Devotional Podcast By Delve Christian Ministries

"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye." - Matthew 7:1-5 I have discovered this principle of life -- that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love Gods law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. - Romans 7:21-25 (NLT) A few weeks ago, my w

He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. - Mark 16:15-16 The Lord is not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance - 2 Peter 3:9 If you take a look back at the last few year's worth of devotionals on Delve Into Jesus, you'll see a common theme of emphasizing action over emotion. When it comes to concepts such as humility, forgiveness and surrender, it's important not to let our feelings get in the way of living according to the principles Jesus taught. We need to first be obedient to those teachings, regardless of how we feel. We mustn't wait to feel something before we do something. Nevertheless, in some circumstances our emotions can be enormously helpful when it comes to understanding and abiding in God's will. We should embrace they ways in which emotions can serve to ignite a desire to obey God. That is not to say that we should wait to be obedient

Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. -Matthew 5:48 Sin is not an unfortunate slip or a regrettable act; it is a posture of defiance against a holy God. - Max Lucado There's a good reason why little chores around the house never seem to get done - it's too easy to justify putting them off for just a little longer. Changing the furnace filter? That can wait another week. Cleaning out the garage? Maybe next month. It always seems the bigger, more important chores get most of the attention while the smaller ones keep moving further down the priority list. Yet, if we keep putting off the little things indefinitely, in time we'll reach a point where the cumulative neglect has turned the house into a real mess and everything is falling apart. Eventually, all the little things pile up to a point where we can ignore them no longer. When we reach that point, it's time to grit our teeth, get down to business and perform some much needed spring cleaning. Dealing with sin in our lives is a bit l

"If you will only obey me and let me help you, then you will have plenty to eat. But if you keep turning away and refusing to listen, you will be destroyed by your enemies. I, the LORD, have spoken!" - Isaiah 1:19-20 (NLT) Last week as I made my way to the office, I felt a familiar "thud" as the car approached a red light and the automatic transmission down-shifted. It was a symptom I knew all too well, since the same problem three years earlier had necessitated a long and costly rebuild of the transmission. Now with over two-hundred-thousand miles on the odometer and a whole host of other small mechanical problems, I knew it was time to retire this car and start shopping for a new one. My wife and I discussed which manufacturers we would consider and which we would not. We solicited recommendations from friends and family and spent hours on the Internet reading reviews. Finally, we narrowed the list to two manufacturers. Since each had only one model in our price range, we essentially had two cars from w

You shall see neither hook nor line, much less the subtle angler himself, while he is offering you his bait. And his bait shall be so fitted to your temper and disposition, that he will be sure to find advantages within you, and make your own principles and inclinations betray you; and whenever he ruineth you, he will make you the instruments of ruin to others. - Richard Baxter No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. - 1 Corinthians 10:12-14 At Delve Into Jesus, we offer a section of our website where visitors can post prayer requests. In the last few years, I've been overwhelmed and deeply saddened by the vast number of prayer requests for shattered marriages. From this and other evidence we've compiled from visitors, I am firmly convinced that Satan is attacking marriages with a vengeance. While this is going on, Chris

That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day. 2 Tim 1:12 "You do not want to leave too, do you?" Jesus asked the Twelve. Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God." - John 6:67-68 I have a private pilot's license, but I am restricted to flying only when the weather is good enough to navigate by referencing landmarks on the ground. Although the airplane has very sophisticated instruments which allow for traveling through and above the clouds, pilots are not permitted to fly in these conditions without rigorous training. The reason is that when we cannot see the ground or some other stable reference outside the cockpit, most people slowly begin to get imperceptibly disoriented. In time, our bodies begin to send conflicting signals which don't correspond to what the instruments

I learned an important lesson from my wife early in our marriage. Like any couple, we found that there were always errands outside our home which demanded our attention such as buying pet food, dropping off dry cleaning or returning rented videos. I don't mind driving, so I would often volunteer to tend to these errands outside the home while my wife would take care of chores in the home such as laundry and tidying up. On one occasion, she offered to come with me as I drove all over town. Being obsessed with efficiency as I was, her offer made little sense to me. If she came with me, the trip would surely not take any less time and all that housework would be waiting for us both. If she stayed and did what was needed at home, when I returned we could both relax and spend quality time together. "Why do you want to come?" I asked. "It's not going to be any fun, and then there will be less time for us to relax later." She replied, "I just want to spend time with you." An important realization came to me at tha

And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God's people, let us go right into the presence of God, with true hearts fully trusting him. For our evil consciences have been sprinkled with Christ's blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water. - Hebrews 10:21-22 The last devotional discussed the topic of forgiveness, but one important aspect was not addressed and that is the issue of forgiving oneself. It would seem that of all the people who have wronged us, the easiest to forgive would be ourselves since we are uniquely able to judge the depth of our own remorse and forgive accordingly. However, that is a misconception which we covered in the previous devotional; true forgiveness does not depend on the wrongdoer's level of remorse. We need to forgive for our sake and for the sake of our relationship with Christ, even if the offender will not even acknowledge the hurt they have caused. Forgiveness is for our benefit, not theirs. Why is it often so hard to forgive oursel

For if you forgive others when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. - Matthew 6:14-15 "To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you". - Lewis B. Smedes Forgiveness is surely one of the most misunderstood concepts in Christianity. Despite the fact that we are all called to forgive as our Father in Heaven forgives, misunderstandings are widespread. In this devotional, we want to broaden your understanding of what it means to truly forgive. As is so often the case, it's easier to consider forgiveness by taking a look at what it's not. First, we have to acknowledge that forgiveness is not an emotion. It is a conscious choice which has nothing to do with how we feel. Forgiveness happens when we choose that we will no longer expect those who hurt us to repay us for the harm that was done. We choose that we will get on with our lives and no longer dwell on the hurt

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28 "...there is no foundation for comfort in the enjoyments of this life, but in the assurance that a wise and good God governeth the world..." - William Law Last year, I wrote a three-part devotional series titled, "Asking God for Help". The main teaching of that series was that we need to ask God for help in all difficult situations, large or small. God wants us to ask and He stands ready to help us, but we have to be prepared to accept His solution according to His timing. He knows how and when to work things out. Asking for help is easy and costs us nothing except a few moments of our time. Most Christians do this frequently and automatically whenever difficulties present themselves, but there is usually a little shade of doubt that their prayers will do any good. We tend to petition God "just-in-case" it might actually help, but in reality, we surreptitiously expect

It is useless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night, anxiously working for food to eat; for God gives rest to his loved ones. -Psalm 127:2 I observed everything going on under the sun, and really, it is all meaningless-like chasing the wind. - Ecclesiastes 1:14 I got my first part-time job when I was seventeen years old, working for a computer store in the small town where I grew up. The owner of the store was a charismatic man named Scott who was, from my limited teenage perspective, very worldly and well-traveled. He was an intelligent, larger-than-life character with strong opinions about almost everything, so I enjoyed the quiet Saturday afternoons we worked together when we would take a break from the world of computers and he would teach me about how the "world" really worked. He would typically start his afternoon lesson with a phrase like, "Here's something they won't teach you in school" or "Let me explain something that almost no one understands". His f

"Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls." - Matthew 11:29 "All of my ambitions, hopes and plans, I surrender these into your hands. For it's only in your will that I am free" -Robin Mark, All For Jesus In the last devotional, we touched briefly on the idea that we are prisoners whom Jesus has come to set free. In this devotional, I'd like to expand on that idea and explore what it really means to be free. I wondered briefly if we could call freedom the absence of all responsibility, conflict or suffering. I think that's close, but I imagine that a life with no conflict of any kind would be shallow and insignificant and would prohibit any kind of spiritual development. Freedom has more to do with an absence of unfulfilled desires; never having something we want yet which for whatever reason, is always beyond our grasp. I believe this is what William Wallace meant by "freedom"

No doubt all history in the last resort must be held by Christians to be a story with a divine plot. - C.S. Lewis For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves - Col 1:13 It's natural for us to see life as an on-going story where we are the central character and the hero. It is our biography, happening in real-time and we have been cast in the starring role. If we're the hero and the star, where does that leave God in all of this? Well, He's the author, of course, carefully weaving the situations and conditions into a plot which assures a victorious outcome for the hero. Like all good authors, He is making sure the hero overcomes all conflict in the end while the villains get the justice they deserve. This kind of perspective can lead to some serious disillusionment. If we're the hero, shouldn't we have a better job, fewer problems and more adventure? Shouldn't the story have a more interesting plot than this? Sometimes it feels like we're not l

If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. 1 John 4:20 "If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?" Matthew 5:46-47 Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. 1 John 3:18 There are many different types of love, each with many sides and aspects. One of the many flaws of the English language is that we have a single word to describe them all, so it's understandable that we may fail to distinguish between that which we feel for our husband or wife, and that which compels us to feed the poor. This linguistic limitation has the most impact when it tricks us into believing that love is a feeling, and worse, one over which we have no control. We don't usually choose whom we love romanticall

"He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, so they can neither see with their eyes, nor understand with their hearts, nor turn - and I would heal them." John 12:40 A few weeks ago, I wrote a devotional about spiritual warfare with the intention of convincing our readers that none of us can escape the devastating war which has engulfed this world. In this devotional, we want to continue the theme of spiritual warfare by looking at the effect this war has had on each of us, and how we can finally become healed. There are many certainties about war, and one of the most tragic is that combatants and bystanders alike get wounded, sometimes grievously so. In the case of the war for the Kingdom, you have already been wounded whether you realize it or not. Often, the severity of your wound is proportional to your determination to serve God and accomplish His will on this earth. If you are a fervent follower of Christ, you can be absolutely certain that the Devil and his forces have taken note of your in

"Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to make war against the rest of her offspring - those who keep God's commands and hold fast their testimony about Jesus. " Rev 12:17 "Enemy occupied territory that is what this world is." - C.S. Lewis "The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he did not exist." - The Usual Suspects. Christianity is, to some extent, a religion with a bit of an identity crisis. There are aspects of Jesus' teaching which have universal appeal and make for an easy sell. Who doesn't want more peace and love in their life? At the same time, there are elements of Christianity which are less pleasant and so we may have a tendency to hide them in the closet and focus on areas where we are more comfortable. While contented with the lovely fundamentals of Christianity, we tend to overlook the fact that the Bible reveals the existence of an enemy who seeks to annihilate us. We don't want to even think about spiritual warfare, much less do anything abo

Then Jesus told this story to some who had great confidence in their own righteousness and scorned everyone else: "Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a despised tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer: I thank you, God, that I am not a sinner like everyone else. For I don't cheat, I don't sin, and I don't commit adultery. I'm certainly not like that tax collector! I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income. "But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner. I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted." Luke 18:9-14 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. James 4:10 Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ J