May 11, 2026 – Change
JA – Proverbs 18:24 ESV – “There is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.”
“I AM YOUR BROTHER and your Friend. I am the Firstborn among many brothers; you are being conformed to My likeness…. Even the most committed family member or friend cannot be with you always, but I never leave your side…. My continual Presence with you should never be taken for granted. Remember that your faithful Friend is also King of kings…. Remind yourself that the glorious gift of salvation is yours forever – and honor Me with gratitude.”
Simpson adds, “First and foremost Christ teaches resurrection and life. The power of Christianity is life. It brings us not merely law, duty, example, with high and holy teaching and admonition. It brings us the power to follow the higher ideal and the life that spontaneously does the things commanded. But it is not only life, but resurrection life.” Luke 9:24 – “Whosoever will save his life shall lose it.”
Utmost – 2 Peter 1:5, 7 (see Moffatt) – “Add…to your brotherliness…love.” Chambers offers these thoughts about what God seeks to do in and through us, “Love is the sovereign preference of one person for another, and spiritually Jesus demands that that preference be for Himself (cf. Luke 14:26)…. we must practise the working out of these things mentioned by Peter…. The first thing God does is to knock pretense and the pious pose right out of me. The Holy Spirit reveals that God loves me not because I was loveable, but because it was His nature to do so. ‘Now,’ He says to me, ‘show the same love to others’ – ‘Love as I have loved you.’”
Here’s the wake up call to help us apply what we read to what we live, “I will bring any number of people about you whom you cannot respect, and you must exhibit My love to them as I have exhibited it to you…. The knowledge that God has loved me to the uttermost, to the end of all my sin and meanness and selfishness and wrong, will send me forth into the world to love in the same way…. Growth in grace stops the moment I get huffed…. Just think how disagreeable I have been to God! …Neither natural love nor Divine love will remain unless it is cultivated. Love is spontaneous, but it has to be maintained by discipline.”
JC – “As soon as your mind gets snagged on a difficulty, bring it to Me with thanksgiving. Then ask Me to show you My way to handle the situation…. [this] releases your mind from its negative focus… Together we can deal with the situation…. Most of the situations that entangle your mind are not today’s concerns; you have borrowed them from tomorrow…. I give you My Peace, which flows freely from My Presence.”
Power – Philippians 2:13 NLT – “For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.” Joyce offers these thoughts about allowing God to work in and through us, “God’s Spirit is working in you. You can relax and let His Spirit do a thorough work in you, changing your thoughts and attitudes until you can see all things and people the way God sees them. Even when you are doing your worst, God believes the best in regard to you, and He works with you to bring the best out of you…. Anytime you do anything sinful, you should immediately ask God to forgive you and decide to go in a new direction.”
Somedays the contributions are short and quick. Somedays, when it seems that we are running long, I think I should leave some of the devotions out, but if I do check them, I’m usually in awe of how they weave into the topic for the day so I end up giving them the floor and letting the time go over.
Streams – Psalm 66:12 – “We went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance.” Through selected sources, Cowman writes, “It may seem paradoxical, but the only person who is at rest has achieved it through conflict. This peace, born of conflict, is not like the ominous lull before the storm but like the serenity and the quietness following the storm, with its fresh, purified air. The person who may appear to be blessed, having been untouched by sorrow, is typically not one who is strong and at peace…. The safest sailor is certainly not one who has never weathered a storm…. Oh, how everything gives way when affliction first comes upon us! …But once the initial shock is over and we are able to look up and say, ‘It is the Lord’ (John 21:7), faith begins to lift our shattered hopes once more and securely binds them to the feet of God. And the final result is confidence, safety, and peace.”
Prevail #131 – Psalm 3:3 – “But you, O Lord, are a shield around me; you are my glory, the one who holds my head high.” Larson warns, “If you stare too long at your circumstances, they’ll overwhelm you. That’s why David only glanced at his situation and then set his fierce gaze on the One who would deliver and defend him…. Stay humble and hopeful that you will see God – the One who fights for you – intervene on your behalf. You will and He will.”
JL – “Merciful God, I don’t want to be fearful of bad news. Please help me to have a steadfast heart, trusting in You…. Lord, I come to You not only for comfort but for direction. When I spend time waiting in Your Presence, You show me the right way to go….. In Your steadfast Name, Jesus, Amen.”
