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Written by Travis Greene, a contemporary author. This is an excerpt from his book “Are You Praying for the Wrong Thing?”

We’re all heroes of our own stories. We’re the stars of our own lifelong movies. When something happens, it happens to us. And when people hurt us, they’re the villains, right? But here’s the thing we forget:  Our stories — as much as it might seem like they revolve around us — are actually part of a much, much bigger story. We’re all characters in God’s own book. And each one of us plays a part in that book. That includes you. And me. And the guy who cut you off in traffic. And the friend who stopped calling. And the son or daughter who cut off all contact with you. They might’ve done terrible things. They might even seem, right now, to be terrible people. But God still loves them — loves them in ways you can’t even imagine. And He still has a place for them in His story — a part that He wants them to play… Peter, who denied Jesus three times before the rooster crowed twice, became the leader of the early church — the “rock” that Jesus said he’d become (Matthew 16:18)…Christian tradition tells us that, outside Judas, all of Jesus’ disciples made mighty contributions to the Kingdom of God. They might’ve failed Jesus at a crucial moment. But God wasn’t done with them. God used them. And He can do the same for the people in our lives. The people who walk away. The people who leave us. The people who hurt us. God’s not done with them either.

But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and
pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. [Matthew 5:44–45].

Written by L.B. Cowman (1870-1960), an American writer and author.

Pressed out of measure and pressed to all length;
Pressed so intensely it seems, beyond strength;
Pressed in the body and pressed in the soul,
Pressed in the mind till the dark surges roll.

Pressure by foes, and a pressure from friends.
Pressure on pressure, till life nearly ends.Pressed into knowing no helper but God;
Pressed into loving the staff and the rod.
Pressed into liberty where nothing clings;
Pressed into faith for impossible things.
Pressed into living a life in the Lord,
Pressed into living a Christ-life outpoured.

I was crushed…so much so that I despaired even of life, but that was to make me rely not on myself,
but on the God who raises the dead. [2 Corinthians 1:8-9]

Written by Michelle Lazurek, a contemporary writer and speaker.

We say we want to hear from God. But we often try to pull our lives in our direction, hoping the things we want will come true and that God will bless our wishes. We often pull to the point of physical and emotional exhaustion, trying to make life go the way we want it to. We seek to lean on our own understanding of life, rather than leaning on God. However, God ordained a specific direction for our lives. When we choose to follow him, the burden of this life will become much easier to bear. The common tension for believers is choosing our own will versus allowing God to direct our paths. We often don’t want to give God control because we’re afraid that our lives will go in a direction that is undesirable for us. Our human nature pulls us in the direction of things that pull us away from worshipping God. While we desire fame, fortune, and wealth, God may desire a bigger purpose for our lives. When we pull our lives in a certain direction toward worldly desires, we will often fail. But when our desires align with God’s will for our lives, God will faithfully open doors that are nearly impossible for us to open in our own strength…Pulling the way we want to in our lives is futile. However, when we choose to let God lead, and don’t lean on our own minds or desires to guide our lives, we will find ourselves in new and exciting places and our lives will become more fruitful than we ever dreamed possible.

I can do all this through him who gives me strength. [Philippians 4:13]

Written by the Lead Like Jesus team, an organization founded by Ken Blanchard and Phil Hodges that promotes a transformational leadership model based on following Jesus.

Jesus, thank You that I don’t have to remain mired in failure, but that I can humbly come to You to find forgiveness and grace. Help me take responsibility for my failures, seek forgiveness from those who are affected, and find ways to restore trust with them. I ask in Your name, amen.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us
our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. [1 John 1:9]

Written by Christopher Eyte, a contemporary writer.

It’s really quite something – a love which goes far beyond our understanding. How can we comprehend it? But it’s a love nonetheless that we are compelled to remember again and again, every single day. Jesus died for people of darkness like me, to rescue us from evil. God the Father sacrificed God the Son, to adopt us as his children! … What does the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ really mean to you? Can you think of ‘tools’ to remember his love throughout the busyness of life? If God the Father loved you so much that he gave his one and only son – how do you respond to that? How can you get others to respond to such love? … Let’s remember his sacrifice every day, in any way we can. Perhaps more than anything by showing love to others.

Remember the LORD your God. He is the one who gives you power to be successful, in order
to fulfill the covenant he confirmed to your ancestors with an oath.  [Deuteronomy 8:18]

Today’s devotion is an excerpt from “Devotions from the Beach,” published by Thomas Nelson.

Have you ever placed your chair on the beach right on the ocean’s rim? It may be the most relaxing spot on shore. The chair legs sink into the wet sand so that you are completely stationary. Leaning back and lying still, feeling the breeze, you unwind as the waves come up and cool your feet as the tide tickles your toes. This is what vacations are made of. When we receive the grace of God, it’s like taking a vacation for our soul. In a world where we are conditioned, educated, and trained on how to work for a living for food, entertainment, and daily needs, it’s easy to translate this work mentality to church and faith. Surely, we must work as hard, if not harder, to be good and righteous enough for God, to get to partake in His gifts, peace, and promises. No wonder, when we fail in these attempts, that we feel defeated, maybe even angry or depressed: we didn’t hit the mark. The Bible assures us that no one has hit the mark, but goodness and righteousness have already been attained for us. We are justified, made right, brought up to heavenly standards as a gift freely given by Jesus. Our souls can sit in beach chairs by the tide, lean back, and soak up the warmth of God’s radiant love. The ocean waves wash our feet just as Jesus washes us.

All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and are justified by His grace as a gift. [Romans 3:23-24]

Written by Michael A. Milton, a contemporary minister, author, and retired military chaplain. This is an excerpt from his work “Witnessing in a World Like Ours.”

Our age is “A Secular Age” as the Canadian philosopher Charles Taylor put it. And it is becoming more so. How do we bear witness to Jesus Christ in a world like ours? … The Bible says that Jesus ate with sinners. Mark 2:15 tells not only of a suppertime gathering but an obvious feature of Jesus’ ministry: he kept company with scoundrels. Now, this became a problem for Jesus. For in the eyes of the Pharisees, Jesus’ choice of table companions was an endorsement of their sins and, thus, an indictment of Himself. Jesus had a problem with the religious ruling class. They had a problem with Jesus. If you are a paragon of piety which the Pharisees fancied themselves, Jesus just didn’t fit. The Lord’s association with “low life” characters cast suspicion on His piety. His dinner parties with undesirables placed Him in the same class as the tax collectors and the sinners… The Pharisees’ piety was such that It excluded other people. Their piety was something they (were convinced) had earned, something they had built, something they had cultivated. Their self-serving show of religion was, in a word, a sham. False piety can be weaponized to elevate self by diminishing others. Their piety was merely white-washed tombs. Jesus was with the common people of all backgrounds because He was for them. All of the disciples came out of some sort of quagmire of sinful behavior, doubt, unbelief, or despair. So did we. The Bible says that God sent His only begotten Son into the world to save because the world is already condemned. God is for us… The Pharisees weaponized their piety to put others down. How can we reveal our brokenness to lift others to God?

While Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” [Mark 2:15-17]

Written by Max Lucado, a contemporary pastor, author, and speaker. This is an excerpt from his work “Outlive Your Life.”

Many years ago I heard a woman discuss the work of Matthew 25:31–46. The event wasn’t publicized. The audience was chatty and restless. Yet when she entered the room, all stirring stopped. She wore her characteristic white Indian sari with a blue border that represented the Missionaries of Charity, the order she had founded in 1950. Her sixty-nine years had bent her already small frame. But there was nothing small about Mother Teresa’s presence. “Give me your unborn children,” she offered. “Don’t abort them. If you cannot raise them, I will. They are precious to God.” Who would’ve ever pegged this slight Albanian woman as a change agent? I wonder if God creates people like Mother Teresa so he can prove his point: “See, you can do something today that will outlive your life.” There are several billion reasons to consider his challenge. Some of them live in your neighborhood; others live in jungles you can’t find and have names you can’t pronounce. Some of them play in cardboard slums or sell sex on a busy street. None of us can help everyone. But all of us can help someone. And when we help them, we serve Jesus. Who would want to miss a chance to do that?

For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,  I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me. [Matthew 25:35-36]

Written by the Lead Like Jesus team, an organization founded by Ken Blanchard and Phil Hodges that promotes a transformational leadership model based on following Jesus.

Christian hope is both a verb and a noun: something we do, and something we possess. Even more importantly, our hope is a person. Christian hope is not the same as optimism. It does not deny the reality of sorrow, loss, failure, and suffering. Yet hope is rooted in the person and work of Jesus Christ and what was accomplished on the cross. It comes from faith that Christ continues to work in this world, and because of Christ’s work, our own work is not in vain.

All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure. [1 John 3:3]

Written by A. W. Tozer (1897-1963), an American pastor, author, magazine editor, and spiritual mentor.

Some of you will object to my saying this, but it is my opinion that in Christianity we have over-emphasized the psychology of the lost sinner’s condition. We spend time describing the sinner’s woes and the great burden he carries until we almost forget the principal fact that the sinner is actually a rebel against properly constituted authority! That is what makes sin SIN! We are rebels; we are sons of disobedience. Sin is the breaking of the Law, and we are fugitives from the just laws of God while we are sinners. We are fugitives from divine judgment. But thankfully, the plan of salvation reverses that and restores the original relationship so that the first thing the returning sinner does is confess, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and in Thy sight, and I am no more worthy to be called Thy son. Make me as one of Thy hired servants!” Thus, in repentance, we reverse that relationship and we fully submit to the Word of God and the will of God as obedient children!

Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.  [James 1:15]