Approval Ratings

Pontius Pilate conducted an opinion poll about what to do with Jesus. His approval ratings were down, so he asked the crowd whether to release Jesus or the murderer Barabbas. The chief priests stirred up the crowd and pressured him to release Barabbas. “And wishing to satisfy the multitude, Pilate released Barabbas” (Mark 15:15). Pilate wanted to be popular more than he wanted to be right. And many people today are more interested in being popular than standing up for the truth. Here’s how to overcome peer pressure.

1. Be more concerned about what God thinks of you than what people think.

It’s not poplar to follow Jesus and you’ll be ridiculed for standing up for what you believe. To have courage, you must be convinced that the Bible is true and everything Jesus taught is the truth. Jesus never took an opinion poll. We never see Jesus asking, “How am I doing? What is my approval rating?” He was only interested in pleasing His Father.

2. Your inner strength must be greater than the outward pressure to conform.

If I squeeze a cracker it will crumble because the outward pressure is greater than the cracker’s strength. But if I squeeze a baseball it won’t crumble because it’s stronger than the pressure being applied. Pilate thought Jesus was innocent, but he didn’t believe it enough to overcome the pressure applied by the angry crowd. He crumbled because he wasn’t strong in his convictions.

3. Realize that everyone will be held accountable to God. You and everyone else will one day stand face-to-face with the living God. “They are surprised that you do no run with them…and they malign you, but they will give an account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead” (1 Peter 4:4-5). Keep an eternal perspective and don’t cave in to them. God’s approval is the only approval rating that matters. www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com   www.makinglifecount.net

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BIBLE STUDY: “The Dual Prophecy of the Virgin Birth” (Isaiah’s prophecy was fulfilled at two different times)

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Making Life Count Ministries

P.O. Box 680174

Prattville, Alabama 36068-0174

www.makinglifecount.net  Twitter: @KentCrockett

Letting Go of People

Pharaoh was a Control Freak and had kept God’s people in bondage for years. The Lord sent Moses to him with a message, “Let My people go!” (Ex. 5:1). Perhaps a “difficult person” is keeping you in bondage through an unhealthy relationship. The one tormenting you is living in your mind rent-free! Either you are trying to control and change that person, or that person is trying to control you. Both ways create bondage. God told Pharaoh to let go and He’s also telling you to let go. 

1. If you don’t LET GO, you cannot be spiritually free. You can hold on to something with your hands, but you can also hold on to something with your heart. To “let go” means to release in your heart the person or situation into God’s hands and to let Him make the corrections needed. Jesus wants you to be “free indeed” (John 8:36).

2. If you don’t LET GO, you cannot move on to the next new thing.  For a trapeze artist to reach out and grasp the new bar, he or she must let go of the old bar. The new bar is just far enough away so that you cannot grab it while still clinging to the old. If you don’t let go, you’ll keep swinging in the same old routine and nothing will get better for you.

3. If you don’t LET GO, dysfunctional people will continue to control you. Dysfunctional people can act like Pharaoh and will get upset and angry if you don’t do exactly as they say. The disciples told Jesus the Pharisees were offended by His teaching. Jesus instructed His disciples to “Leave them alone” (Matt. 15:14). In other words, “Don’t let them manipulate you with their domineering attitudes but keep following Me and what I tell you to do.”

“Letting go” doesn’t mean that you stop caring but that you want freedom more than bondage. How to LET GO: Keith Miller said, “Imagine putting the person in your cupped hands, then coming before the Lord, who also has His hands cupped. You place your hands inside His hands and gently take your hands apart, leaving the person in God’s hands.” Once you let go, let the Lord deal with that person and stop letting him or her live inside your mind.

To read more about letting go read SlayingYour Giants. ($5.99)

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

My Wife's Lost Diamond

My wife Cindy was crying as she called me from the bank where she worked.  In a panicking voice she said, "The diamond has fallen out of my wedding ring and I don't know where it is!" Finding that diamond would be like finding a needle in a haystack. She could have lost it in our house, or in the restaurant where she had lunch, or somewhere in the bank. 

I prayed, "Lord, you know where Cindy lost her diamond. Please show me where it is." Immediately I felt prompted to go to the bank parking lot. The first place I looked was inside our minivan. It wasn’t there. When I scanned the parking lot, I saw what looked like a piece of glass laying in a crack in the pavement. It was Cindy’s diamond! 

I snatched it up and ran into the bank yelling, "I found the diamond!"  Bank customers turned around, wondering why I was shouting. Cindy burst into tears and came running out from behind her teller window. As we embraced in the lobby, it looked like the ending of a romantic movie.

We called our friends and told them how I found the diamond against all odds. Then I finally understood the parable of the lost coin (Luke 15:8-9). The woman who had lost a silver coin called her friends with joy after she found it. Sometimes we don’t realize something’s value until we lose it—and then recover it.  

The diamond hadn’t increased in value, but our perception of its worth had changed dramatically. I learned the secret of thankfulness: the value of something isn't determined by how much it appreciates, but by how much it is appreciated.

If you want to enjoy life, you will need to reexamine the value of what you have. You may have lost the appreciation for the things you once desperately wanted!

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

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”

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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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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