Christian Living – Page 2

Who Covers

Who Covers by Kirk Hunt

He who covers a transgression seeks love,
But he who repeats a matter separates friends.

Have you ever refused to repeat what was said to you? That was an act of discretion, loving, and peacemaking. Congratulations on acting like a child of God.

Peacemaking does not always involve complex acts of reconciliation or restoration. Sometimes, it requires knowing when to be quiet. Too often we make the mistake of insisting that everyone must hear everything.

Please, do not make the mistake of hiding sin or compromising the gospel through your silence. Instead, choose carefully what you should allow to pass through to others. Sometimes, it is grace to hear or see a thing, and then not say anything about it. The truth often cuts and wounds. Some facts and data should not be shared.

Consider the times you have wanted to recall a sentence or action that came out of you. As you said or did it, you knew it would only cause heartache or hard feelings. If it did not blow up on you, that was God’s grace in your life. Be the conduit of that kind of grace to others.

Never compromise the Gospel. Never tolerate sin. Sometimes though, wise men and women know they should remain silent. Peacemakers often pour out quiet grace and bless the souls of many.

Think: Peaceful men and women develop discretion.

Pray: “Father-God, give me the discretion, wisdom, and grace of silence.

This devotional is brought to you courtesy of CadreMen Press. You can purchase a copy of Blessed and Blessing: Devotionals For Gospel Champions from your favorite bookseller or directly from CadreMen Press.

Did Not Do It

Did Not Do It by Kirk Hunt

“Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’

Matthew 10:44-45 NKJV

Standing before the throne of God, folks will find out they did not do it. They did not serve the brothers and sisters of Jesus. Not because they did not serve, but because they made decisions about who they would serve.

Father-God loves all of His children. The neat and clean kids have no better grip on His heart than the messy and dirty children. No father or mother, worthy of the title, would appreciate you mistreating one of their precious offspring.

Scripture tells us that Father-God sees us as His children. We are siblings of Jesus. How we treat each other, reveals how and why we love Jesus.

There, before the throne of God, your acts of service will be evaluated. Will he set you on His right hand or His left hand? Will He say you did, or did not, serve Him through the least of these?

Think: God cares for all His children, even the ones we do not value.

Pray: “Father-God, help me to deliver Your care and concern to everyone I meet.

Worth Many Sparrows

Worth Many Sparrows by Kirk Hunt

Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will.

Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.

Matthew 10:29, 31 NKJV

Sometimes I feel lost and alone. I think there is nothing worst than to feel unloved and forsaken. God is concerned about me and is working for my good. I am of more value than many sparrows.

Jesus tells us that God cares about the details of our lives. He cares enough to act; He provides for and protects us. We just have to remember His love, and act out our faith in Him.

I have more than enough food to eat. My house and home is warm and secure. I laugh (and argue) with my wife, sons, friends, coworkers, and extended family.

I realize these truths when I pause to be grateful. I have to stop and notice that God cares for me. I am of more value than many sparrows.

As you read or hear of this writing, remember you are loved and cared for by the God of creation. He delivers His love to you in many different ways and formats. Stop and consider how much He concerns Himself about you. As good as the sparrows have it, you receive God’s best.

Think: God cares for and about me.

Pray: “Father-God, help me to remember Your care and concern for my life and soul.

Haman’s Pride

Haman’s Pride by Kirk Hunt

So Haman came in, and the king asked him, “What shall be done for the man whom the king delights to honor?”

Now Haman thought in his heart, “Whom would the king delight to honor more than me?”

Esther 6:6 NKJV
Read the full account at Esther 6:1-11

Haman’s pride-filled heart could conceive of only one man that King Ahasuerus would honor: Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite. Given the question, Haman arrogantly assumed he was naming his own accolades and elevation. Instead, he benefited Mordecai, the man he planned to murder.

Pride narrowed Haman’s worldview to a mirror focused on himself. Scripture tells us that such pride is a path to destruction. Haman’s arrogance and pride had already led him into a conspiracy to murder the Jewish people. After giving honor to Mordecai for saving the king’s life, Haman went home in grief and distress.

Do not confuse pride with self-esteem. Valuing yourself as one of God’s sons and daughters is healthy and wholesome. Valuing yourself as the very center of all considerations and concerns is broken and sick. And such self-lust will lead you into error and wrongdoing.

Pride is an idol that blocks your view and reverence of God. God will not abide your self-worship in the mirror. Beware of Haman-like pride in your own life.

Think: Has my pride led me to worship of myself?

Pray: “Father-God, help me avoid self-pride that blocks my worship of You.

Do Not Grow Weary

Do Not Grow Weary by Kirk Hunt

And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.

Galatians 6:9 NKJV

It is all too easy to give in to human frailty. There you are, doing the right thing(s) for God’s Kingdom, but then you prove human. You can grow weary a number of different ways. Keep a grip on your heart as you continue to do good in God’s calling on you.

Perhaps you consider the long hours and the lack of any pay, or simple gratitude from those who benefit. Perhaps your strenuous efforts, take a toll on your mind, body or spirit. Perhaps the siren call of more immediately pleasurable activities begins to tug at you.

Your harvest is coming, even if it seems delayed. Keep your heart focused on the things of God. If you win the battle for your heart, the rest will follow.

First, and foremost, minister to yourself. You cannot serve unless you are strong enough to bear the vessels and provide the service. Since Jesus took time to pray and accept ministry, shouldn’t you do the same?

Of course, there will be an amount of old-fashioned discipline in serving the Kingdom. There is also a portion of taking joy in the journey. Whatever your balance, do not grow weary just before your harvest of good comes in.

Think: My harvest will come, if I resist growing weary.

Pray: “Father-God, keep me from growing weary in Your service.

The Prize of Trust

The Prize of Trust by Kirk Hunt

“Go and speak to Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Behold, I will bring My words upon this city for adversity and not for good, and they shall be performed in that day before you.

“For I will surely deliver you, and you shall not fall by the sword; but your life shall be as a prize to you, because you have put your trust in Me,” says the Lord.

Jeremiah 39:16, 18 NKJV
Please also read Jeremiah 39:11-18

Jerusalem fell, per God’s command. In the middle of the chaos and confusion, God stopped to speak reassurance and peace to a lone Ethiopian. Unlike the men and women around him, Ebed-Melech put his trust in God.

Ebed-Melech, an Ethiopian, stood out among the Hebrew people. I am certain there were men and women who frequently reminded him that he was just a foreigner and proselyte, therefore not really one of God’s people. Still, he continued to worship Jehovah-God in sincerity and truth.

As death and destruction fell on Jerusalem, Ebed-Melech watched in peace and security. The Babylonian soldiers tramped around him. As the Hebrew captives were matched off at spear-point, the foreigner and proselyte watched from his God-appointed safety.

I want to think he wept as God’s people were punished for their unrepentant sin. Meanwhile, Ebed-Melech, stood firm and at peace in his child-like trust and obedience to God. I wonder who, or what, those other folks trusted.

Think: Is my trust in God?

Pray: “Father-God, help me to trust in You alone.

Your Labor Counts

Your Labor Counts by Kirk Hunt

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

1 Corinthians 15:58 NKJV

Your calling in God may weigh heavy on you at times. The level of reward or results may cause you to question the value of your efforts. Trust Scripture; your labor counts.

Poppa Hunt, as we drove along, would often point out buildings or structures he labored on. Unless a specific light was visible and shining at that moment, the results of his work were not visible. His labor was still there, and still providing a benefit to men and women he would never meet.

The classrooms of students you taught may never return to say thank you. The elder you lavished care and concern on may not remain to remember your efforts. The time and attention you invested in that project may never be acknowledged.

Your Kingdom work counted then and counts now. You may never know the impact and blessing of your labors. Just know, in faith, that your labor for God had an impact and will have a payoff.

Faithfulness is not always recognized by men and women. Human eyes may not see the effort and exertion you made on a project. Our omniscient God sees Your labor and faithfulness. In these days, and in the days to come, our God will reward your faithful labors in His Kingdom.

Think: My labor counts in the Lord’s work.

Pray: “Father-God, help me to labor in my calling with faithfulness to You.

Forgive You

Forgive You by Kirk Hunt

“And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.”

Mark 11:25-26 NKJV

Forgiveness is not for them. Forgiveness is for you. You should forgive, daughter or son of God.

Real forgiveness is the act of acknowledging the offense happened, but no longer holding it against the offender, or considering the offense again. Imagine you open the prison cell door of the offender. Then you leave the prison, never to return. Who is the one set free?

In the moment you forgive, you put it behind you. Circumstances may remind you on occasion. You acknowledge it happened but then you resume what God is doing with you now.

Forgiveness cannot create reconciliation or restoration, but makes it possible. Forgiveness does not restore what was lost, but sets the stage for what will come. Forgiveness keeps your heart and spirit available to what God has for you now.

When God considers you and your errors, what does He see? A soul stuck in resentment and grievance? Or a soul seeking Him in peace, free from what has gone before?

Think: Forgive them to your own benefit.

Pray: “Father-God, help me to forgive as I want to be forgiven.

Seek The Peace

Seek The Peace by Kirk Hunt

And seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to the Lord for it; for in its peace you will have peace. For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Do not let your prophets and your diviners who are in your midst deceive you, nor listen to your dreams which you cause to be dreamed.

Jeremiah 29:7-8 NKJV

God’s people have been called to seek the peace of the city where they live. Not to suddenly establish a theocracy through force. God draws men and women to himself through our loving witness of Him. Christianity has never expanded through the use of bayonets or inquisitors.

In fact, the opposite is true. Christians dying in the Colosseum or suffering in prison won over pagan Rome. The persecution of Christians has always expanded the Church.

Consider the example of Boarding Schools, too often run by religious organizations. They are being revealed as destroyers of life, complicit tools of cultural genocide. That is because they were not seeking peace, but something else.

If God’s people pray in sincerity and truth, He will hear us and heal our land. If God’s people pray for peace where we are, God will faithfully bless us with peace. And that will open the door to our loving witness of Him.

Think: God’s people should see the peace, wherever we find ourselves.

Pray: “Father-God, make me an instrument of Your peace.

Hear The Conclusion

Hear The Conclusion by Kirk Hunt

Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter:
Fear God and keep His commandments, For this is man’s all.

For God will bring every work into judgment,
Including every secret thing,
Whether good or evil.

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 NKJV

The conclusion of the affairs of men and women is in the judgment and declarations of God. Our God, omniscient and omnipotent, sees and measures what we do. You will stand before His Throne and give account for all of your life, seen or hidden.

If you live righteously and build His kingdom, He sees. If you live in disobedience and rebellion, He sees. And His voice will be the conclusion of the matter.

Do not fret that the wicked seem to escape judgment. Do not worry that the righteous go unrewarded. God sees everyone’s secrets and hidden things. His justice will not be denied.

For a righteous man or woman, these verses are a comforting promise. The work no one recognized is seen and will be rewarded by Father-God. The secret sacrifices will be rewarded by God Himself, sooner than you think.

Alone before God’s throne, everything will be revealed and you will give account. Then He will speak and conclude the matter. For men and women who live according to the Bible and God’s calling, His judgment and justice will be a blessing.

Think: I will hear God’s conclusion about my life and work.

Pray: “Father-God, help me to live so I hear Your good conclusion of my life.”