God Wants to Speak to You

Peter Lord was the pastor of Park Avenue Baptist Church in Titusville, Florida, for many years. A number of years ago in December, Peter was praying when God spoke to him, “I want you to construct a building where people can pray. As proof that this is My idea and not yours, I will send someone to the church that you don’t know who will give five hundred dollars toward the building. This will happen before Christmas.” Peter wrote in his prayer journal what the Lord had said but didn’t tell anyone.

A week passed. No one brought him any money. Two weeks went by, but still no answer. He started to doubt what he had heard. On December 24, a married couple from another city pulled into the church parking lot. They introduced themselves and said, “Pastor, you don’t know us, but when we were praying God spoke to us. He told us to come here and give you some money. We don’t really understand why we needed to drive here to give this to you, but we’re just being obedient.” The couple handed him a check for $500! (If God Knows What I Need, Why Should I Pray? pp.112-113).

This not only confirmed to Peter that he had heard from God, but it also confirmed to the couple they had also heard Him speak to them. The prayer chapel was constructed and has been used for many years as a place to intercede for others.

God wants to speak to you and lead you through this life, but are you listening? Do you know how to hear from God? To learn how God speaks and how to hear Him, read the NEW BIBLE STUDY: “Does God Speak to People Today?” www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com   www.makinglifecount.net

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Making Life Count Ministries

P.O. Box 680174

Prattville, Alabama 36068-0174

www.makinglifecount.net  Twitter: @KentCrockett

Teachable Moments

Every situation is a learning experience, but many people miss the opportunity of the moment. You can have the best teacher in the world but if you aren’t teachable you won’t learn anything. Having a teachable spirit means you admit that you don’t know everything. Here are 3 things God wants to teach you.

How to make right choices.  “I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go” (Psalm 32:8). The Lord will point you in the right direction if you are willing to listen.

How to understand spiritual truths. Jesus said, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things.” (John 14:26). The Holy Spirit can teach you valuable lessons about how to live.

How to love unlovable people. “For you yourselves are taught by God to love one another (1 Thess. 4:9). A bumper sticker read: “God loves you—and I’m trying!”  In our own strength it’s hard for us to love others, but the Lord can show us exactly how to do it.

If you are faced with a stressful situation or dealing with an obnoxious person, ask God:

1. “Lord, what do you want to teach me?” God wants to use that difficulty to teach you something that you don’t know. As you continue to learn, you’ll grow in wisdom and will become spiritually mature.

2. “Lord, how do you want me to respond?” It will probably be different than your natural reaction. But if you’ll respond in the correct way, you’ll gain wisdom about how to respond the next time it happens.

As you learn from God, you’ll know how to counsel others as they are going through the same thing. www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com   www.makinglifecount.net

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NEW BIBLE STUDY: What happened to Goliath’s Sword?

NEW BIBLE STUDY: Is it Possible to Resist God’s Grace?

NEW PRINTED SERMON:  Jonah 4—“Jonah’s Pity Party”

Receive these devotionals (free) by email: You can subscribe in the box on the right at www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com (Your email will not be given out. You’ll receive an email when the new devotional is posted)

Making Life Count Ministries

P.O. Box 680174

Prattville, Alabama 36068-0174

www.makinglifecount.net  Twitter: @KentCrockett

Two Plans Going at the Same Time

Two plans are going on in your life at the same time. Earthly (E) vs. Heavenly (H). Plan E is what we see happening on earth, but Plan H isn’t as obvious. Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery (Plan E) and he was taken to Egypt. God used them to get Joseph to the place where He could promote him (Plan H). It was there he was falsely accused and thrown into prison (Plan E). The Bible says, “The Lord was with him” (Gen 39:2, 21, 23), although it certainly didn’t look like it.

Later Joseph was promoted to #2 in command of Egypt (Plan H) and was reunited with his brothers. He told them, “You meant it for evil against me (Plan E), but God meant it for good (Plan H)” (Gen. 50:20). God turned their plan to get rid of him into a promotion. That’s two plans going on at the same time.

Jesus said, “Blessed are you when men cast insults at you, and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely (Plan E), on account of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great (Plan H) (Matt. 5:11-12). When believers are persecuted for their faith, they are going to receive an incredible reward in heaven. That’s two plans going on at the same time.

On the Day of Pentecost, Peter preached to the crowd, “This Man (Jesus), delivered up by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God (Plan H), you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death (Plan E), and God raised Him up again (Plan H) (Acts 2:23-24). God turned the crucifixion of Jesus by evil men into payment for the sins of the world. That’s two plans going on at the same time.

It’s difficult to understand how this works, so when you are under attack by evil people, you must trust God and respond correctly. Look at what the hand of God is doing for you rather than what the hand of man is doing to you. www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com   www.makinglifecount.net

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Receive these devotionals (free) by email: You can subscribe in the box on the right at www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com (Your email will not be given out. You’ll receive an email when the new devotional is posted)

Making Life Count Ministries

P.O. Box 680174

Prattville, Alabama 36068-0174

www.makinglifecount.net  Twitter: @KentCrockett

Jobs in Heaven?

Many people talk about going to heaven, but few people think about what we’ll be doing in heaven forever. Heaven would be boring if we had nothing to do throughout eternity. We are saved by God’s grace through faith and that’s what gets us into heaven (Eph. 2:8-9). But our faithfulness in living for Him after we have been saved will determine what we will be doing in heaven (see Luke 19:12-24, Matt. 25:14-30).

1. We will serve Him forever (Rev. 7:15, 22:3). Just as we joyfully serve Him now (Ps. 100:2), we will continue to serve Him in heaven. Heaven is filled with joy without any sorrow, so these will be exciting assignments, similar to eternal hobbies.

2. We will manage “true riches.” Life on earth is a test. How we manage things in this life will determine what God we will let us manage in the next life. Jesus said, “If you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth (on earth), who will trust you with true riches (in heaven)? (Luke 16:11). True riches are more valuable than anything on earth.

3. We will be “in charge of many things.” Jesus said if we are faithful with a few things (on earth), He will put us in charge of many things (in heaven) (Matt. 25:21,23). We are not told what these “many things” are, but they will be rewards that He will give to those who have faithfully lived for Him.

God didn’t give us the details about these heavenly assignments and true riches because we cannot comprehend them at our current level of understanding. After we get to heaven, our knowledge will be expanded and we will literally see what He was talking about. 

You can read much more about how your life on earth will affect your eternity in my book Making Today Count for Eternity.

 www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com   www.makinglifecount.net

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ON SALE--Small Group DISCUSSION books  Slaying Your Giants ($5.99) plus Study Guide ($4.99) has 20 interesting lessons for Small Group discussion.

Receive these devotionals (free) by email: You can subscribe in the box on the right at www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com (Your email will not be given out. You’ll receive an email when the new devotional is posted)

Making Life Count Ministries

P.O. Box 680174

Prattville, Alabama 36068-0174

www.makinglifecount.net  Twitter: @KentCrockett