Devotions dated Rob Hurtgen | from Devotional Christian

Christmas Bell Ringing in Boca Raton

December 23, 2009

I walked into a drugstore the other day to pick up some over the counter medication for a sore throat. Since it was the Christmas season I walked right past the lady standing next to the red kettle ringing her bell. The thought crossed my mind, “I would like to be a store front bell ringer . . . in Boca Raton.”

I’ve never been to Boca Raton. I’m not even sure if I could point it out on a map. I want to be a bell ringer there for one reason. It sounds warm. A fact that this particular lady could appreciate wrapped up in her coat, scarf, gloves and a blanket while casually glancing at the thermometer that read 17 degrees.

After paying for the medication that I desperately wanted I walked right passed her for the second time trying to scramble to my car before I froze. In the process I reached for my pocket and realized that I have a great problem. The problem I have is not disagreement with the red kettles, theological, philosophical or even organizational struggles with the non-for profit collecting in the red kettles. The problem I have is very simple. I don’t carry cash of any form. No bills, no coins, nothing. I don’t carry cash and I haven’t carried cash for probably six years or greater.

Once I got over the guilt of seeing her stand there, freezing and giving her nothing for her efforts I began to question not just my ability for spontaneous giving but for intentional giving. Not carrying cash or coin makes it challenging to give to someone who needs cash or coin but not being intentionally generous is a greater concern.

There really are after all two types of giving. Spontaneous, reactionary giving and intentional, calculated giving. It seems though that practicing intentional generosity actually costs more than dropping a few coins in the bucket. It costs more not just monetarily but it costs more spiritually, mentally and emotionally. Many times spontaneous giving is done out of a sense of guilt or the desire to have the one asking for money to move on and leave you alone. Once the transaction is done, you never really think about it again. But intentional giving costs.

Paul in 2 Corinthians 8:1-3 writes, “Now I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters, what God in his kindness has done through the churches in Macedonia. They are being tested by many troubles, and they are very poor. But they are also filled with abundant joy, which has overflowed in rich generosity. For I can testify that they gave not only what they could afford, but far more. And they did it of their own free will” (NLT)

Despite troubles, despite poverty, despite looking at the account and seeing more month than money the churches in Macedonia gave. They intentionally gave. They purposely gave. They sacrificially gave.

Don’t hear what I’m not saying. Both spontaneous and intentional giving are good and both types should be practiced. Let me encourage you this Christmas Season don’t just nonchalantly drop off a few coins in the shiny red bucket, think through, pray through how can you intentionally be a blessing to someone today.

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Approaching God With Spiritual Persistence

November 9, 2009

Filed In Daily Devotionals

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.
(Matthew 7:7-8)

When Jesus tells us in Luke 11 and in Matthew 7 to ask, seek and to knock there is an element of persistency contained within these words. We can read them with the understanding that Jesus is expressing a sense of urgency that should not be let up on lightly. All who believe in Him should keep on asking, keep on seeking and keep on knocking. Not to persuade God to come to our side over His will or win His favor by our persistency and dedication but to continually come before His presence until our souls are satisfied with His glorious response.

We ask with persistency to be heard and receive the desire of our petition. We seek with persistency to find Him who which is not far from us and desires those who seek Him. We knock with persistency to see the door that He has prepared for us to walk through. The door that He has opened to share the gospel with our co-worker who has had all doors closed on her. The door of ministry to the hurting and broken in our city.

When we persistently come to God with the same request sometimes the Holy Spirit will show us that our request is for our desires and not for His glory and He begins to change our request by changing our vision and changing our heart. James 4:3 says, You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. When we persistently come to God where our passions need to be changed he changes. Where our vision needs to be changed, he changes. Where our ears need to be attentive he tunes.

Soul satisfaction comes to the man, to the woman who persistently asks, seeks and knocks the Lord.

Tags Persistence, prayer
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What is Prayer Really About?

November 5, 2009

Filed In Daily Devotionals

In thinking about prayer and in examining scriptures on prayer, there is one conclusion that we must come back to again and again. Prayer is about God.

Prayer is God changing His children. Prayer is experiencing His presence. Prayer is God intervening in our lives. Prayer is God hearing and providing for our needs. Prayer is about God.

Luke records the words of Jesus that we are to ask, seek and knock at the door of heaven, waiting for God to respond. God is portrayed as a generous, loving father who delights in responding to His children by giving them what they need. He is not evil, looking for ways to deceive them. When we ask for an egg we are not given a scorpion instead nor are we given a stone when pleading to be nourished with bread. The Lord is concerned with our provision not in poisoning his children.

Therein lays the command and the reward. Ask and you will receive, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you. God does not respond due to any magical formula of prayer or any work performed to earn a response from Him. He responds because He is God. He responds because of His nature. He is good. He is compassionate. He is generous. He is the protector and provider. He knows what each of His children need and He will not provide that which will harm them. He will only give that which satisfies.

Prayer presents us with the very nature of God. We pray because of who He is. We come to Him because we have faith that He will intervene. We have faith that He will provide. We have faith that He will give us the best, even when the best is silence.

Tags prayer
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Do You Only Pray in Times of Crisis?

October 23, 2009

Filed In Daily Devotionals

I have Family Circus cartoon stored in the file of my computer. It shows Billy at school taking a test while his mother and grandmother are sitting at the table in what looks like a posture of prayer. The caption below reads, “As long as there are tests there will be prayer in school.”

Certainly the Lord wants us to address Him and plead to Him in our times of crisis. And whenever there is a test there is a crisis. The Lord is a loving Father who desires to give good gifts to His children. He is interested in our lives beyond the times of crisis.

The person who relies upon the Crisis prayer to the point that they feel they have to introduce themselves to God. “Hello God, this is Bob, do you remember me?” Often those who think that they don’t need prayer until there is a crisis often become those who don’t believe God answers prayer. This crisis crowd very quickly becomes a mob of cynics doubting prayer and the very nature of God. Their view of god is limited to Him acting like a Genie or Santa Clause rescuing us from our own stupidity.

If we treat prayer like a Chinese takeout menu and God as the delivery boy then we very quickly be disappointed. Is that to say God will not answer crisis prayer? No. Is that to say that God will not use a crisis to bring someone into a deeper relationship with him? No.

Prayer is more than crisis resolution. Prayer is a two-way conversation. Lifting our petitions to the Father and He answering, shaping and refining who He is creating us to be.

Tags crisis, prayer
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Even When We Struggle, Jesus Can Teach Us To Pray

October 21, 2009

Filed In Daily Devotionals

Lets’ face it, most of us do not pray as much as much as we think we should. Sometimes even when we do pray is seems to be ineffective. That the sounds of our voice, if we were brave enough to vocalize our prayer did not go any further than the room we were in. We feel like we ought to pray, that is after all what good Christians do, but we don’t and either feel guilty about it or frustrated or both. Perhaps the biggest hindrance to our prayers is that we just simply do not know how to pray.

Prayer can be learned. Jesus’ disciples approached him, the men handpicked by him to be invested in by him, chosen to travel with him, minister with him and become the leaders of the Christian movement elected one of them to go to him and say “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” (Luke 11:1)

Collect this scene in your mind. They saw John the baptizer’s disciples praying and thought to themselves “wait a minute, John said himself that he was unworthy to untie Jesus sandals and yet his disciples know how to pray and we don’t. Something’s not right with this.” So they went to Jesus and He answered them by teaching them, and all who follow in their footsteps to pray.

Interestingly Jesus did not scold them. Many times he scolded them for their lack of faith but here in something that seems so basic He did not scold them but answered. Ask Jesus to teach you to pray, seek Him in the word to see what the Lord has to say about prayer, knock at the door to heaven with your prayers.

Tags prayer
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