determination – CadreMen Press

Determination, Not Fear

Determination, Not Fear by Kirk Hunt

God is our refuge and strength,
A very present help in trouble.

Therefore we will not fear,
Even though the earth be removed,
And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;

Psalm 46:1-2

The crazy and chaos flows around and over you. The hellhounds snarl and howl in plain sight. Grip your spiritual weapon tightly, out of determination, not fear. Our help is all-powerful God and He is on the way.

Do not accept difficulty and delay as God’s absence or disapproval. Father-God sees you, knows your circumstances, and has a plan to bless and benefit you. He promised you salvation and victory, not ease or comfort.

Face down in the muck, God is your strength. Fighting off your adversaries hand-to-hand, God is your protection. You will rise in triumph, because Father-God is your source.

He promised. You may not like His timing, but God will be on-time. You make not care for the make or model, but it will be the perfect fit, form and function.

Your temporary inconveniences will be forgotten as you stand in permanent victory. The momentary ugliness will not compare to the lasting beauty. Your bitter accusers will recoil from your all-mighty defender.

He promised. Stand in determination and faith. Refuse to stay down in obedience to your calling and anointing. God’s strength and protection are yours, and He will deliver.

Think: No matter what is happening, God is my protection and power.

Pray: “Lord, help me to face my circumstances in Your strength and security.”

This devotional is a ministry of CadreMen Press.

Faithful Crumbs

Faithful Crumbs by Kirk Hunt

But Jesus said to her, “Let the children be filled first, for it is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.”

And she answered and said to Him, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs under the table eat from the children’s crumbs.”

Mark 7:27-28
Please also read Mark 7:24-30

She wanted restoration for her daughter. So, she deliberately violated custom, convention and protocol. She approached not just a Jewish man, but a Rabbi, and boldly asked directly. And when He said “No,” she begged for crumbs.

The Jews had not yet fully refused Messiah. Salvation was not yet open to foreigners. Her request was too soon, and for the wrong kind of person.

But her faith did not care for the niceties of theological correctness. Her daughter needed exorcism now and she was prepared to pay the needed price. And she proved the depth of her faith, and determination, by accepting her miracle on Jesus’ terms.

She had faith in the power of God. She knew Jesus could restore her daughter with a word. Real faith knows the crumbs from God’s table are enough.

She pressed on despite rejection. She persevered through resistance. And in the end, she was not too proud to beg.

She did not need a dignified miracle. Her faith knew God’s scraps would answer the need. She gladly paid full price for something off the closeout rack.

Like the Roman Centurion, she had faith in Jesus’ simple declaration. Real faith is about results, not spectacle. Her faith touched Messiah. So, Messiah touched her life.

Think: Do I have faith to persevere through it all?

Pray: “Lord, help me to follow my faith in You to the end.”

This devotional is a ministry of CadreMen Press.

Our God Is Able

Our God Is Able by Kirk Hunt

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king.

Daniel 3:16-17 NKJV
Please, also read Daniel 3:1-18.

King Nebuchadnezzar had appointed these men to important roles in his Kingdom, which explains his rage at their defiance. Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego understood the power and authority of the king, and their mortal peril in that moment. They responded nonchalantly with “Our God is able.”

Some men and women cannot be bribed, bullied or bluffed. They know what they know and act accordingly. That ought to be the testimony of every Christian believer.

I know I fall short from time to time. I know who God is and what He can do. Too often, I let my human failings show through.

Still, sometimes, I do stand firm. I remember that I serve an all-powerful, all-sovereign God. In those moments, I act like I serve who I serve.

I am at my best when I can casually mention that my God can deliver me from anything. Sometimes, that message is for the hell-hound growling in my face. More often, the message is for the face in my mirror.

Think: Our God is able, regardless of the circumstance. What do you do and say?

Pray: “Father-God, help me to remember that You are able.

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.

We Do Not Serve Your Gods

We Do Not Serve Your Gods by Kirk Hunt

If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.”

Daniel 3:17-18 NKJV

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego stood before the king and politely told him his power had limits. “We do not serve your gods.” Their direct, plainspoken words were likely to land them in a fiery furnace.

They understood the order. They understood the penalty for non-compliance. They were at risk of making the ultimate sacrifice for their integrity.

These ethnic minorities tried to find the quieter route to maintaining their integrity. Moral or principled stances are not amplified by decibels or press releases. They are magnified by quiet courage and uncomplaining determination. Faithful men and women stay on their feet, despite brutal retaliation or unjust retribution.

Embarrassed before his assembled government, Nebuchadnezzar bellowed fearsome threats. The smell, smoke, and possibly heat of the furnace were obvious to everyone. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego said their words calmly and with unbent knees.

The king of these men was not bluffing. These subjects of the king were not bluffing. And no one bent their knees.

Having integrity in private is one thing. Keeping your integrity, especially in public, is a different thing. Are you bluffing?

Think: What am I willing to sacrifice to maintain my Christian integrity?

Pray: “Lord, help me to maintain my integrity before men and especially You.”

Into The Midst

Into The Midst by Kirk Hunt

20201213DevoTherefore, because the king’s command was urgent, and the furnace exceedingly hot, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.

Daniel 3:22-23 NKJV

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego called Nebuchadnezzar’s bluff. The king ordered them thrown into the midst of the furnace. Keep in mind, the heat of the furnace killed the men ordered to carry out the executions.

Integrity always has costs. Missed opportunities at profits or pleasures. Lost relationships or connections. Open derision or scorn from some. Naked opposition or attack from others.

The unbent knees of your integrity may start your journey into the midst of circumstances you never imagined. Or wanted. The flames in the midst of your personal furnace will be hot. The heat may hurt people close to you, whether they are friend or foe.

No matter where you go, God is there. He was present, before you got there. He is present, the entire time you are there. He remains present, even after you leave there. Rely on God’s power, no matter where you go or why you went.

It takes integrity to say “I will not serve your gods.” It takes courage to stay on your feet as they stoke the fires of the furnace. Maintain your Christian integrity, even in the midst.

Think: Am I willing to maintain my Christian integrity in the midst of opposition?

Pray: “Lord, help me to maintain my integrity before You, no matter what happens.”

We Do Not Serve Your Gods

We Do Not Serve Your Gods by Kirk Hunt

Daniel 3:17-18 NKJV

They understood the order. They understood the penalty for non-compliance. They were at risk of making the ultimate sacrifice for their integrity.

The snitches and tattle-tails had to bring these men to the attention of the king. These three ethnic minorities tried to find the quieter route to maintaining their integrity. Moral or principled stances are not amplified by decibels or press releases. They are magnified by quiet courage and uncomplaining determination. Faithful men and women stay on their feet despite brutal retaliation and unjust retribution.

Embarrassed before his assembled government, Nebuchadnezzar bellowed fearsome threats. The smell, smoke, and possibly heat of the furnace were proof that the king was not bluffing. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego said their words calmly and with unbent knees, proved they were not bluffing.

Having integrity in private is one thing. Keeping your integrity in public is a different thing. Are you bluffing?

Think: What am I willing to sacrifice to maintain my Christian integrity?

Pray: “Lord, help me to maintain my integrity before men and especially You.”

At The River’s Bank

“At The River’s Bank” By Kirk Hunt

But when she could no longer hide him, she took an ark of bulrushes for him, daubed it with asphalt and pitch, put the child in it, and laid it in the reeds by the river’s bank.

Exodus 2:3
Please read also Exodus 1:8–22

At the river’s bank, Jochebed carefully laid her infant son in a waterproofed basket. Driven by a mixture of fear, hope, desperation, ingenuity and determination, she sought life and safety for her boy in the Nile. She risked the life of her helpless infant with crocodiles or drowning. She saved him from the certainty of death at the hands of Pharaoh’s soldiers.

“Amram, I put the baby in the river today. Now I am being paid by the royal court to raise our baby. God is good.”

Desperate people do extraordinary things. Some acts, in retrospect, are unwise. Others actions demonstrate courage and determination despite stress and danger. In some circumstances, you must do what you can with what you have.

Perhaps you stand at a river’s bank in your life. Your circumstances have driven you in ways you never imagined. Even in a place of risk and danger, God is still with you.

Turn to His wisdom and guidance. Ask Him to guide you in what He is blessing. God’s direction may not make sense to others. His guidance may not make sense to you. His path remains the way to safety and blessing.

Think: God sees and cares for me, even in the worst of circumstances.

Pray: “Lord, guide me in Your wisdom, even at the river’s edge.”

Worship Anyway

“Worship Anyway” By Kirk Hunt

And being in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, as He sat at the table, a woman came having an alabaster flask of very costly oil of spikenard. Then she broke the flask and poured it on His head.

Mark 14:3 NKJV

Please read one (or all) of the Gospel accounts:
Matthew 26: 6–13; Mark 14: 3–9; Luke 7: 36–50; John 12: 1–8.

Even today, an alabaster box (for perfume) is costly and uncommon. Spikenard, which grows only in the Himalayas of Nepal, remains rare and expensive. Mary spent over a year’s wages to worship.

The whispering Pharisees used her past to slander Jesus. Jesus’ Disciples complained about the “wasteful” expression of her worship. Given a say, it appears that Pharisee and Disciple would have denied her the opportunity to worship. Despite them, or their intentions, Mary worshiped anyway.

The Bible does not confirm that Mary was a prostitute. Scripture states she had been demon-possessed and a notorious sinner. Mary did not let her past, or the murmuring busybodies, keep her from Jesus.

You have an opportunity to worship today. Will you pay the price? Will you walk past your history or circumstances and worship God? Are you willing to ignore the whispers from without, or within, to worship Jesus?

Whatever it costs, He is worthy. No matter what others do or say, Jesus is available to you. No matter what has happened before, He waits for you.

The voices are noise and distraction. If you want to, you can worship. Everything else is just details.

Think: I can worship Jesus, if I am determined.

Pray: “Lord, I worship You, because You are worthy.”

This devotional is a ministry of http://devotionals.cadremenpress.com.