Category: Devotion for Men

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Dating Devotion for Men Devotion for Women ZZ

SEX AND SINGLES

‘But I wish everyone were single, just as I am. Yet each person has a special gift from God, of one kind or another. So I say to those who aren’t married and to widows—it’s better to stay unmarried, just as I am. But if they can’t control themselves, they should go ahead and marry. It’s better to marry than to burn with lust.’ 1 Corinthians 7:7-9(NLT)

These days, many young men and women seem to be delaying marriage as long as possible. Some have decided that, for now, it’s more important to earn a degree, establish a career, and see the world than it is to “settle down” to the “dull routine of domestic life.” Others are writing marriage off altogether, concluding that the single life is freer, easier, and more exciting than matrimony.

There’s just one problem with these perspectives: most of these healthy young adults still have a strong sex drive and a deep desire to know what it’s like to become “one flesh” with another person.

The solution for many is to keep sex and marriage separate – that could be everything from “hooking up,” to casual date-night sex, to cohabitation. But all of these choices have one thing in common: they seek to satisfy the normal human sexual urge without tying it to marriage, parenting, family, or permanent commitment.

But no one who believes the Bible to be the Word of God and who seeks to follow Jesus Christ can easily ignore the importance of chastity or disregard Scripture’s link between sex and marriage.

The Bible does allow for another alternative, of course: a faithful, celibate life of complete sexual abstinence. But both Paul and Jesus indicate that celibacy is a rare gift. God grants this gift only to a few special individuals (Matthew 19:10-12; 1 Corinthians 7:7). For the rest of us, the challenge of living a completely asexual life is a difficult standard to achieve. That’s why marriage is such an important part of the divine plan for the average believer (1 Corinthians 7:2).

Some Christians may feel compelled to conclude that God is “calling them to the single life.” In some cases, they may be right. But it can be difficult and painful to find oneself caught between this conviction and the realities of a healthy sex drive. If you have to fight too hard to suppress your feelings, it’s easy to end up believing that God is cruel and capricious.

The scriptural solution may not be easily achievable, but it is about as plain and straightforward as it can be: those who are wrestling with sexual temptations and urges need to give a lot of serious and intentional thought to the option of marriage.

They need to set their faces like flint to live in a manner that runs counter to the assumptions of modern society and find ways of seeking out potential partners who share their convictions and subscribe to their worldview, whether that means joining a singles fellowship group at a local church or making use of online Christian dating services.

Most of all, they need to submit the matter to prayer and trust God to provide for all their needs. It’s a question of fixing your eyes on Christ and making up your mind to keep sexual fulfillment exclusively connected with marriage.

For more help, visit Pure Intimacy or Focus on the Family’s main website .You can also call the ministry’s Counseling Department for a free consultation at 855-771-HELP (4357).

from God’s Design For Sex

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1st Marriage 2nd Marriage Dating Devotion for Men Devotion for Women ZZ

SEX AND MORALITY

‘God’s will is for you to be holy, so stay away from all sexual sin. Then each of you will control his own body and live in holiness and honor— not in lustful passion like the pagans who do not know God and his ways. ‘ 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5(NLT)

When it comes to sex, we enjoy God’s gifts of sensuality and “fleshly” pleasure to the fullest extent only when they’re experienced within the proper context: marriage.

Though the notion of Christian sexual morality is often criticized as “repressive,” it’s actually a matter of restraining and channeling the power of sex to make it as effective as possible to our lives.

Are you familiar with the word “dissipation”? It refers to the wasteful squandering and loss of positive energy that results when a substance is not properly contained. When water is forced to flow through a narrow channel, for example, it generates incredible power. But if it bursts outside of those boundaries and spills out across the land, that power is lost.

That’s dissipation, and the word has a particular relevance to the question of sexual morality. This is what the writer of Proverbs had in mind when he penned the following verses:

Drink water from your own cistern, and running water from your own well. Should your fountains be dispersed abroad, streams of water in the streets?
Let them be only your own, and not for strangers with you.
Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice with the wife of your youth.
As a loving deer and a graceful doe, let her breasts satisfy you at all times;
And always be enraptured with her love.
For why should you, my son, be enraptured by an immoral woman,
And be embraced in the arms of a seductress?
(Proverbs 5:15-20)

Clearly, these are not the words of someone who is “uptight” about sex, who “fears” the world, or who rejects the beauties of creation. Such poetry does not flow from a “repressed” mind that “avoids the joys of life,” as some critics of sexual morality would have it.

On the contrary, it expresses deep and ecstatic appreciation for the vibrancy and vitality of sexuality that is under control. This is what has inspired those who believe in God and who keep His commandments to declare, “You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:11).

This is one of the best kept secrets of the “straight-laced religious life”: all the best research indicates that the most sexually satisfied people in modern society are not the adventurous swingers, but rather faithful, monogamous married couples.

This, then, is what Christian sexual morality is really all about. It’s not a set of restrictive rules designed to prevent us from having fun. It’s the key to total fulfillment of our sexuality. It’s the doorway to a truly satisfying and abundant life in the realm of marriage and male-female relationships.

For more help, visit Pure Intimacy or Focus on the Family’s main website .You can also call the ministry’s Counseling Department for a free consultation at 855-771-HELP (4357).

from God’s Design For Sex

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1st Marriage 2nd Marriage Dating Devotion for Men Devotion for Women ZZ

SEX AND THE TRINITY

‘In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God.’ John 1:1(NLT)

Charles Williams, close friend of C. S. Lewis and member of that illustrious group of intellectuals known as the Inklings, had a deep understanding of God’s design for human sexuality. In writing about Dante’s portrayal of romantic love in The Divine Comedy, Williams says that that the poet’s vision signifies three things.

First, it’s a picture of the Trinity: One God “subsisting” in Three Persons. Second, it’s a reminder of the Incarnation: humanity and divinity seamlessly bonded in the Person of Jesus Christ. Third, it’s a symbol of something Williams likes to call the “mystery of co-inherence”: the intimate communion of me in you and you in me.

Jesus expressed it this way in His high priestly prayer: “As You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, [I pray] that they may be one in Us …” (John 17:21).

This is what the Image of God in man is really all about. The God we worship does not exist in isolation. On the contrary, He has been in community for all eternity. The three Persons of the Trinity – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – interact with one another in perfect communion. That truth helps us better understand what the apostle John had in mind when He said that “God is Love” (1 John 4:8).

It’s also why God said that “it is not good for man to be alone” (Genesis 2:18). After all, how could one man, who was by himself, reflect the full Image of a God whose very nature exists in communion? That only became possible when Adam saw Eve advancing toward him in the full splendor of feminine beauty and said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh” (Genesis 2:23).

All of this leads to an inescapable conclusion with regard to our sexuality. In a profound and wonderful way, our sexual lives are intended to mirror the reality and beauty of the Trinity in our marital relationships.

As theologian George Weigel explains, when we view God’s directives for our sexuality in this way, “the first moral question shifts from ‘What am I forbidden to do?’ to ‘How do I live a life of sexual love that conforms to my dignity as a human person?’”1 Sex, then, rightly understood and practiced, is in a very real sense fundamental to mankind’s function, purpose, and destiny within the miracle of God’s creation.

For more help, visit Pure Intimacy or Focus on the Family’s main website .You can also call the ministry’s Counseling Department for a free consultation at 855-771-HELP (4357).

George Weigel, The Truth of Catholicism: Ten Controversies Explored (New York: Cliff Street Books, 2001), 104-105.

from God’s Design For Sex

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Dating Devotion for Men Devotion for Women ZZ

PURITY

‘In the same way, you wives must accept the authority of your husbands. Then, even if some refuse to obey the Good News, your godly lives will speak to them without any words. They will be won over by observing your pure and reverent lives.’ 1 Peter 3:1-2(NLT)

Chastity isn’t a concept you hear much about these days, but it’s been an important Christian virtue for more than twenty centuries. Chastity is usually defined as sexual abstinence before marriage and sexual fidelity within marriage.

It reflects the biblical worldview that we have no inherent right to sex. The privilege of sexual union with another person is conferred upon us only by the wedding ceremony.

But chastity takes the idea of purity beyond the sexual sphere alone. It’s a crucially important piece of Christian faithfulness and discipleship. Its implications reach across the entire spectrum of Christian experience and touch every area of our lives.

That’s why the apostle Peter was able to tell women that it would be through their chaste conduct that unbelieving husbands would be won to faith in Christ. Peter wasn’t simply exhorting Christian wives to avoid extramarital affairs. He was suggesting that a life of single-minded discipline, focus, and devotion makes a deep impression on those who are not yet personally acquainted with the Lord.

We often talk in the church about the devastating consequences of having extramarital sex – life-altering troubles such as the possibility of STDs, unwanted pregnancy, and the cheapening of something that God intended us to share with just one other person.

But the most essential truth about chastity and purity is that turning away from unhealthy expressions of sexuality and romanticism better enables us to focus on God in a way that otherwise isn’t possible. “Blessed are the pure in heart,” said Jesus. And why? Because “they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8). Sexual immorality inhibits us from focusing on our truest Lover, the Lord.

Chastity, then, is first and foremost a spiritual discipline. Like prayer, fasting, study, silence, charity, and giving, it’s something God asks us to practice, not because it will get us into heaven, but because it will help transform us into new creatures.This kind of purity is not the mere absence of illicit sex, but an active conforming of one’s body, soul, and mind to the image of Christ.

For more help, visit Pure Intimacy or Focus on the Family’s main website .You can also call the ministry’s Counseling Department for a free consultation at 855-771-HELP (4357).

from God’s Design For Sex

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Devotion for Men Devotion for Women ZZ

I Want More of You, God

‘A single day in your courts is better than a thousand anywhere else! I would rather be a gatekeeper in the house of my God than live the good life in the homes of the wicked.’ Psalms 84:10(NLT)

It was a few years after Harold’s Everest climb when he and I (Rachel) were lying on the couch talking about our future. He looked at me and asked me what I am passionate about. Without hesitation I said, “Jesus.” After that we sat in silence for some time.

I don’t think my answer was what he was expecting—it wasn’t even what I was expecting. Harold is not only a very big dreamer but also a doer. When he has a dream he will do everything in his power to see it through. 

While I’ve always had lots of hobbies and love experiencing new things, I’ve never really had something that sets me on fire, that fills me with an overwhelming sense of purpose. I didn’t grow up dreaming of one specific route for my life. Even now I sometimes think, Should I be pursing something greater? Did I miss opportunities because I was crippled by fear? How can I accomplish my goals if I’m not really sure what they are? 

Then I realize that I do know my goals. They may not be goals that make me successful in our world but I am okay with that. My goals are to bring people to Jesus, to live my life with love and be ready and willing for God to use me whenever He chooses. I have passion, and I have drive, and more importantly, I have a great God who can and will use me. And that’s enough.

Whether we dream of climbing Mt. Everest or starting a business or raising a family, only God can truly satisfy us. He uses our longings to shape us, to reveal His unique gifts in our lives. But ultimately our prayers come down to, I want more of you, God.

As we wrap up this week’s devotional, we challenge you to live out boldly the dreams God has put on your heart, whatever they are. When our prayer is for more of Jesus, God will give us the courage for every calling in front of us.

from A Higher Calling by Harold & Rachel Earls

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Devotion for Men Devotion for Women ZZ

When Doubt Creeps In

‘For the word of God will never fail. ”’ Luke 1:37(NLT)

As we continued our long-planned journey, I (Harold) downplayed my fears and nerves when I talked with Rachel. I told her things like “It’s not too scary” and “It’s really pretty” and “I’m not too worried about it.” Those were half-truths. In reality, that towering beast in front of us was the meanest, blackest thing I’d ever seen. I was worried, and I was humbled. I could share this with her, my best friend and biggest supporter. But I wanted to protect her from the knot in my stomach, the nerves constantly rumbling inside, and the nagging questions: What am I doing? and What have I left behind? 

Have you ever come to a point in your life when the one thing you’ve been working toward suddenly seems insurmountable? A moment when your own personal Everest (be it creating a business, parenting, seeking healing from your past, or something else) stares you down, looking bigger and scarier than you ever could have imagined? A time when you feel intimidated and alone? A time in which you suddenly begin to question everything?

That’s what I was doing in Tibet, asking over and over again, Have I bitten off more than I can chew?

I know life sometimes presents moments that feel impossible. But I also know when you overcome these challenges, you come out with an even greater faith. 

The Bible tells us, “Nothing is impossible with God” (Luke 1:37). Nothing! If you’re facing doubts right now about the Everest in front of you, spend some time studying God’s character. Write down words that the Bible uses to describe Him. I guarantee when you look up at that mountain again, it will seem small compared to the God who never leaves you.

from A Higher Calling by Harold & Rachel Earls

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Devotion for Men Devotion for Women ZZ

Faith Over Fear

‘Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. ‘ 1 John 4:18(NLT)

I (Rachel) supported Harold’s choice to follow his dream and climb Everest to raise awareness for soldiers recovering from PTSD. At the same time, I was terrified of something happening to him.

We hadn’t been married a full year when Harold and his team set off on their trek. I stayed in touch as closely as I could when they were on the mountain. After one particular call from Mount Everest’s Advanced Base Camp, Harold had sounded exhausted as he told me about the significant snowstorm headed his way, forcing his team to climb back down to a lower elevation. I knew with bad weather conditions, a tired body, and many hours of descending in low visibility, the chances of something going wrong were significantly higher. 

I couldn’t help but wonder, Is my husband making a bad decision—perhaps a fatal one? I didn’t know when I’d hear from him next, if at all. 

I was trying to be strong, but deep down, I was afraid of being left alone. I feared that if something did happen, I would blame Harold for making the choice to leave. Or I’d blame myself for letting him go.

Every day he was gone, I realized how precious and fragile life is and what truly matters. It’s not the material things, the success, the money, or our physical appearances. It’s the people we love. 

The little moments count. 

Living with that truth in the forefront of your mind changes you. It’s changing me. I am starting to approach life with an attitude of thanksgiving, even in the midst of my trials. I realize my time with Harold is limited, and time is better spent being joyful and living in love rather than living in anger, frustration, or stress. I remind myself something I have told others: You are capable of more than you can imagine. And with God by your side, you will always come out stronger! 

What can you do so that fear won’t write your story? What choices can you make so that circumstances won’t control your joy? It’s our love for others that makes us afraid of losing them, yet the Bible tells us that “there is no fear in love,” and love actually drives out fear (1 John 4:18). What would it look like, right now, to choose faith over fear as you pray for those you love?

from A Higher Calling by Harold & Rachel Earls

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Devotion for Men Devotion for Women ZZ

Small Beginnings

‘Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin, to see the plumb line in Zerubbabel’s hand.” (The seven lamps represent the eyes of the Lord that search all around the world.)’ Zechariah 4:10(NLT)

When Rachel and I started talking about my sense that God was calling me to climb Everest, I told her I’d already done some research—that is, I had Googled “climbing Everest.”

I wondered, How much does it cost? Have any soldiers done it? When is the best time to climb? Those questions caused me to think, Can I put together an Army team? How incredible would that be? Is it even possible for an Army Soldier to do it? 

I started emailing anybody and everybody who might have an interest in helping me make this dream a reality. I didn’t know which direction to head, so I just sent out a shotgun blast in every direction to see what got traction. 

One of the biggest obstacles people encounter once they decide to go after their dreams is not knowing how to start. Are you ready for the answer? Make a move, any move at all. It doesn’t matter how big or small. Just do it. Take ten minutes and start doing something to make your dream happen; chances are you won’t stop after just ten minutes. The sheer fact of starting makes it easier to continue because you’re no longer staring at a blank slate. 

The Bible even talks about this truth in Zechariah 4:10: “Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin.” God loves it when you take even a small step out in faith.

Now, say you take your first step, but you don’t go anywhere. Then what? Well, now it’s easier to take the second step because at least you know where not to step. Keep going until something works. It’s all about momentum. Once you get the ball moving, it’s easier to steer it where you want it to go. With Everest, I knew only the end state I was aiming for; all the stuff in between I figured out by trial and error. 

Today, think about what move you could make toward living out your calling. Even if it is a “small beginning,” God will honor your courage and give you momentum to keep going.

from A Higher Calling by Harold & Rachel Earls

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Devotion for Men Devotion for Women ZZ

God’s Dreams for You

‘This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”’ Joshua 1:9(NLT)

I (Harold) remember it like yesterday. I was lying in bed at West Point, daydreaming and looking over my bucket list. Close to the top was “Become an American Soldier.” 

When I was young, we would go on family vacations to Washington, D.C., and visit the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Seeing those soldiers in uniform and learning about the selfless service the Unknown Soldier represented inspired me. So much so that in sixth grade, when given the prompt “Write About Your Hero,” my answer was obvious: an American Soldier. Since I would be commissioned as an Army officer when I graduated, I was almost ready to check this off the list. 

Also on my list: “Play baseball at West Point.” I could check that one off! While I didn’t write them down, the two most important items on my mental list were “Get married” and “Have a family.” One of those items was soon to have a check mark too. 

In bold at the very top of my list was “Climb Mount Everest.” As my eyes focused on this line item, I didn’t think about my zero climbing experience, nor that I was from the great state of Georgia, where our tallest mountain stands fewer than five thousand feet. But suddenly, I couldn’t get climbing Everest out of my head, even though I had always hated the cold and was terrible at running hills during PT in the Army. 

I knew it wasn’t a mountain for the inexperienced. It is a deadly beast. Although I would need a lot of training, I wanted to put myself in that extreme environment—in the death zone—to see what I was truly made of. I wanted to try to beat the thing I’m weakest at, and that’s why Everest was number one on my list. It was a mind-consuming idea that I just couldn’t ignore. 

I had an unshakable feeling God was speaking to me, and that burning desire only became stronger whenever I thought of Everest. I knew I had to go. 

So, what’s on your bucket list? Is God is speaking to you now through a desire to do something that doesn’t make sense on an earthly level? Spend some time in God’s Word, focused on Joshua 1:9. How would truly believing that God is with you give you courage to step out in faith?

from A Higher Calling by Harold & Rachel Earls

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Devotion for Men Devotion for Women ZZ

The Way to Financial Well-Being

‘O Lord , you have examined my heart and know everything about me. You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I’m far away. You see me when I travel and when I rest at home. You know everything I do. You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord . You go before me and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand! I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence! If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the grave, you are there. If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans, even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me. I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night— but even in darkness I cannot hide from you. To you the night shines as bright as day. Darkness and light are the same to you. You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, you are still with me!’ Psalms 139:1-18(NLT)

The way to financial well-being is a returning home to your deepest sense of self, which is rooted and nurtured in God’s love. So much financial teaching begins from the outside and sometimes works its way in. If you’ve made it this far, you’ve started the journey of tending to this aspect of your interior life. You’ve discovered a little more about who you are and how God has designed you. Now you can start to see beyond the traditional notions that people must fit a specific money mold and that there is only one right way to think and feel about finances. The way you relate to money stems from the way you relate to God, from the unique way you are God-wired to encounter the world and its resources.

Understanding that it is God who has designed you to think, feel, and act the way you do financially gives you the courage to embrace your type, while continually growing and maturing in how you relate to God and money. Once you’ve embraced your own type, you’ll create space for others to be who they are, and you’ll be positioned to understand them and relate to them in a way that enhances your own, and their own, financial well-being.

You’re free to embrace your money type when you understand that no one type is better than another, and that God designed each type. This realization gives you permission to listen to your own financial thoughts, emotions, and actions and discern how God has designed you and may want you to grow in your relationship to money.

Financial well-being is within your reach as you grow in your money type. You can possess the confidence and insight necessary to handle money in a God-honoring way that’s true to your deepest sense of self and healthy in emotional, spiritual, and relational ways. Embrace your money type as a core component of your identity, as a sacred aspect of who you understand yourself to be—a God-imaged person who is God’s partner in stewarding resources, loving others, and bringing hope into the world.

from The Seven Money Types