E-Devotionals

this e-devotional is bite-sized and power-packed. it features one daily e-devotional ("Life Application: Apply God's Word to your life every day") and 5 weekly e-devotionals for teens ("Teen: Connect with God with an eDevotion discussing issues teens face"), women ("Women: Get inspired every week with an eDevotion for women"), men ("Men: Focus on your real priorities with an eDevotion for men") and it also covers topics that benefit all ("Leadership: Supercharge your week with a leadership eDevotion" & "Marriage & Parenting: Focus on God, your spouse & your kids with this eDevotion"). here's a taste of the yummy goodness!

Max Lucado offers a range of free materials to encourage you in your daily walk with God. here's a taste of the goodness!

Ask God

Posted: 08 Jan 2011 10:01 PM PST

"Ask, and God will give it to you. Search, and you will find." Matthew 7:7

Countless copies of Scripture sit unread on bookshelves and nightstands simply because people don't know how to read it. What can we do to make the Bible real in our lives?

The clearest answer is found in the words of Jesus. "Ask and God will give it to you." The first step in understanding the Bible is asking God to help us.

Waiting Forwardly:
A Day to Anticipate

by Max Lucado

"Now in Jerusalem there was a man named Simeon. He was an upright and devout man; he looked forward to Israel's comforting and the Holy Spirit rested on him"
(Luke 2:25 TKB, emphasis mine).

Let's take a look at Simeon, the man who knew how to wait for the arrival of Christ. The way he waited for the first coming is a model for how we should wait for the Second Coming.

"The Holy Spirit had revealed to him that he would not die until he had seen him-God's anointed King" (v. 26 TLB).

You've got to wonder what a message like that would do to a person. What does it do to you if you know you will someday see God? We know what it did to Simeon.

He was "constantly expecting the Messiah" (v. 25 TLB).

He was "living in expectation of the salvation of Israel" (v. 25 PHILLIPS).

He "watched and waited for the restoration of Israel" (v. 25 NEB).

Simeon is a man on tiptoe, wide-eyed and watching for the one who will come to save Israel. Studying each passing face. Staring into the eyes of strangers. He's looking for someone. He was waiting forwardly. Patiently vigilant. Calmly expectant. Eyes open. Arms extended. Searching the crowd for the right face, and hoping the face appears today.

Such was the lifestyle of Simeon, and such can be ours. Haven't we, like Simeon, been told of the coming Christ? Aren't we, like Simeon, heirs of a promise? Are we not prompted by the same Spirit? Are we not longing to see the same face?

First, we must wait. Paul says "we are hoping for something we do not have yet, and we are waiting for it patiently" (Rom. 8:25). Simeon is our model. He was not so consumed with the "not yet" that he ignored the "right now." Luke says Simeon was a "good man and godly" (2:25). Peter urges us to follow suit. Hope of the future is not a license for irresponsibility in the present. Let us wait forwardly, but let us wait.

But for most of us, waiting is not our problem. Or, maybe I should state, waiting is our problem. We are so good at waiting that we don't wait forwardly. We forget to look. We are so patient that we become complacent. We are too content. We seldom search the skies. We rarely run to the temple. We seldom, if ever, allow the Holy Spirit to interrupt our plans and lead us to worship so that we might see Jesus.

It is to those of us who are strong in waiting and weak in watching that our Lord was speaking when he said, "No one knows when that day or time will be, not the angels in heaven, not even the Son. Only the Father knows. . . . So always be ready, because you don't know the day your Lord will come. . . . The Son of Man will come at a time you don't expect him" (Matt. 24:36, 42, 44).

Simeon reminds us to "wait forwardly." Patiently vigilant. But not so patient that we lose our vigilance. Nor so vigilant that we lose our patience.

God Came Near Deluxe EditionIn the end, the prayer of Simeon was answered. "Simeon took the baby in his arms and thanked God; 'Now, Lord, you can let me, your servant, die in peace, as you said'" (Luke 2:28-29).

One look into the face of Jesus, and Simeon knew it was time to go home. And one look into the face of our Savior, and we will know the same.

From
When Christ Comes: The Beginning of the Very Best
Copyright (Thomas Nelson, 1999) Max Lucado

one of my personal favs, Purpose Driven Life e-devotionals have really been a blessing to me, that's why i want to share them with you here.

A Resolution Worth Keeping
by Jon Walker

For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 1 Corinthians 2:2 (NIV)

(This devotional is by Jon Walker, editor of the Daily Hope Devotionals and author of Costly Grace: A Contemporary View of Bonhoeffer's 'The Cost of Discipleship.')

Today you may be thinking about New Year's resolutions? You know, those lists we make with two scoops of optimistic enthusiasm, sprinkled with unrealistic expectations, and topped with the cherry of knowing the list isn't serious anyway.

But there is one guy who I suspect played for keeps when he made New Year's resolutions -- that zealot who could never do anything halfway, the let's-get-real-about-our-faith apostle Paul.

My thought is Paul only had one resolution on his New Year's list: "This year I resolve to know nothing but Christ and him crucified" (1 Corinthians 2:2).

Paul's message is radically simple: Salvation is in Christ alone. What does this mean?

* It's not Christ plus your good behavior.
* It's not Christ plus the years you taught a Bible study.
* It's not Christ plus your tithe.
* It's not Christ plus the church you attend.
* It's not Christ plus the number of verses you memorize.
* It's not Christ plus your title in the church.
* It's not Christ plus wisdom from the latest Christian seminar.
* It's not Christ plus a desert fast (or even a dessert fast!).
* It's not Christ plus a good driving record.
* It's not Christ plus well-behaved children.
* It's not Christ plus the right job.
* It's not Christ plus the right spouse.
* It's not Christ plus the latest technology.

It's simply Christ. Christ plus nothing.

That's Paul's message, a message that is as right throughout 2011 as it will be in 2999. May your resolution for this year be nothing but Christ and Him crucified.

this e-devotional is a by-ladies-for-ladies devotional, specially tailored to the needs and heart of the female soul. check it out!

In Tune
7 Jan 2011

T. Suzanne Eller

"I will sing of steadfast love and justice; to you, O Lord, I will make music."
Psalm 101:1 (ESV)

God seems to do an incredible amount of things for people, almost like a personal valet. "I found the perfect pair of shoes on sale," someone once told me. "It's like God knew I needed that little boost." Or the time that God helped another person find their glasses. They prayed and "poof" they found them.

This sometimes makes me question. How is it that people give God credit for helping them find shoes on sale, or that really great parkingspot, and yet other people suffer? Loved ones get hit with disease. Financial problems cause sleepless nights. A hurricane hits Haiti as they struggle to overcome the effects of a devastating earthquake.

Maybe you too have pondered such things. Maybe it's caused you to question how much God loves His creation.

God is deeply interested in and intimately involved with us according toverses such as this one: "The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing" (Zephaniah 3:17).

The fact that God allows you to find that perfect-for-you little blessing one day, and come down with the flu the next doesn't negate His love for you. God's song plays strong and consistent over you, regardless ofthe good times or the hard times. His individual notes dance around us, inviting us to find Him, and then to find our part in His song.

Living in harmony with God, and finding our note in His song can compel us to look for ways to reach out to others who are needing to hear Him sing over them in their suffering. I also believe it can help us live in joy despite our circumstances. And I believe living out those notes will lead us to live lives of peace, even when times are not peaceful.

Today, let's close our eyes and open our hearts as we listen for our God singing over us. And let's take the time, eyes still closed, to imagine what it would look like for us to live in tune with Him.

Dear Lord, You do care about the intimate details. Just like the sparrow, You feed us; just like the lily, You clothe us in beauty. Father, for that I am immensely grateful. Help me to stay in tune with You and not stridently sing my own song over top You. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

personally i fancy this as it is unique in a different manner. the whole e-devotional is filled with verses from the Bible and it begins from Genesis and ends in Revelations in exactly 1 year. it not only uplifts the spirit, it teaches one to pray and worship and meditate from the Bible and not on man's words. indeed, there is Power in His Word!

January 1

Genesis 1

The first chapter of Genesis reveals God as Creator of the universe.
INSIGHT

In the beginning, God! That is the way it is throughout the Bible. "You shall have no other gods before Me" (Exodus 20:3). "Every knee [will] bow . . . every tongue [will] confess that Jesus Christ is Lord" (Philippians 2:10-11). God wants to be first and foremost_in your life. He is the Author of the first creation, and He is the Author of the new creation in your heart. In the first creation, the wind and the waves obey the Lord - they have no choice. In the new creation, there is a choice: to obey or not to obey - the pleasures of sin for a moment or the favor of fellowship for a lifetime. Have you chosen to put God first in your life? Not to decide is to decide.
PRAYER

Continue your time with the Lord by praising God through these psalms:
Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us,
But to Your name give glory,
Because of Your mercy,
Because of Your truth (Psalm 115:1).
It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High;
To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning,
And Your faithfulness every night (Psalm 92:1-2).

Now pray this confession to the Lord to keep your life in fellowship with Him:
Have mercy upon me, O God,
According to Your lovingkindness;
According to the multitude of Your tender mercies,
Blot out my transgressions (Psalm 51:1).

As you confess your sins, voice your affirmation of God's Word:
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers.
(Colossians 1:15-16)

As you make your requests known to the Lord, pray for:

* Faithfulness with your time
* The president, national leaders, and national affairs
* Your prayer list

Offer this prayer of worship to the Lord:
Oh, satisfy us early with Your mercy,
That we may rejoice and be glad all our days! (Psalm 90:14).

Daily Walk Bible