Category: Daily Devotion

By Pastor Andrew Farland

I have a confession.

This thing that I’m gonna be sharing with you is something that I need to continually work on. I’m not the best at it now. We have a phrase in America, we call it “honest to God”. We say this to show people that we’re being as completely sincere as possible. But, it’s funny how we’ll say, “Honest to God,” yet, in our prayers, we won’t be completely…you guessed it… honest with God!

Some of us today have been going to church forever. Some others reading this have just started attending and are trying to figure this whole “life with God” thing out! But this is a message that is important for anyone no matter how far along you are in your walk.

Because I’ve been going to church now for ten years, it’s easy to get into a routine of praying monotonous prayers that use big “spiritual sounding words” That don’t connect with my heart. I’m telling God things that sound good, but aren’t really honest or sincere.

And I don’t want to do that anymore. I want a deeper and more real connection with Him. I don’t want to fake it anymore. I don’t want to hide from God while sugarcoating my words.

I have to realize that God can handle what I’m going to share with Him and that it won’t blow Him off His throne.

Because God is loving, and because He’s the one that created emotions in the first place, He wants us to be honest with him and share exactly where we’re at. With the words that we speak. With the emotions we use.

That means we’re not sharing pious platitudes. We’re not trying to fake our way through life. We are coming to him as simply, and honestly, as we can like it says in Matthew 6:6. Allowing ourselves to enter into our own brokenness so we’ll experience His healing.

An example of this could be telling God, “I’m feeling really lonely right now”, or “I’m exhausted and spent” or “I’m feeling depressed and losing hope..” When we finally get honest with God we are showing Him that we need and want Him. We’re telling God that we NEED His help and can’t do it on our own. This is what leads to REAL and SUSTAINED breakthroughs!

If you aren’t honest with Him, you won’t find the real rest and comfort He wants to give you. But think about how good it WOULD feel to enter into this promise in the bible, “All you who are weary, and burdened, come to me and you will find rest.” This is the rest you’ve been wanting and waiting for. And He’s ready to give it to you.

Today, if you’re going through a hard time, first know that God cares about you more than you know! He loves you wholly and completely.

Second, know that he wants you to share your emotions. He wants to hear how you’re REALLY doing.

And lastly, know that when you are “Honest with God”, you won’t blow him off of his throne. He will immediately sense your broken and contrite heart and start going to work in your life. Remember I’m not posting this because I’m completely there, but because I want to get there. So let’s get this breakthrough together. Let’s commit to be honest with God. To stop faking it. To build the deeper connection we’ve been waiting for all along! 🙂

I have a confession.

This thing that I’m gonna be sharing with you is something that I need to continually work on. I’m not the best at it now. We have a phrase in America, we call it “honest to God”. We say this to show people that we’re being as completely sincere as possible. But, it’s funny how we’ll say, “Honest to God,” yet, in our prayers, we won’t be completely…you guessed it… honest with God!

Some of us today have been going to church forever. Some others reading this have just started attending and are trying to figure this whole “life with God” thing out! But this is a message that is important for anyone no matter how far along you are in your walk.

Because I’ve been going to church now for ten years, it’s easy to get into a routine of praying monotonous prayers that use big “spiritual sounding words” That don’t connect with my heart. I’m telling God things that sound good, but aren’t really honest or sincere.

And I don’t want to do that anymore. I want a deeper and more real connection with Him. I don’t want to fake it anymore. I don’t want to hide from God while sugarcoating my words.

I have to realize that God can handle what I’m going to share with Him and that it won’t blow Him off His throne.

Because God is loving, and because He’s the one that created emotions in the first place, He wants us to be honest with him and share exactly where we’re at. With the words that we speak. With the emotions we use.

That means we’re not sharing pious platitudes. We’re not trying to fake our way through life. We are coming to him as simply, and honestly, as we can like it says in Matthew 6:6. Allowing ourselves to enter into our own brokenness so we’ll experience His healing.

An example of this could be telling God, “I’m feeling really lonely right now”, or “I’m exhausted and spent” or “I’m feeling depressed and losing hope..” When we finally get honest with God we are showing Him that we need and want Him. We’re telling God that we NEED His help and can’t do it on our own. This is what leads to REAL and SUSTAINED breakthroughs!

If you aren’t honest with Him, you won’t find the real rest and comfort He wants to give you. But think about how good it WOULD feel to enter into this promise in the bible, “All you who are weary, and burdened, come to me and you will find rest.” This is the rest you’ve been wanting and waiting for. And He’s ready to give it to you.

Today, if you’re going through a hard time, first know that God cares about you more than you know! He loves you wholly and completely.

Second, know that he wants you to share your emotions. He wants to hear how you’re REALLY doing.

And lastly, know that when you are “Honest with God”, you won’t blow him off of his throne. He will immediately sense your broken and contrite heart and start going to work in your life. Remember I’m not posting this because I’m completely there, but because I want to get there. So let’s get this breakthrough together. Let’s commit to being honest with God. To stop faking it. To build the deeper connection we’ve been waiting for all along! 🙂

Matthew 6:6
“Here’s what I want you to do: Find a quiet, secluded place so you won’t be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace.”

Be encouraged today because God is with you.

By Pastor Andrew Farland

God has the ability to reach beyond your power and change something in your life if He needs to.

I was supposed to have appointments this morning with two separate people about a job — building closet organizers. Although I set my alarms, they didn’t go off. I overslept, which is very uncommon. The phone was on, and the volume was up. I even set four alarms. And I slept through each of them.

Even though I missed the first appointment, it worked out and saved me time because the person with whom I had the second appointment was the perfect fit, the right fit for the job.

Just like He did in my life, God has the ability to reach over your situation and help you with the perfect fit.

He can set things in motion, regardless of how small or big they may be, and He can start and stop the events that affect you.

That’s sovereignty.

God is sovereign, meaning that He can do anything and everything to change your life. He’s all-powerful and able to do anything if He chooses to.

The best way to reduce the stress in your life is to commit your strife to God. If you’re having a hard time picking something out, first acknowledge God. If you’re going through a difficult time knowing which way to go, pray and give it to God.

Tell Him, “I know you’re able.” This transition from questioning to affirmation acknowledges God’s sovereignty as you turn from prayer to praise and worship.

Say,

God, I know you are in control. I know you’re able to handle this. You have never let me down before, so you won’t this time, and I want YOUR best for my life. I don’t want to settle.”

I guarantee that if you acknowledge God and put Him first in your life when making a decision or figuring something out, He will make it work however he has to.

Whether you have a flat tire on the freeway and will be late, or you are in a relationship that’s not working out, God is there, fitting the pieces together to deliver you.

God creates divine appointments out of the many junctures in our day. Everything that happens is up to God’s timing. Release it all to God.

You’re not in control of your life. Once you give your life to Christ, you can plan and have an idea of what you want to do, but God is in control. You can’t have a grip on it.

God will release your strong grip, but it’s going to hurt if you’ve white-knuckled the problem yourself. The lighter your grip, the easier it will be for God to pry away your fingers from their vise-like clutch.

Maybe you’ve seen the meme of a little girl holding on to a tiny teddy bear and telling God, “But God, I don’t want to give it away. I really like it!” She can’t see the bigger teddy bear He’s holding behind his back. Go wants her to trust Him and exchange the little teddy bear for a much bigger one.

We too hold onto the little blessings in our lives with steel fingers in a Kung-fu grip. God is asking us to release it to him. We have to give it up first so we can have something bigger and better.

Our hands must be open and ready to receive.

Surrender your grip and your heart if you want to accept all that God has for you.

Surrender today your time, your energy, your talents, and even your dreams. That’s the hardest part. A heart that is open and surrenders to God and acknowledges His control is the best way to welcome him into your life.

God is in control of your day. Invite God to draw near to you.

If you will give God free reign in your life, God will use it to bless you and your life according to his plan, not yours.

James 4:8
“Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

Be encouraged today because God is with you.

By Pastor Andrew Farland

There was a boy who was traveling on a ship.

Without warning, a storm approached and began tossing the ship in 15’ – 20’ surges. As the waves and the wind beat against the boat, they found access and ripped apart the vessel.

The boy was thrown overboard, but he managed to grab a piece of the wreckage. He used the broken piece of the ship to carry him to a rock. He climbed up onto the rock and sat in safety, waiting for his rescue.

When the rescuers arrived, one of them asked, “Were you afraid? Were you shaking or panicking? Anyone in your situation would have been frightened!”

The boy replied, “I was shaking, but the rock was not.”

Just like that story, we will find ourselves in similar situations. We’ll have similar decisions to make. We will live our lives based on the rock, or will we hold on to debris that is no longer useful?

Will we allow God to be our comfort?

In life, many storms will come. The Bible says we don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow. God’s ways are not our ways.

As much as we try to plan ahead, we do not know what tomorrow will bring. There are too many variables. We can’t guarantee that when tomorrow arrives, we’ll do this or do that. We must preface our plans with, “Lord willing.”

Many types of storms can appear without warning. You could have a financial crisis or lose your job. You may face divorce or illness, or even relational conflict.

The real question is not “Will you feel shipwrecked in life?”

It’s “When will it happen?”

What matters most is what you’ll do about it.

Are you going to place yourself on the rock of God’s truth, His promises, and His comfort, or will you wait in the ocean for rescue? It’s your choice.

When you find yourself afloat and afraid, remember the shipwrecked boy’s response:

I was shaking, but the rock wasn’t.’”

Psalm 18:2
The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn] of my salvation, my stronghold.

Be encouraged today because God is with you.

By Pastor Andrew Farland

There was a young man in attendance at his dad’s funeral.

The son about the last time he saw his dad. They were in the garage, and while the dad working under the car, the two of them began arguing and yelling at each other. Before long, they said words they couldn’t take back.

Later that evening, the son received a call. The car had crashed down on his dad, killing him instantly.

Fast forward to the memorial service, where the son is standing in front of everyone. He tried holding back his tears, and his chin quivered. His body language told of his pain. Without saying a word, he looked around the room. Then he mustered up the courage to open his mouth.

“I want you to look to your right and to your left. You might be sitting with your relatives or with your friends. Now think about the question I’m going to ask you: If that person died today, would you have loved them any differently?”

This son was trying to say that life is short. Too short.

We don’t always get the opportunity to get out our final words. We forget to say I love you or we didn’t take the time. We forget to give others a few extra minutes, and we don’t even take a break. We keep going as though tomorrow – and the people we love – will always be there.

I want to remind you today that life is short.

Before you know it, the lights will dim.

Like it says in Ecclesiastes 11, enjoy the God of your youth, but remember to never forget God. Take time for the people in your life while you still have the capacity to do so.

It’s easy to take people and even God for granted, but I want you to reprioritize your focus. Consider for a moment, the people in your family. Who you would live differently if you knew they would die tomorrow?

There’s a story about a man who died and went to hell and asked for a favor. He wanted to go back for just a little while to let his family know that hell existed because he didn’t want them joining him.

God said, “No.”

“They have everything they need. They have the Word of God, just like you did. You can’t go back,” He continued.

You can’t go back, either.

Remember that we are accountable to God for everything we do in public and in secret, whether it is good or bad. Remember that you get only one chance to do things the right way.

. . . one chance to milk every relationship.

. . . one chance to develop a deep and blossoming relationship with God every day.

. . . one chance to enrich the lives of others and love them.

Ask for forgiveness, confess your sins, and never forget what’s really important.

Ecclesiastes 11:7-10

“Light is sweet, and it pleases the eyes to see the sun. However many years anyone may live, let them enjoy them all. But let them remember the days of darkness, for there will be many. Everything to come is meaningless. You who are young, be happy while you are young, and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth. Follow the ways of your heart and whatever your eyes see, but know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment. So then, banish anxiety from your heart and cast off the troubles of your body, for youth and vigor are meaningless.”

Be encouraged today because God is with you.