The Forever Notebook: Daily Quiet Time Devotions for Christians, Book 3, July - September
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About this ebook
In Book 3 of the devotional series, The Forever Notebook, Richard Weirich provides daily inspirational and instructional counsel to help you grow in your forever relationship with God. Each book in the quarterly series is grounded in God's word, and written to help you face life's greatest challenges, strengthen your faith, and provide you with hope, comfort, and encouragement.
In the Forever Notebook, Book 3 (July - September), you'll be challenged to start a daily quiet time, set meaningful spiritual goals, and take a disciplined approach to applying godly principles to daily living.
Among the Daily Meditations in this book:
• The Strong-Willed Child of God
• How God Protects Us from Satanic Attacks
• The Key to Better Relationships
• Healing for a Broken Heart
• Spiritual Gifts for Dummies
• How God Works for Us Behind the Scenes
• Child-like Faith Explained and Why You Need It
• Will We Know Our Loved Ones in Heaven?
• Battling Depression
• Is Cursing a Sin?
• What is God's Will for Your Life?
• God's Remedy for Fatigue and Stress
• How Husbands are to Love Their Wives
• When Your Spirit is Willing but Your Flesh is Weak
• How to Resolve Conflict
• It's Not Too Late for God to Heal Our Land
Richard Weirich
Christian author Richard Weirich writes entertaining and inspirational fiction novels, daily devotionals, and nonfiction books that motivate, challenge, and help believers grow in the faith. Richard’s unique perspective on life is rooted in his many experiences as musician, radio personality, minister, and voiceover talent. Richard grew up in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia and after high school played trombone in the U.S. Navy Band. While in the Navy, he became interested in radio, enrolled in the Tidewater School of Broadcasting and quickly landed his first radio job in Norfolk, Virginia. For 30+ years Richard was the Burt half of the popular morning radio duo of Burt and Kurt, entertaining listeners in Jackson, Mississippi; Tampa, Florida; Houston, Texas; and Birmingham, Alabama. In Birmingham, Richard prepared for the ministry at Southeastern Bible College and Samford University, which led to a fifteen-year ministerial career serving as pastor of several Alabama churches.
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The Forever Notebook - Richard Weirich
July 2 - Is Your Church an Accepting Church?
July 3 - Meet the New You
July 4 - The Best is Yet to Come
July 5 - The Strong-Willed Child of God
July 6 - Walking the High Wire of Faith
July 7 - How God Protects Us from Satanic Attacks
July 8 - What You Can Do to Guard Against Satanic Attack
July 9 - 7 Ways Satan Attacks Believers
July 10 - The Key to Better Relationships
July 11 - How to Get Along with Others
July 12 - Working for the Higher Purpose
July 13 - The Christian Work Ethic
July 14 - Healing for a Broken Heart
July 15 - Spiritual Gifts for Dummies
July 16 - How God Works for Us Behind the Scenes
July 17 - You Can’t Fake Your Way Into Heaven
July 18 - What It Means to be a Temple of the Holy Spirit
July 19 - Dress for Success
July 20 - Heaven is Worth the Wait
July 21 - Incomparable Senior Care
July 22 - The Powerful Influence of Faith
July 23 - Child-Like Faith Explained and Why You Need It
July 24 - Proceed with Caution
July 25 - Things Best Left Unsaid
July 26 - Hope for Living
July 27 - Get Out of Your Rut and Get On with Your Life
July 28 - Don’t Burn Yourself Out in Christian Service
July 29 - The Best Thing You Can Do for Your Children
July 30 - The Greatest Book Ever Written
July 31 - Just a Little Talk with Jesus
August 1 - Love Means You Sometimes Have to Say You’re Sorry
August 2 - The Valuable Plank in Your Eye
August 3 - Why You Get It and Others Don’t
August 4 - Will We Know Our Loved Ones in Heaven?
August 5 - Battling Depression
August 6 - Make No Mistake, Jesus is God
August 7 - Peace in a Chaotic World
August 8 - Redeemed from the Empty Way of Life
August 9 - Stumblers for Christ
August 10 - Make Sure Your Roots are Showing
August 11 - Christ in You, The Hope of Glory
August 12 - The Power that Keeps You Saved
August 13 - When Faith Turns to Fear
August 14 - God Even Rescues Us from Ourselves
August 15 - Make Time to Serve the Lord
August 16 - When Running On Empty is a Good Thing
August 17 - The Extent of the Lord’s Forgiveness
August 18 - Freedom with Responsibility
August 19 - The Divine Vindicator
August 20 - Is Cursing a Sin?
August 21 - The Supreme Gift Giver
August 22 - Soulful Praise
August 23 - Unbalanced Christian Faith
August 24 - Faith Under Fire
August 25 - How to Handle the Thorn that Won’t Go Away
August 26 - What is God’s Will for Your Life?
August 27 - Victory in Jesus
August 28 - Heaven is a Choice
August 29 - God’s Remedy for Fatigue and Stress
August 30 - God Plays Favorites
August 31 - Your Face to Face Meeting with Jesus
September 1 - Your Labor for the Lord Matters
September 2 - A Roadblock Called Unforgiveness
September 3 - How to Treat Unbelievers
September 4 - Rejoicing in Hardship
September 5 - Off Death Row
September 6 - The Most Precious Words Ever Spoken
September 7 - Christian Service Burnout
September 8 - Don’t Let Me Be Lonely
September 9 - When You Need Answers
September 10 - Beware of Argumentative Christians
September 11 - Make Good Use of Your God-given Skills
September 12 - The Lamb’s Book of Life
September 13 - God’s Super Deluxe Bundle of Blessings
September 14 - How Husbands are to Love Their Wives
September 15 - Your Part in the Great Commission
September 16 - Good Works and Why They Matter
September 17 - Showboat Christians
September 18 - When Your Spirit is Willing but Your Flesh is Weak
September 19 - How to Please God Right Now
September 20 - Rest for Your Soul
September 21 - When You Fail to Do the Good You Know
September 22 - How to Resolve Conflict, Part 1
September 23 - How to Resolve Conflict, Part 2
September 24 - How to Resolve Conflict, Part 3
September 25 - When Your Attempt to Resolve Conflict Fails
September 26 - Rise Above Your Inadequacies
September 27 - God’s Word is Alive and Active
September 28 - What God Requires of You
September 29 - A Pure Heart and a Steadfast Spirit
September 30 - It’s Not Too Late for God to Heal Our Land
July 1
The Song in Your Heart
He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the LORD and put their trust in him.
Psalm 40:3
A new song from God that results in praise. Those glorious times when He does something amazing. An answered prayer. A previously unseen solution to a problem or an unexpected blessing.
Many times I’ve gone to bed with a problem weighing heavily upon my mind. Next morning I was greeted by a fresh thought, a new perspective. The solution that eluded me was suddenly available. The Holy Spirit had opened my mind to new possibilities and renewed my hope. As a result, I was given a new song of praise to God.
Singing. Humming. Whistling. A natural reaction to joy, like a light turned on in your soul.
Okay. Some of us can’t carry a tune in a bucket, but music still resounds in our hearts and minds.
Have you considered where music comes from? Where did it originate? Even before a cave man hammered out a rhythmical beat on a rock with a stick, there was music.
No. God didn’t one day hear an amazing singer on earth and decide to add music to His heavenly plan. Music was created by God for our pleasure and expression. It helps us communicate our deepest feelings and is in its highest form when offering praise to God.
The first mention of music in the Bible is in the introductory book of Genesis. And throughout the Old Testament we see that music was integral to the worship of the Jews. But one of the most revealing clues to the origin of music occurs in the birth narrative of Jesus in Luke 2 when angels appeared to the shepherds.
13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14 Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.
In verse 15 of Luke 2, we’re told that the singing angels departed and returned to heaven. Later, in the book of the Revelation, the angels and inhabitants of heaven are depicted as singing in response to the wonder-working power of God. (Rev. 5:8-11, 13; 15:1-3) So when you get to heaven, there will be lots of music, and a continual song of joy in your heart.
Take a moment to consider the amazing spectacle represented in Revelation 5:11.
Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand.
Voices lifted in praise to God without the direction of a worship leader and arising naturally in response to His magnificence.
Yesterday, my wife and I drove to Birmingham, and along the way I referred to the beautiful day. Dark clouds had given way to sunshine and signs of the newness of spring were all about us. The grass was turning green, trees were budding, and flowers were blooming. And I commented, Only God could create something so marvelous.
Words of joy in response to God’s handiwork. A new song in my heart.
We take for granted the commonplace and ordinary. Those things we see and experience every day become dull and mundane. Growing up in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, I never realized how incredibly beautiful it was. That is, until I returned. It was like I had somehow missed God’s glorious creation.
Don’t let familiarity blind you to the reality of God’s blessings. We keep a song in our hearts when we, to borrow an old saying, Stop and smell the roses.
Take time to notice all that God has done.
You don’t have to wait for a miracle or an extraordinary answer to prayer for a song of praise to arise in your heart in response to God. Look around you. Take inventory of God’s blessings in your life. Consider the people He has given you to love. Enjoy the beauty of His creation. Think upon the promises He has given you through the work of Jesus, your Savior. Count your blessings.
And when that song of praise arises in your heart, you will have reason to share your joy with others, Many will see and fear the LORD and put their trust in him.
(Psalm 40:3b)
July 2
Is Your Church an Accepting Church?
Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.
Romans 15:7
I saw an interview recently, in which a wealthy man had built a doomsday fortress and he was only inviting those who agreed with him politically to join him in the event of a cataclysmic event. The bottom line: he was only willing to accept those who thought like him.
Consider the experience of the early church as Jews and Gentiles embraced the faith and worshipped together. Just as in our world today, they came from backgrounds accustomed to excluding others who were racially, culturally, and politically different.
In Romans 15:7, the Apostle Paul calls for unity based on Christ’s acceptance of us. Just as Jesus brought us into union with God, we must be unified with one another. One faith. One God. One Lord and Savior.
God accepted us despite ourselves. We were rebellious, sinful, and at enmity with Him. He is divine. We are human. But He accepted us the way we were; cleansed us, created us anew, and gave to us freely from His riches and glory. Likewise, God wants us to accept one another, look passed our differences, and to the commonality we share in Christ. We are brothers and sisters, children of the King.
You are not more saved than me or anyone else in the faith. You are not more highly favored than anyone else in the faith. However, there are those in the church who act as if they are better than others.
To be clear, there is nothing wrong with people of like mind, talents, or interests fellowshipping with one another. But where we must draw the line is when those small groups become closed cliques who gossip, criticize, or ostracize other believers because they don’t live up to some non-Biblical standard.
One of the primary reasons people cite for preferring to attend a large church is because they can maintain their anonymity. They feel they can come and go without being judged. Many among them express negative experiences in small churches because they weren’t accepted, or because they were made to feel unwelcome.
In reality, Spiritual snobbery can be found wherever Christians gather. It is a problem faced by churches big and small, and a malady we should guard against.
Keep the goal of brotherly acceptance top of mind as revealed in our focus text: … in order to bring praise to God.
We should strive to avoid behavior that hinders unified worship.
Following are ways we can make that happen:
(1) God’s church is not just about you and those you want to include in your circle of relationships. Paul opens Romans, Chapter 15, with this admonition: We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves.
We should consider the feelings and preferences of others.
In my early days as a pastor, it bugged me that Baptists preferred to sit in the back of the church. One Sunday morning, I decided to do something about it, and called for the congregation to move to the front of the room. Some complied. Some didn’t. And I fear some may have been offended to the point of never returning. I later adopted the position that having them there was more important than where they sat. It was more important to bear with their preferences than to please myself.
(2) Respect the desire of others for anonymity but do be warm and welcoming. Be an encourager. In verse 2 of Romans 15 we read, Each of us should please our neighbors for their good, to build them up.
(3) Don't push people into things they don't want to do. Have you ever been guilted into a job or an activity in the church you regretted? Let the Holy Spirit do the arm twisting. Acceptance is not pulling or pushing believers to do our bidding. Acceptance is honoring NO without ostracizing the person who had declined our invitation.
It is easy to yield to the temptation of thinking of yourself more highly than others when you serve in the church and they don’t. Ultimately, that slippery slope can lead to non-acceptance. People on the front lines of Christian service are no more loved by God than those who shirk their duty. Pray for those who fail to serve, but never treat them like second class Christians.
(4) Do not participate in gossip sessions. Sunday School classes, prayer meetings, Bible studies, and miscellaneous church gatherings that contain gossip discussions do not honor God. Even that family meal after church can turn into a he said-she said
fiasco. Sin hinders the work of the Spirit. Gossip is sin, so please don’t do it.
Remember, we sing To God be the Glory,
and not To Me be the Glory.
As far as it is up to you, do your part to promote an accepting Christian fellowship.
July 3
Meet the New You
For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin —
Romans 6:6
Have you ever mastered something? For example: woodworking, oil painting, playing a musical instrument.
An advanced academic certification is called a Master’s Degree. Mastery indicates superior knowledge and skills; the ability to do what novices can’t.
Mastering a skill or professional discipline is a considerable accomplishment. If you have done that, congratulations. It didn’t come easily. You worked for it and deserve recognition.
But have you ever thought about the things that master you? As Christians, we call Jesus, Master,
as we should.
Is He? Is Jesus really your Master? Positionally, for sure. But in practice that may be another matter.
The slave era was a reprehensible time in American history. The slaves had Masters, individuals who could treat their purchased subjects any way they pleased.
Slaves existed in New Testament times and some of the imagery used in Romans 6 was garnered from the unfair practices of the day. In verse 6, we’re told that as Christians we should no longer be slaves to sin.
Later, at verse 14, Paul writes, For sin shall no longer be your master…
Paul’s argument begs an intriguing question. Is it possible to be a born-again believer, yet still a slave to sin?
Well, yes and no.
If sin has a hold on you, then it’s time for some soul searching. Paul’s directive in his second letter to the Corinthian church applies: Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves…
(2 Co 13:5)
If you knowingly and willingly sin, and your conscience is not troubled because you are disobeying God, then Christ is not your Master, nor are you saved. Anyone is capable of a guilty conscience, both saved and unsaved. However, the unredeemed conscience is not seared with guilt for offending God. There’s no desire to change for Him.
As Christians we all sin, but when it happens the Holy Spirit convicts our hearts of unrighteousness and leads us to confession, repentance, and a concerted effort to depart from our sinful behavior.
Let’s go back to Paul’s imagery. Slave to sin. Mastered by sin. Is there an area of your life where Jesus is not the Master? Is there a sinful habitual act perhaps that has you in its grasp?
You wouldn’t be reading this if you didn’t want Christ to be your Master. No matter where you are in your walk with Him, you can be that new creation, the new self of righteousness and holiness that God intended. (Ephesians 4:24)
Since I was a child, I have fought the battle of the bulge. Many times I have lost weight, only to gain it back. Finally, I feel as though I have won that battle, having kept the weight off for more than two years. However, I still think of myself as fat. Sometimes, I’ll catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror and see that I am not the person I used to be.
Paul wants us to see ourselves as who we are now and not that old sinner from the past. He says, For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with…
The old you is dead and gone. That’s not you anymore. You are new and improved, suitable for eternal life.
For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace. Romans 6:14
Most often we think of grace as God giving us more than we deserve and think of it in terms of freedom from the penalty of sin. And it does mean that, but so much more. God has also given us everything we need for righteousness and godly living. We just have to appropriate that incredible aspect of His grace.
Isn’t it time, if you haven’t done so already, to meet the new you?
July 4
The Best is Yet to Come
1 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.
Colossians 3:1-3
We’re given two directives in our focus text.
• Set your hearts on things above
• Set your minds on things above
Both points mean essentially the same thing. Think about that place where Christ is and don’t dwell on earthly things. Seems simple enough. But is that really what we think about? I submit that we are consumed with earthly matters and think little about things above. But why?
The primary reason is that life is one big distraction. Earning a living. Caring for a family. Jumping from problem to problem. The pursuit of earthly dreams.
Did Paul mean that things on earth don’t matter? Are we to live day to day with our heads in the clouds without giving thought to what’s happening in our world? Of course not. God wants us to view life with a heavenly perspective.
Imagine that you just won the grand prize for the big 4th of July celebration at your favorite department store. Your luxury one week cruise to the Bahamas departs one month from today. It will