Category Archives: Devotion

Overcoming Fear: The Empowering Benefits of Knowing God’s Love

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We’ve all heard people say, “If God is love, then why do bad things happen?” They seem to have difficulty reconciling life difficulties with a loving God. They are saying, “How does it benefit me if God is love and I still have to suffer?” In other words, “God is love, SO WHAT?”

There are numerous empowering benefits to truly KNOWING a loving God. The key word here is “knowing.” It’s only when we truly know God that we can recognize and experience His love towards us. This knowledge of His love is what empowers us, giving us the strength to face our fears and overcome them.

1 John 4:18 says, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear.” Perfect love can only come from God; therefore, when you know God, fear is removed. This doesn’t mean we aren’t concerned or that we don’t wrestle with insecurity or anxiety. It means that because of our experiences with God in various circumstances, we KNOW that we can trust Him. This trust is what keeps our eyes focused solely on Him, not on what is frightening us. It helps us keep everything in perspective: God is greater and more powerful than whatever is causing our fears.

As Christians, we are not meant to live our lives in fear. “For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline” (2 Tim 1:17). This power, this love, this confidence is what empowers us to live a fearless life. How do we tap into this power? How do we stay focused on the all-mighty God rather than the “what ifs” of life?

The answer is recognizing our fears and knowing the truths about God and how He is greater than our worries. With that in mind, let’s look at some of our concerns in light of God’s greatness.

The Fear of Failure

Let’s talk about the fear of failure. I’ve met too many believers who were so exhausted from their constant struggle with sin that they just gave up and settled for a defeated life. Can you imagine living in such a state? It’s not what God wants for us. He wants to give us freedom from and power over sin. He doesn’t want us to feel weak and helpless. So, simply giving up and giving in isn’t the answer.

I read of a baseball player who set the major league record for strikeouts with 1,316. This same player set a record for five consecutive strikeouts in a World Series game. The holder of both records was the great slugger Babe Ruth. His lifetime batting average was .342, which means his average of not reaching base was .658. He failed almost two-thirds of the time, yet he is known for what? Hitting home runs. He never gave up and is still talked about even though he retired almost 90 years ago.

When Satan attacks with the fear of failure, when he brings up all our sins, when he accuses us of our fleshly weaknesses, we need to run to God and let Him remind us of what He considers to be true about us. That is, God “has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault” (Colossians 1:22).

All our failures (yesterday, today, and tomorrow) were placed upon Christ when we put our faith in Him. Now, we live in an eternal state of forgiveness. No one, including ourselves, put the mantle of “sinner” back on us. We have been forgiven once and for all time; therefore, if a holy, sinless God can forgive us our failures, then who are we to not forgive ourselves?

The Fear of People

Next is the fear of people. Fredrick the Great said, “The more I get to know people, the more I love my dog.” People can be scary. They try to dominate, manipulate, and intimidate us, using these tactics to control us with fear.

Proverbs 29:25 warns us that “the fear of man is a snare” that will trap you and steal your hope for freedom. They will use their wicked maneuvers to guilt, scare, or browbeat you into submission. Usually, they do this because they are afraid of not being in control.

We cannot allow people to bully us to get their way. We cannot allow fear to keep us from being who God wants us to be. Paul asked the Galatian church, “Am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ” (1:10). Paul never let his fear of what people could do prevent him from obeying God.

In Acts 5:17-33, the disciples are imprisoned because they were preaching about Jesus in the temple. God freed them from jail but instructed them to return to preaching in the temple. The following day, the temple guard discovered they had escaped the prison but were back preaching.

Upon their arrest, they were brought before the High Priest. The religious leaders wanted to kill them but ended up flogging and then releasing them. The disciples were not afraid of what happened to them physically. They knew the very instant they left this life, they would be ushered into Christ’s presence (2 Cor 5:8).

Jesus encourages us not to “be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell” (Mt 10:28). People can harm your body, ego, and reputation; however, nothing they do can separate you from God’s love, plan, and salvation.

That doesn’t mean we go out with a chip on our shoulder. It does mean we confidently live life knowing what God KNOWS to be true of us!

The Fear of Troubles

Thirdly, there is the fear of trouble. Romans 5.1-5 says, “Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.”

“We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.”

Clearly, all troubles are not bad. Hebrews 12:7 tells us to “endure hardships as discipline.” Notice it doesn’t say hardships are discipline, but to “endure” or consider hardships as discipline. My son has a list of chores. They are not a form of punishment but are to teach him responsibility, character, and hard work.

God wants us to trust His plan when troubles arise. God promises in Zephaniah 3:17, “The LORD you God is in your midst, a victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.” Jews took this verse to mean those without troubles were outside God’s will. The writer of Hebrews declared that God disciplines those He loves, so if you are not disciplined, then you are not legitimate children of God (12:5-11).

We may not like the discipline, but we must trust what we know about God—He is loving, kind, merciful, patient, perfect, and His plan for us will not be denied.

Focusing on our difficulties and trials can cause us to question God and eventually grow angry with Him for not helping us the way we want. There is nothing wrong with honestly talking with God about your plight. But in the end, we must be willing to submit to His sovereignty. Remember, God’s will and plan are what we would want if we knew all that God knows!

The Fear of Separation

Finally, there is the fear of separation. This is the accumulation of all our fears coming down on us at once. Fear that isn’t dealt with is like a giant boulder rolling downhill and about to crush us. It will eventually catch up to us, and the results will be devastating.

Undealt with fear obscures our vision of God. Why? Because we become myopic about our fears even though they are much smaller than our God! It’s like the moon blocking the sun’s light during an eclipse. The sun is 400 times larger than the moon, but when positioned just right, the moon appears larger and more dominant.

Our fixation on what frightens us makes it appear large and in charge. This means we must exercise spiritual maturity to remember, believe, and rest in the fact that God is in control regardless of our finite view.

There are several ways to overcome fear. First, call out to God. He already knows, but tell Him what’s happening and how you feel. Don’t try to hide your feelings from Him. He knows everything, so just be honest with Him. There is something about being vulnerable, transparent, and sincere that helps us move from fear to faith.

Next, quiet your spirit and thank God for being there with you. Spend time praising Him for His past help and how it will help you get through your current crisis. Then worship Him for who He is: holy, righteous, gracious, merciful, loving, forgiving, all-powerful, all-knowing, ever-present, omnibenevolent, and so much more. The Bible declares that God inhabits His praise, so when we praise and worship Him, HE SHOWS UP!

Another thing you can do is read Romans 8:31-39. “What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.”

“Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? (As the Scriptures say, ‘For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.’) No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.”

“And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

What can separate us from God? NOTHING!

Lastly, remembering the cross is the best way to calm our fears. There is no more extraordinary proof of God’s love for us than the giving of His Son as an atonement for our sins. It is impossible to see Jesus rejected by His own Father because of our sinfulness and not feel God’s overwhelming love for us. If you find yourself doubting God’s love for any reason, go to the Gospels and read the passion narratives. Look upon Christ’s wounds and remember they were necessary for your forgiveness and future home in Heaven.

The fear of separation is real, but if we take the proper steps, we can confidently face our fears because we know, have experienced, and are assured of God’s love, presence, and plan.

Nerve Blocks Don’t Last Forever!

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Back in 2003, I had a terrible accident which resulted in, what I thought was simply, a broken leg. I will never forget the look on the doctor’s face when he informed me, “Mr. Pittenger, you have had a rather unfortunate accident. You have a Tibial Plateau Fracture which will require major surgery. Following the surgery you will not be able to put any weight on your leg for thirteen weeks and will spend up to six months in physical therapy learning to use your leg again.” As he continued to explain the procedure to literally screw my leg back together, I sat there in a daze. How was I going to work? How would I take care of Continue reading →

An Outrageous Love!

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When we are truly in love with Jesus, there are no feelings within that can compare to the depth of love we hold for our Savior, Lord, and God. A genuine love for God requires every ounce of our being; there is no room for another. Nor is there a love like that between The Groom and His bride, between The Deliverer and the delivered, or between The Redeemer and His redeemed. A true love for Him consumes us. It compels us to “love the LORD our God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind, and with all our strength” (Mk 12.30).

Those who have never opened their hearts to receive this perfect love cannot fathom its depths. In fact, they think us foolish for demonstrating our devotion with lives surrendered to bringing Him glory regardless of the cost. They cannot comprehend the simplicity of thought that denies one’s self the temporal desires of this life in order to pursue the immeasurable, limitless, infinite pleasures which “eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him” (1 Cor. 2.9).

However, those who have tasted the fruit of this sweet love gladly abandon their former worldly passions. They are no longer enticed by such bitter fruit, but are constantly satisfied and filled with a pure, unmerited, sacrificial love. A love with no pain, separation, or ending. They have gladly abandoned everything this world has to offer and counted it as loss that they might give themselves wholly to their one true love—JESUS!

It is curious that there are those who view such a love relationship with our God as foolish or strange. In his post “Oh, to Know Jesus!” Jon Bloom describes this relationship in simple terms that all can understand.

Bloom writes,

I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord (Philippians 3:8).

One thing is for sure: Christianity is not for stoics. The Bible is the most wild, romantic book ever written. The New Testament is no cool, reasoned analysis of Jesus’s system of thought. It is a passionate book written by people who were ravished by Jesus, who felt and said ardent things like Philippians 3:8.

You know what the world calls statements like Paul’s? Religious extremism. Fanaticism. You “count everything as loss”? Sounds dangerous. Have you thought about seeing a therapist?

But the world is full of such talk when it comes to romantic love. We expect lovers’ language to be obsessive and imbalanced. Listen to the way the poet John Keats speaks to his beloved Fanny Brawne:

You have ravish’d me away by a Power I cannot resist: and yet I could resist till I saw you; and even since I have seen you I have endeavoured often “to reason against the reasons of my Love.” I can do that no more — the pain would be too great — My Love is selfish — I cannot breathe without you.

Keats’s overwhelming passion gave him a profound insight (in the same letter):

I have been astonished that men could die martyrs for their religion — I have shuddered at it — I shudder no more. I could be martyred for my religion. Love is my religion and I could die for that. I could die for you.

Paul is no fundamentalist extremist driven by fear or anger to force his creed on others. He’s a man in love. Keats idolized Fanny. Paul worshiped his Lord.

Christians are people in love with Jesus. He’s not our worldview; he’s our Bridegroom. We pour over the Word and pray to commune with our Beloved. Theology is only worth studying to help us know him! Preaching, teaching and evangelism is not our vocation or obligation but a longing that others know him too. “For we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:20).

Our love for Him is an outrageous love in the eyes of the world. It is a love that demands all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. It is not possible to express this love with mere words. No, it must be demonstrated through the works of genuine faith. It is a life designed to bring glory, honor, praise, and worship to our beloved. This love may cost us our goals, dreams, desires, or even our very life. Nevertheless, we gladly relinquish these ephemeral flowers, which are here today and gone tomorrow, in exchange for eternal love which has been poured out for us upon Calvary. It was there that Jesus’ love paid the dowry to remove any and all obstacles which would prevent us from being betrothed unto Him.

In a relationship that demands so much, one might ask, “What is in it for you?” Our Beloved gives us everything we need for life and breath and meaning. In Him we have light in the darkest of nights, warmth on the coldest of days, hope in midst of hopelessness, strength when we are too weak to stand, vision for eyes shrouded in darkness, love for the unlovely, forgiveness for the most egregious of sinners, rest for the weary, food for the hungry, and oh so much more. He is our Redeemer, our Sacrifice, our Propitiation, our Hope, our Light, and our Love, the God of all creation, and our personal Lord and Savior. Is it any wonder that we “count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus [our] Lord, for whom [we] have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that [we] may gain Christ” (Philippians 3.8).

One More Night with the Frogs

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Do me a favor—take a minute and read Exodus 8:1-15. In this passage, we find the account of the second plague God brought on the Egyptians because Pharaoh would not let the Israelite people go free. Pharaoh was considered the “go between” for the people and their host of gods; therefore, he wasn’t going to let some lesser god of slaves come into his kingdom and tell him what to do.

Can you imagine what the plague of frogs was like? Pharaoh is in bed sound asleep, when all of a sudden, he is awakened by someone touching him on the chest. He quickly opens his eyes and looks around the room to see who startled him. Seeing no one he tries to go back to sleep, but before he can close his eyes there it is again—thump, thump, thump. He throws the covers back and underneath are dozens of frogs. He jumps out of bed only to find hundreds of frogs all over his royal bedroom. He reaches for his robe only to find a frog in the pocket. He can’t even get his slippers on because of the frogs inside. Just as he is ready to call out for the guards, the door to his room flies open sending frogs skidding across the tile floor. Rushing in are his court officials with a couple of giant brooms try to sweep the slippery, green nuisance out-of-the-way.

“Oh King!” they cry out “You will never believe what is happening all across your kingdom! There are frogs everywhere! It is just as Moses said it would be.” They begin painting a bleak picture of Egypt—there were frogs in homes, barns, fields, kneading bowls, coffee cups, in the streets, and courts. They were everywhere! Without a question, Moses’ latest curse is one big green disturbance.

Pharaoh is not going to be outdone by the leader of slaves. He calls his royal magicians in to remove the frogs; however, their incantations only bring up more frogs. Now the situation is worse than ever. Pharaoh is determined not to be manipulated by Moses or his God, so he tries to live with this slippery inconvenience. However, after many sleepless nights and days filled with croaking frogs Pharaoh finally breaks. “Moses!” he cries out in anger. “Get Moses in here now!”

When Moses arrives Pharaoh is quick to the point, “Moses, I will let your people go, but you have to get these frogs out of here!” Then Moses asks a strange question, “When do you want the frogs to leave?” When? My reply would have been simple, “How about yesterday!” But Pharaoh’s answer has always made me scratch my head—he said, “Tomorrow!” For days, and possibly weeks he has been dealing with this hopping nightmare and when given the opportunity to get rid of the problem he decides to spend one more night with the frogs.

I have never been able to figure out why he would want to wait one more night. When the solution is right in front of you, why not say, “NOW!” But instead, he decides on tomorrow. I don’t really think we can be too hard on old Pharaoh, because we’re not too different today. In spite of all the proof that certain personal preferences in our lives are really harmful, we still choose one more night with the frogs. When we are told that our habits could harm us  mentally, physically, emotionally, or even spiritually for the most part we just keep on doing what we want. We figure we’ll give up this habit some day.

The problem of spending one more night with the frogs is where it eventually takes us. That one night takes us to a doctor’s office trying to find out how to live with a terrible disease. Or it may lead us into a lawyer’s office fighting over our possessions in a bitter divorce. It may direct us into a physical therapist’s office where we are trying to learn to walk after a terrible accident. One could find himself sitting in a big lonely house because your kids will no longer put up with your childish behavior. Or, in the worst case scenario we find ourselves standing before God and hear the most frightening words ever uttered, “I have never known you. Depart from me into eternal punishment.” You see, one more night with the frogs may not seem like that bad of an idea, but eventually you have to deal with the consequences of your decisions—payday is coming.

Pharaoh could have gotten rid of the frogs that day; all he had to do was determined in his heart that they needed to go. He had to swallow his arrogant pride and ask Moses, the great deliverer, for help. Instead, he figured enduring one more night wouldn’t be that bad. The end result was piles of rotting, smelly frogs all over his kingdom. His pride was still controlling him, and in the end, the cost was more than he could have ever imagined.

What about you? Will you choose one more night with the frogs? Will you keep your sinful habits around? Or, will you call out to the Great Deliver for help. Will you cry out to Jesus to deliver you from the certain, eternal punishment that is coming your way if you do not repent, turn from sin and self, and follow Him? Will you spend one more night with the frogs, or will you start a new day with Jesus?

More Than I Ever Imagined

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Prayer (2)I was blessed to grow up in a home with two parents who’s love for each other was a beautiful picture of Biblical love. Because of their love, I couldn’t wait to have a family of my own, so in 1980 at the age of sixteen I started praying for my wife. At first, my prayers were as shallow as most boys my age, you know, I wanted her to be pretty, have blonde hair, blue eyes, and be head over heals in love with me. As the years began to add up and I was still single, my prayers began to change. Oh, I still prayed for everything as before but I added that she needed to love Jesus, have a wonderful testimony, want to be on mission for the Lord, and once again be crazy about me.

I would love to say I patiently waited for the woman who perfectly matched up to my prayers, unfortunately my fear of being alone was greater than my trust in God’s timing, so I was in and out of a lot of relationships. In spite of my impatience, God was faithful and continued to prepare the perfect wife for me. I had to wait thirteen years to finally meet her, but it was well worth the previous heart-break, loneliness, sadness, and seemingly unanswered prayers.

Because we were both college students and poorer than a church mouse, img_0018our first date was at Subway where I could only afford a soft-drink and a couple of chocolate chip cookies. We spent several hours talking about our life’s journey and how we come to know Christ. As she shared about her life before and after meeting Jesus I was stunned at how she was listing off all that I had prayed for over the last thirteen years. She had already been on two mission trips, one to Jackson Hole, Wyoming and the other to Trinidad and Tobago. It was quite clear that night just how in love she was with Jesus.  It was so clear I convinced her to marry me six months later.

Over the last twenty-seven years of marriage, she has taught me so much about God’s love.  Shirley loves me unconditionally in spite of all my idiosyncrasies (a nice way of saying I am weird). I don’t have to perform, serve, or love her in any special way to earn or keep her love. She just loves me unconditionally. And yet, without a doubt I am the second man in her life, the first being Jesus, which is exactly what I was praying for all the way back in 1980. You see, it is her love relationship with Jesus that taught her how to love me.

So, today on our twenty-seventh wedding anniversary I am especially thankful toFebruary 2015 Almighty God for the way He answered the prayer of a sixteen year old boy by giving me so much more than I ever asked for in a wife. She is truly more than I ever imagined or deserved!

I love you Shirley!