving me so freely. Help me to love others as you have loved me. Amen.

DAY 8

A TEAM EFFORT

I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. . . . For we are co-workers in God’s service.

1 CORINTHIANS 3:6,9

Years ago, all six of my siblings and I got together with our families for a week at a lake. We stayed in a big house with a tiny dock.

Every day, my children and their cousins fished off the dock in three feet of water. The water was so clear they could see the tiny bluegills swimming around the baited hooks.

One afternoon, the children were on the dock when suddenly one yelled, It’s a monster! A 21-inch, 5-pound bass was swimming among the tiny baitfish. The fathers sprang into action. We started dropping lures into the water as the children followed Moby Dick in the water.

Then Uncle Tom had an idea. His nine-year-old daughter Grace quickly caught a small bluegill with her pink bobbered pole. Uncle Tom put it on a hook and, with the help of the children, dropped it in front of the giant bass. The bass sucked the bait into his massive mouth and the battle began. Uncle Tom slowly worked the fish to the dock as I nervously maneuvered the net.

After five chaotic minutes, the children cheered as the trophy fish was brought on shore. It was a team effort, Uncle Tom announced with a smile.

Jesus’ first disciples were from families of fishermen. One day, Jesus stood on the shore and invited them to go fishing with him. Come, follow me, Jesus told them, and I will send you out to fish for people (Mark 1:17). Jesus was inviting them to be his messengers, making disciples of all nations.

Jesus has also invited you to go fishing. He has called you to be his messenger—to tell others of his love and forgiveness. Sometimes fishing is a team effort.

SOMETIMES FISHING IS A TEAM EFFORT.

Many years ago when I lived in Mexico, we held worship services on the patio of a butcher shop. The owner and most of his family were members of the church. His nephew Chago was not. He would usually stay upstairs as we worshiped.

A month before I left Mexico, Chago suffered a kidney infection which required surgery. I went to visit Chago in the hospital. I prayed with him. I told him about God’s love and the forgiveness Jesus won for him on the cross. He didn’t seem too interested in what I was saying.

After I left, though, one of the Mexican pastors followed up with Chago. The pastor continued to share the good news of God’s love with him. His family continued to encourage him to go to church. Two years later, Chago joined the church.

Three years later, Chago went to heaven.

Sometimes fishing is a team effort. You may tell someone about Jesus. You may share the good news of God’s love and forgiveness, but you may not see any results. That doesn’t mean God isn’t working through your message. To use the apostle Paul’s metaphor, you have planted a seed. Someone else may water it and see it grow.

So don’t give up. Go fishing. Talk about Jesus and his love with everyone you can. Though you may not always see the results, you may be a part of a bigger team God is using to help that person see his love.

Sometimes fishing is a team effort.

Today I am thankful for/that

Dear Jesus, help me to never give up as I go fishing for you. Amen.

DAY 9

DADDY, I DON’T WANT TO DIE

In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, LORD, make me dwell in safety.

PSALM 4:8

I will never forget that moment. My daughter was six years old. I tucked her into bed. Then we prayed as we do every night:

Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep;

If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take.

My daughter began to cry. We had said the prayer hundreds of times before, but this time the words hit home. But, Daddy, I don’t want to die, she said as tears rolled down her cheeks.

At that point in her life, my daughter had limited experience dealing with death. She had been to a couple of funerals. She heard about death in her Sunday school lessons at church. Though we try to shield our children from violence and adult topics on TV, she knew what death looked like.

That night, however, for the first time in her young life, my daughter faced her own mortality. For the first time in her life, she realized she was going to die.

So we talked. I told her how all of us one day are going to die. That didn’t help. Suddenly the slow stream of tears became a roaring river. Daddy, I don’t want you and Mommy to die!

Few people want to die. Whether you want to or not, though, you are going to die. Death is part of this life. Unless Jesus comes first, you will attend many funerals in your life, the last of which will be your own.

JESUS CONQUERED SIN, DEATH, AND HELL FOR US.

Death is scary because deep down we all know it means we will face God’s judgment. We deserve death. We deserve hell. But Jesus conquered sin, death, and hell for us.

His words of comfort to a mourning Martha also comfort us. He said, I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die (John 11:25,26).

For us who believe, death is simply the door to heaven. One day we will close our eyes in death and open them to life in heaven. There we will bask in God’s presence. There we will be together with all our loved ones who died in Christ. There we will never attend another funeral again.

On that night years ago, I sat on my daughter’s bed holding her as she cried. We talked about the pain of death and the sorrow of missing our loved ones, but then we talked about heaven. I reminded her how we would be together forever in heaven because of Jesus. I told her that death wasn’t a bad thing because heaven is so much better than this world. The tears slowed and her breathing steadied.

Soon she fell asleep.

Whether you are six years old or sixty years old, death can be a scary subject. God’s promises of forgiveness and heaven, however, allow us to close our eyes and rest in peace. I find great comfort in knowing that my daughter can now say with confidence: If I die before I wake, I know the Lord my soul will take.

Today I am thankful for/that

Almighty God, help me to close my eyes every night with the confidence and peace of heaven. Amen.

DAY 10

FAITH IS HARD

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.

HEBREWS 11:1

A man was walking down a narrow path along a steep cliff. He tripped and fell over the side. As he fell, he grabbed onto a small branch sticking out of the side of the cliff.

Hanging on for his life, he cried out: Is anyone up there?

I am here, a voice replied.

Who’s there? the man asked.

It’s me . . . God, the voice answered.

Lord, help me! the man squealed.

Do you trust me? God asked.

I trust you completely, the man said resolutely.

Good, God said, then let go of the branch.

What?

I said, ‘Let go of the branch.’

Is there anyone else up there?

Faith is hard. We hear God’s voice in the distance telling us to let go. He will catch us, but that’s hard. It’s hard to trust completely when we can’t see or understand why.

Faith is hard when the credit card bills pile up. Faith is hard when the doctor tells you that it’s cancer. Faith is hard as you watch your child die. We ask ourselves, If God loves me, why is he doing this to me?

We think, It would be so much easier if we could just see. If only we could see what God’s people of the Old Testament saw. They saw the ten powerful plagues in Egypt. They saw God divide the Red Sea. They saw the glory of God descend on Mount Sinai.

Or what about Jesus’ disciples? They saw Jesus in the flesh. They saw him walk on water. They saw him feed thousands of people with a couple loaves of bread and a few small fish. They saw him raise the dead. If only we could see what the people of Israel saw, if only we could see what the disciples saw, it would be much easier to trust. Then faith wouldn’t be so hard.

SEEING ISN’T BELIEVING. BELIEVING IS SEEING.

Or would it? Despite all the wonders they saw, the people of Israel constantly complained. They persistently rebelled and continuously rejected. For all the miracles the disciples witnessed, they still ran away the night Jesus was arrested. They still cowered in fear behind locked doors on that first Easter evening.

Seeing didn’t help the Israelites. It didn’t help Jesus’ disciples, and it wouldn’t help us because seeing isn’t believing. Believing is seeing.

If you are looking for visible evidence or scientific proof, I cannot give it to you. There is no pill which will make believing easier. Faith by definition is believing in something we cannot see.

If it were left up to us, faith would be too hard. We wouldn’t be able to let go. We wouldn’t trust God. But God sends us his Holy Spirit to help us trust. As we hear God’s promises and see all the examples in the Bible of God keeping his promises, the Holy Spirit works in us the faith to trust that what God says is true.

If God kept his promises to Adam and Eve, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—if he kept his promise to send his Son to live and die as our Savior—we can trust that he will keep the rest of his promises.

Do you find yourself doubting? Do you find yourself worrying? Do you find yourself struggling? We all do at times. At those times, say the prayer a hurting father once prayed to Jesus, I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief! (Mark 9:24).

When you struggle with doubt, go back to God’s promises. Go back to God’s Word. See how God always does what he says he’ll do.

And then let go of the branch.

Today I am thankful for/that

Lord, I do believe. Help me overcome my unbelief. Amen.

DAY 11

THE MARATHON OF LIFE

Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown.

REVELATION 2:10

A few years ago, I ran a marathon—26.2 miles. It was the hardest thing I have ever done. The last couple of miles were pure agony. I actually cried from the pain. The only thing that kept me going was the thought of how good it would feel to cross the finish line and be with my family waiting there.

In many ways, life is like a marathon. Just like a marathon, the last part is often the hardest. In my years as a pastor, I have had the privilege of serving elderly people in our congregation and our area nursing homes.

We often don’t realize how hard those last miles are.

When I was a boy, there was a man who lived on my newspaper route—good ole Mr. Kutz. He was a member of our church, lived to be 104 years old, and was still chopping firewood when he was 90. At his 100th birthday party, Mr. Kutz pulled my dad, his pastor, aside and told him, Pastor, being 100 is not all it’s cracked up to be.

Getting older is not all it’s cracked up to be. Our bodies break down. Our knees ache. Our backs hurt. Our feet swell. Our eyesight and hearing fade. It gets harder to remember things. Soon we end up in wheelchairs and nursing homes. We lose our independence. We can no longer drive. People start to treat us differently.

The longer we live, the more funerals we have to attend. The longer we live, the more goodbyes we have to say—to our parents, our spouses, our brothers and sisters, our childhood friends. Getting older is not all it’s cracked up to be. The last miles of life’s marathon are often the hardest.

Just like my marathon, what can help us keep going is to remember how good it will feel to cross the finish line. You see, no matter how hard the marathon is, no matter how many times you stumble and fall, you will eventually win the race.

You will win, because Jesus won the victory for you. You could never win life’s marathon on your own. You have stumbled and fallen too many times. You have stumbled into sin. You have stumbled over your anger, over your drinking, over your gossiping. You don’t deserve to win. You don’t deserve the prize to heaven.

KEEP YOUR EYES FOCUSED ON THE FINISH LINE.

Yet the victory is yours because Jesus suffered the punishment of all your anger, your drinking, your gossip—your sins—in your place. With his death and resurrection, he won the victory for you. You don’t have to win the race. You just have to finish. The Lord’s promise is: whoever finishes the race in faith, whoever dies believing in Jesus, the victory of heaven is yours. Your loved ones who died in Christ will be waiting for you at the finish line.

Once you cross that finish line, there will be no more aches and pains, no more wheelchairs or nursing homes, no more sin or sorrow. The victory celebration of heaven will last forever.

The last few miles of the marathon are often the hardest. Getting older is not all it’s cracked up to be, so keep your eyes focused on the finish line. Think about how good it will feel to cross that line and to see your loved ones there. At the finish line, all your pains will disappear. I know it hurts, but don’t give up now.

I’ll see you at the finish line!

Today I am thankful for/that

Lord, thank you for getting me this far in my life. Please give me the strength and help I need to finish the race. Amen.

DAY 12

RUSSIAN ROULETTE WITH YOUR SOUL

Do not put the Lord your God to the test.

LUKE 4:12

Nobody is quite sure of the origin of the term. Russian refers to its supposed country of origin; roulette refers to the spinning of the gun’s chamber and the gamble the person is making.

Russian roulette is a foolish and dangerous game. Throughout the decades, countless people have been maimed or killed by playing it. Yet some still play it today. Some play it because they have a death wish; others because it makes them look tough. Still others think it makes them cool.

In the end, Russian roulette is the epitome of stupidity.

Yet you and I often play Russian roulette with the Holy Spirit. It goes something like this: God promises to always forgive us when we repent of our sins. No matter how far we fall, no matter how badly we mess up, Jesus died for that sin and God will forgive it.

That’s what he tells himself as he buys the case of beer at the gas station on the way home from work. That’s what he tells himself as he sits behind his computer in a dark room after everybody has gone to bed. That’s what she tells herself as she sits alone in her car with the guy from work who seems to understand her so much better than her husband.

God will forgive me. He’ll always take me back. Nobody’s perfect.

We let ourselves fall. We tell ourselves it’s a one-off. We can always ask for forgiveness tomorrow.

That is the lie of the devil. That is playing Russian roulette with the Holy Spirit.

Yes, God has and will always forgive you because of Jesus, but are you really sorry if you plan on doing it and then asking God for forgiveness afterward? Once sin gets a foothold in your heart, it doesn’t want to let go. We become slaves to addictions. We become ensnared in our passions. We get desensitized to sin and soon aren’t even sorry any more.

The biggest problem with playing Russian roulette with the Holy Spirit is that you could die. At what point when we knowingly sin are we turning away from God into unbelief? At what point are we risking our souls and our eternal salvation? I can’t look into a person’s heart, nor do I presume to know the mind of God, but if you play Russian roulette with the Holy Spirit and die, what will happen to you?

As I said before, Russian roulette is the epitome of stupidity.

Our God is an extremely patient God, but his patience is not absolute. There comes a point when God says, Enough is enough. Our God of mercy and grace is also a God of justice who punishes those who willfully reject him.

Consider the teenagers who think they have a lifetime to turn to God. Right now they are busy with school and friends. They want to live life and have fun. They want to do their own thing. One day they will settle down. One day they’ll get back to church. One day they will get back to God.

What they don’t know is if God will say what he said in Jesus’ parable: You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you (Luke 12:20).

DON’T PLAY GAMES WITH GOD’S GRACE.

Don’t play games with God’s grace. He loves you. He forgives you. He is extremely patient and will take you back no matter how far you’ve fallen—no matter how badly you’ve messed up.

But his patience does have an end. Sin has a way of trapping us in addiction and pulling us away from God. One day you will die, and you don’t know what day that will be. So cling to God’s grace every day. Don’t listen to the lies of the devil. Fight against the temptation to play games with sin. The stakes are too high.

You are gambling your soul.

Today I am thankful for/that

Merciful God, forgive me for the times I have played games with your grace. Help me to live every day for you who lived and died for me. Amen.

DAY 13

THE SON OF GOD

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

JOHN 3:16

In 2014, the movie Son of God hit theaters. Soon afterward, a member of my church asked me what that meant.

I’ve always wondered, pastor, she said, "what does it mean that Jesus is the Son of God?"

Good question. Jesus is God’s Son, but that doesn’t mean God the Father got married and together they had a son. Yes, Jesus was born here on earth to the virgin Mary, but he has always existed. Just like God the Father and God the Holy Spirit, God the Son is eternal (John 1:1-14; Revelation 1:17). Jesus is completely God in every way (Colossians 2:9). Our simple human minds cannot fully understand that.

God is three distinct persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—yet only one God.

When God reveals himself as a Father and Son, however, he is not referring to time, but to a relationship. God the Father loves his Son and is proud of him (Matthew 3:17). Jesus, the Son, loves his Father and obeyed him by coming to this world to be our Savior. By using the human terms Father and Son, God gives us a glimpse into the relationship between those two persons of the Trinity.

By calling himself Father and Son, God gives us a glimpse into his great love for us.

I once heard the story of a pastor who one Sunday after church announced that a special guest wanted to say a few words to the congregation. Slowly an elderly man made his way to the front of the church.

Many years ago, the old man began, I took my ten-year-old son and his friend out in my sailboat for a day on the water. A terrible storm came up and capsized the boat. I was able to grab on to the boat, but the boys were quickly being pulled out to sea. I was able to reach a life preserver, but had only a split second to decide which boy to throw it to.

The congregation held its collective breath as the old man paused to catch his. Finally, he lifted up his head and said, I threw it to my son’s friend.

THE FATHER LET HIS SON DIE TO RESCUE YOU. THERE IS NO GREATER LOVE.

He paused again. His voice trembled, You see, I knew my son believed in Jesus. I knew where he would go if he died. I also knew my son’s friend didn’t go to church. I couldn’t take the chance. I threw him the life preserver.

By that point, there wasn’t a dry eye in the church. The pastor slowly walked up behind the old man and put his arm around him. He looked out at the congregation and said, That’s a true story. I know, because I was the boy he saved.

Could you do that? Would you do that? Sacrifice your own child to save someone else’s? As a parent, I can’t imagine making that sacrifice.

The point of calling Jesus the Son of God is to help us understand the height, breadth, and width of God’s love for us. God loved you so much that he made that awesome and awful sacrifice. The Father let his Son die to rescue you.

There is no greater love.

Today I am thankful for/that

Thank you, Lord, for your great love that led you to sacrifice so much for me. Amen.

DAY 14

COMMITTED

As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.

LUKE 9:51

Do you know the difference between being involved and being committed? It’s the difference between bacon and eggs. Yeah, that’s right—bacon and eggs.

BE COMMITTED.

You see, in bacon and eggs, the chicken is involved, but the pig’s life is committed.

I live in rural Texas. Fourteen thousand people live in our entire county, and we have 50 churches. We must be a very Christian community, right?

A few years ago, a fellow pastor from our area shared with me a study that showed that 85% of our county is not in church on any given weekend. Eighty-five percent!

How committed are any of us really, even those of us who go to church regularly? Sure we put in our hour a week, but is that what it means to be a Christian—to park our posteriors in the pew for an hour each week?

To understand what it means to be committed, we need to look at Jesus. In his great love, Jesus, the King and Creator of all things, left behind the cushy comfort of heaven to be born in a manure-smelling barn. God became a helpless baby. On that night, God felt hunger and pain for the first time. On that night, God cried.

God lived a humble life of poverty and pain here on earth. Then, when he was 33 years old, he marched straight into Jerusalem, knowing what was waiting for him. Think about that. If you knew thugs were waiting outside your front door with baseball bats to pound you, would you go out that door? No way. You would sneak out the back. You would call the cops.

Jesus walked into Jerusalem knowing the pain, horror, and hell he was about to suffer, yet he willingly suffered it all. He suffered God’s punishment for our lack of commitment. He suffered God’s punishment for our lack of love. He suffered God’s punishment in our place for all the bad things we do. Then he died our death.

That is commitment.

Because of Jesus’ commitment to us, we are forgiven. God will not punish us for our half-hearted service because he already punished Jesus in our place. Even now, God is still committed 100% to you and your salvation. He is working everything in your life to lead you to heaven.

When we see such love, such sacrifice, such commitment, it changes us. God gave everything for me. What can I give for him? An hour a week? Two hours a week? How about my whole week? How about my whole life?

Don’t just be involved. Be committed.

Today I am thankful for/that

Dear Jesus, thank you for being committed to me and my salvation. Forgive me for all the times my service to you has been only half-hearted. Help me to be committed. Amen.

DAY 15

A REALLY DARK PLACE

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.

PSALM 23:4 KJV

It is an oft-repeated scene in my ministry: I’m standing next to the bed of a person who is breathing their last here on earth. I pull out my Bible and begin reading.

The LORD is my Shepherd, I shall not want.

As I read the well-known, comforting words of Psalm 23, some people smile; others cry. Some do both. Hurting family members and friends hang on every beautiful and profound word.

But then I read, Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. At that point, I often hear an audible gasp or whimper as they react to such poignant words.

Their loved one is passing through that dark valley of death.

The truth is, however, that is not exactly what Psalm 23 is saying, or at least not in the way people often think. When people hear the phrase the valley of the shadow of death, they think David is talking about passing through the dark valley of death.

In the original Hebrew, the word often translated as the shadow of death seems to mean deep darkness. In other words, even when we walk through the valleys of deep darkness, we don’t need to be afraid. Dark valleys in David’s day were dangerous. A modern paraphrase might be, Even when I walk through a dark alleyway in the bad part of Houston at two o’clock in the morning, I will fear no evil.

The valley of the shadow of death includes all the dark and scary times in our lives. We’ve all experienced such dark places—when we are hurting, afraid, and confused. When we find ourselves in those really dark places, we don’t need to be afraid. Our Good Shepherd is with us. He will protect, guide, and comfort us.

YOUR GOOD SHEPHERD WILL NEVER LEAVE YOUR SIDE.

No matter where you go, no matter how scared you are, no matter how dark of a place you find yourself in, your Good Shepherd will never leave your side. You don’t have to be afraid. He will protect you. He will make it all work out for your good.

And, no matter what, he will lead you to heaven.

Sometimes the really dark place is death. In fact, death is the darkest and scariest valley through which we must pass. Even as we walk through the dark valley of death, however, we don’t need to be afraid. Our Good Shepherd is with us the whole way.

Because of Jesus, your Good Shepherd, death is not the end. Death is not darkness. Death is not something to be feared.

Because Jesus, your Good Shepherd, gave his life to rescue his sheep—because he won for you forgiveness and a home in heaven—death for you is simply a door. When you go through that door, you will see the table he has prepared for you in the banquet hall of heaven where your cup overflows. Through faith in Jesus, you will live in the house of the Lord forever.

Psalm 23 isn’t meant to be read only at a person’s deathbed or funeral. It reminds us of God’s providence, protection, and presence every day of our lives. It points us to the luxurious banquet of heaven waiting for us.

It comforts us and takes away our fears, especially when we are in a really dark place.

Today I am thankful for/that

Dear Good Shepherd, thank you for always being with me, even in my darkest times. Take away my fears and help me to trust you. Amen.

DAY 16

IT’S NOT EASY BEING GREEN

Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul.

1 PETER 2:11

As a socially awkward boy growing up in the ’70s and ’80s, I related to one character on TV more than any other: Kermit the Frog. I remember watching him sitting on a log in the middle of a swamp, playing his banjo and singing, It’s not easy being green.

I can remember thinking to myself, This guy gets me.

It’s not easy being green. It’s not easy being different. We all, to some degree, want to fit in. We all want to be normal.

But is being normal such a good thing? I have a rather eccentric friend who likes to say, Being normal is overrated.

Just look at what is normal in our world today. Over 40% of marriages in our country end in divorce. Divorce has become normal. About 71% of teenagers have had sexual relations by the time they are nineteen. Premarital sex is normal. Every year, there are hundreds of millions of searches for pornography on the internet. Pornography has become normal.

Abortion is legal in our country. Recreational marijuana use is becoming the norm in many states. Gay marriage is not only permitted, it is celebrated. In a sinful world, sin is normal.

In that sense, we were all born normal. We are just like the other 7.2 billion people in this world. We are selfish. We lose our tempers. We struggle in our marriages and with our children. We are just like everybody else, yet as Christians we are different.

We are different because God took us, who were dirty slaves to sin, and adopted us as his children through Holy Baptism and his Word. He washed us clean of all our sins in Jesus’ blood. We are different because we are forgiven. We are different because we are God’s adopted children. We are different because we are going to heaven.

WE AREN’T NORMAL. WE ARE DIFFERENT.

As Christians, we are just passing through this world. Heaven is our home. That truth changes how we live and how we act here on earth. We aren’t like the rest of the world. We aren’t normal. We are different.

I used to live in Mexico. When I first moved there, I stuck out like a sore thumb. I dressed like a gringo. I spoke like a gringo. I acted like a gringo. But as I spent more time down there, I started talking more like a Mexican. I started dressing more like a Mexican. I started acting more like a Mexican. They call that cultural acclimation. The more time you spend with a group of people, the more you start talking and acting like them.

How often don’t we become culturally acclimated to our sinful world? You get a new job in the oil fields. The other guys like to cuss, drink, and go to the strip club. How long before you start sounding and acting like them? At school, you start going to parties where kids are drinking or smoking pot. You tell yourself, I can go without it affecting me. I won’t do it. Then, before you know it, you become culturally acclimated.

You are different. God has washed you clean of your sins. You have been adopted as his son or daughter. You are going to heaven. So come out of the closet. Stand up and say, I am not ashamed to be a Christian.

I know it’s not easy being green. It’s not easy being different. A part of us still loves the sins from which God has freed us. A part of us wants to fit in and be like everybody else. But you aren’t like everybody else. You are different. You are a forgiven child of God. Don’t let yourself become culturally acclimated to this sinful world.

Dare to be different.

Today I am thankful for/that

Dear Lord, thank you for making me different. Help me not be ashamed to be who you made me to be. Amen.

DAY 17

BE STILL

Be still, and know that I am God.

PSALM 46:10

That’s one of my all-time favorite verses of the Bible. I’ve always felt like God was speaking directly to me when he said it. It has brought me great comfort and peace during tumultuous times in my life.

But now it turns out God may not even be speaking to me in that verse.

In Psalm 46, the writer reminds us we don’t have to be afraid even if the whole world collapses around us. We have a refuge where we can hide—a mighty fortress whose great walls will protect us.

That mighty fortress is our God.

He will be with us, the writer promises. Though nations and kingdoms rise up against him and us, he will break their bows and shatter their spears. He will make wars cease to the ends of the earth.

And then in verse 10, God himself speaks. Be still, and know that I am God.

When I worry, my stomach turns in knots. I get anxious. I can’t sit still. I can’t sleep.

But God tells me to be still—to take a deep breath and remember that he is God. He’s got this. He’s in control. He is my refuge. He is a mighty fortress.

He is God.

It turns out, though, God may not actually be speaking those words to me. A fellow pastor recently pointed out to me that if you look at the verses right before verse 10, it’s talking about God dealing with those who rage and fight against him—how he destroys their weapons of mass destruction and brings an end to their conflicts.

Then God says, Be still, and know that I am God. In that context, it seems like God is speaking to those who wage war against him and us. It seems like he is saying, Be still! Knock it off! I’m God. I’m in charge here.

In that sense, verse 10 would be analogous to when Jesus was on the Sea of Galilee with his disciples in a terrible storm. As the waters roared and foamed, Jesus rebuked the storm. Quiet! he said. Be still! And the storm stopped immediately (Mark 4:39).

GOD IS WITH US. HE IS IN CONTROL.

If you have a chance today, read through Psalm 46 in its entirety. We honestly can’t say with certainty to whom God is speaking in verse 10. In the end, though, it doesn’t matter. The point is still the same.

We don’t have to worry. We don’t have to fret. We don’t have to be afraid. God is with us. He is in control.

The forces which rage against us cannot win. The Coronavirus cannot win. Terrorists cannot win. Jesus wins. God’s got you. Even if they take our lives here on earth, we have forever waiting for us in the happiness of heaven because of Jesus. You cannot lose. You never need to be afraid.

At this moment, it feels like the world is falling apart around us. A pandemic surrounds us. The economy is collapsing. Our country is divided. It’s scary.

Take a deep breath. You’ve got this. Better yet, God’s got this. He’s got you.

So be still, and know that he is God.

Today I am thankful for/that

Dear Lord, help me to remember who you are and what you have done for me. Open my eyes to see that you are with me at this very moment. Help me to be still and to trust that you’ve got this. Amen.

DAY 18

ANYONE CAN PLANT A SEED

The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed. . . . Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree.

MATTHEW 13:31,32