The Forever Notebook: Daily Quiet Time Devotions for Christians, Book 4, October - December

By Richard Weirich

In Book 4 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 4 (October - December), 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 Devotions in this book:
• The Last Days are Here
• Freedom from a Guilty Conscience
• Strategy for Managing Fear
• Why Jesus Wept
• How to Keep God’s Blessings Flowing
• Your Safe Place from the Storm
• Learn from the Sins of Your Past
• The Difference Between Sins of Commission and Omission
• What It Means to be Yoked to Unbelievers
• Hindrances to Answered Prayer
• The Stress Reliever that Works
• A Simple Exercise Plan for Strengthening Your Walk with God
• Overcoming the Impossibilities of Life
• How to Handle Difficult People
• Overcoming Humiliation and Hurt
• The Greatest Against All Odds Story of All Time

• Language: English
• Publisher: Richard Weirich
• Release date: Jan 6, 2018
• ISBN: 9781370361892

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.

Book preview

October 1 - Are You Missing Out On the Nearness of God?

October 2 - The Last Days are Here

October 3 - What it Means to Hope in the Lord

October 4 - Times of Refreshing

October 5 - Take Inventory of Your Rich Inheritance

October 6 - Don’t Let Anything Keep You from Eternal Life with Jesus

October 7 - Most Likely to Go to Heaven

October 8 - Giving that Means More than Receiving

October 9 - Freedom from a Guilty Conscience

October 10 - Nobody Knows the Trouble You’ve Seen

October 11 - What Will They Say about You when You’re Gone?

October 12 - Insults Aren’t All Bad

October 13 - The Danger of Abundant Living

October 14 - Keep Your Eyes On the Prize

October 15 - This Little Light of Mine

October 16 - Trust God No Matter What

October 17 - Strategy for Managing Fear

October 18 - Why Jesus Wept

October 19 - The First Heavenly Bank of Blessings

October 20 - How God Puts Us in the Right Place at the Right Time

October 21 - How to Make the Most of the Brevity of Life

October 22 - Let’s Go Fishing Again

October 23 - The House Built on the Solid Rock

October 24 - How to Keep God’s Blessings Flowing

October 25 - Are You Ready for Life’s Ultimate Battle?

October 26 - Worthy of His Calling

October 27 - Eyewitness News

October 28 - How to Rise Above Negative Feelings

October 29 - The Flip Side of Godly Wisdom, Part 1

October 30 - The Flip Side of Godly Wisdom, Part 2

October 31 - The Flip Side of Godly Wisdom, Part 3

November 1 - The Flip Side of Godly Wisdom, Part 4

November 2 - The Reward of Fools

November 3 - God Knows the Reality of Your Heart

November 4 - When You Think No One Cares

November 5 - Seated at the Kids’ Table of Faith

November 6 - Your Safe Place from the Storm

November 7 - Why We Should Acknowledge the Lord

November 8 - Why Every Christian Should Desire a Pure Heart

November 9 - Learn from the Sins of Your Past

November 10 - A Life Built on Holy Faith

November 11 - What in the World has Come Over You?

November 12 - The Difference Between Sins of Commission and Omission

November 13 - What It Means to Belong to Jesus

November 14 - How We Deceive Ourselves

November 15 - What It Means to be Yoked to Unbelievers

November 16 - Where to Find Peace for All of Life’s Storms

November 17 - God Can Still Use You

November 18 - Your Day in Court

November 19 - The Last Supper Wasn’t the Last

November 20 - Your Role in the Family of Faith

November 21 - He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands

November 22 - If Not for the Lord

November 23 - How to Expand Your Circle of Prayer

November 24 - Hindrances to Answered Prayer

November 25 - Thanksgiving Forever and Ever - Amen

November 26 - An Undivided Heart for God

November 27 - The Stress Reliever that Works

November 28 - A Simple Exercise Plan for Strengthening Your Walk with God

November 29 - The Someone Who Will Put Up With You

November 30 - How to Prepare for the Lord’s Return

December 1 - The Wow Factor of Faith

December 2 - You Have Got Mail

December 3 - Open the Door to Eternal Life

December 4 - Out of the Darkness and Into the Light

December 5 - The Road Best Traveled

December 6 - That is Just Like Him

December 7 - Overcoming the Impossibilities of Life

December 8 - God’s Eternal Navigation System

December 9 - Fruit Trees for Christ

December 10 - Selective Hearing Disorder

December 11 - The Christmas Sign from God

December 12 - Time is a Gift from God

December 13 - How to Handle Difficult People

December 14 - Angels Among Us

December 15 - Faith Conquers Fear

December 16 - The Greatest Worship Leader of All Time

December 17 - Overcoming Humiliation and Hurt

December 18 - How to Become a Forever Time Traveler

December 19 - Forgiveness for Then, for Now, and Forever

December 20 - Lessons Learned from Sleeping in a Stable

December 21 - The Greatest Against All Odds Story of All Time

December 22 - The Good News of the Day

December 23 - Your Ticket to the Greatest Performance

December 24 - Precious Memories to Flood Your Soul

December 25 - On this Day, Worship the Gift

December 26 - A Life Changing Encounter with God

December 27 - Christian Service Comes with Benefits

December 28 - Jesus’ Reliable Promise to Give Rest for the Weary

December 29 - Comforting Words of Substance

December 30 - When Christian Service Encounters Trouble

December 31 - Get Your Head Out of the Past and Into Tomorrow

October 1

Are You Missing Out On the Nearness of God?

Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

James 4:8

On State Street in Bristol, you can straddle the state line between Tennessee and Virginia. So it really is possible to be two places at one time. But when it comes to being a Christian, you can’t live on both sides of the fence. There will be no fence-straddlers in heaven.

Double-minded means insincere, wavering, uncertain, not fully persuaded, and uncommitted. It’s on again — off again faith that vacillates between belief and unbelief.

In Navy boot camp, every recruit was required to pass a series of swim tests. The first assessment called for jumping from a tower, swimming to the other side, and then floating on your back for five minutes. No big deal IF you could swim. I couldn’t. And so I jumped and sunk to the bottom. When a pole hit me in the head, I grabbed onto it, and an instructor pulled me out of the water. After that I was labeled an NQS (non-qualified swimmer) and given swimming lessons. A week later, I passed the test.

Faith is like that. You jump into the deep end and trust the Lord will get you to the other side. In the process you will make mistakes, occasionally make a fool of yourself, but in the end you will succeed.

Christianity is not a hobby. It’s not something you occasionally do on Sundays to make you feel good about yourself. Jesus is not a designer label or a name to drop for impressing others. Real Christianity is all-in faith that trusts God no matter what. It’s swimming in the deep end of the pool even when you can’t swim.

Real faith relies on Christ and not on self. It doesn’t have to understand every jot and tittle of His word. It just trusts resulting in decisions and behavior that honor God.

Double-minded faith is self-centered. It places self on the throne and not Christ. It bows to your needs, whims, and desires. It’s like saying to the Lord, Don’t call me — I’ll call you.

When James observed the questionable faith in the early church, he called for repentance. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. They were in no position to draw near to God, or to expect God to be near them. They had not sincerely embraced the faith.

His statement began with a wonderful promise. Come near to God and he will come near to you. They were missing out on the greatest benefit of believing — which is nearness to God. The presence of the Godhead — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is promised to all who are in Christ.

Yesterday, I watched a replay of a Bill Gaither program taped in Jerusalem. Songs I had heard many times took on new meaning when sung from the scene of Jesus’ earthly ministry. One of my favorites, Holy Ground, was particularly inspiring. But then it hit me. Holy ground is wherever God is.

Meeting with God anytime we want is a privilege and honor that should not be taken for granted. Even for those of us who are in the faith, we still need cleansing before approaching His throne of grace.

For years, I have included our focus verse in my prayers. Draw near to me as I draw near to You. But before making that request, I always seek His forgiveness. And then I thank Him for His faithfulness to forgive. I realize I don’t deserve admittance into God’s holy presence. I surely haven’t earned it. This high honor has been gained by the precious blood of Jesus and God’s unfathomable love, mercy, and grace.

If you haven’t immersed yourself in the pool of faith, won’t you trust Him now? Trust Him completely. Like that great hymn says, I surrender all.

October 2

The Last Days are Here

17 In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. 18 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.

Acts 2:17-18

Imagine gazing at a mountain from a valley. In the foreground, you see buildings, road signs, billboards, grass, and a highway. About midway, you see bushes, trees, and maybe smoke billowing from the chimney of a cabin. But in the distance, you see the purple mountain majesties we sing about in America the Beautiful.

So it is with prophecy. The prophet looks to the future, which means the revelation can cover a series of events strewn over a time. That results in short term fulfillment and other events yet to come. Thus was the case when the Apostle Peter quoted the prophet Joel’s prophecy. (Joel 2:28-32) As Joel had predicted, the last days had arrived. Put another way, this was the beginning of the end.

The present era of redemptive history began with the birth of Christ and will last until He returns. But Peter did not mean that God’s Spirit would be poured out on all mankind in this age. That part of the prophecy will be fulfilled when Christ returns and establishes His millennial reign. Only the redeemed will be admitted into the kingdom. Consequently, in that setting, all mankind will be beneficiaries of the outpouring of the Spirit. (Revelation 20:4-6)

We are about to enter the busiest holiday season of the year. From Thanksgiving until the New Year, the mad rush is underway. My family even has a few birthdays during that period to make it even more challenging. I get tired just thinking about all that preparation.

And so we watch the calendar, make our plans, and knock ourselves out for these annual events. But what are we doing to prepare for the biggest of all occasions, the return of Christ?

As a child, I worried that I wasn’t going to heaven. Many nights I lay awake wrestling with the issue of my salvation. I feared Jesus would come back before I had my life in order.

You might think it terrible for a child or anyone to be so troubled about their relationship to God. Later in life I learned that my problem resulted from the Holy Spirit making me aware of my sin and revealing my need for God’s saving grace through Christ.

My experience is not uncommon. In fact, the reaction was much the same when the church was born. We’re told that when Peter preached the first gospel message …they were cut to the heart, (Acts 2:37) and they were so moved by the Apostle’s words they asked, Brothers, what shall we do?

If you were to receive bad news from your doctor wouldn’t your question be similar to that of the first Christians? What shall I do? If your accountant told you that your business was about to fail, you would want to know what could be done to save it. Or if your mechanic announced the impending death of your auto engine, you would want to know if anything could be done.

We’re in the last days. The end is near. Jesus is coming back to claim those who are His. But His return will also spell disaster for those who have rejected Him. If you haven’t already done so, what will you do with this knowledge that the end is near?

Here’s Peter’s response to that question:

Peter replied, Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call. Acts 2:38-39

So in these last days, the first step is to settle the sin issue with God and surrender to Jesus. Is God calling? If the Spirit is contending with your heart don’t put this decision off. Give your heart to Jesus right now.

If you are saved, then take a few moments to pray for your unsaved loved ones and friends. Pray they will surrender to Christ before the end of the last days.

October 3

What it Means to Hope in the Lord

Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord.

Psalm 31:24

I hope the traffic isn’t tied up again this morning.

I hope the restaurant’s not busy.

I hope my boss is in a good mood today.

I hope the game doesn’t get rained out.

HOPE expresses a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen. And it comes in varying degrees of intensity. Hoping you don’t have leftover meatloaf for dinner is less concerning than hoping the mortgage company won’t foreclose on your house.

In fact, hope is just a word until we are threatened with a life challenge.

I hope it’s not cancer.

I hope he doesn’t get orders to Afghanistan.

I hope the court rules in my favor.

When things don’t turn out as we hoped, we can be disappointed. Based on the importance of the thing hoped for — we may become desperate, depressed, and hopeless.

As Christians, we are never without hope. But let’s be real. Those things we hope for often fall short of our positive expectations. Things go wrong. People we love die. Bad problems get worse. Bad things happen to good people.

Have you ever fervently prayed for something that ended badly? You may have even felt that God had let you down. You lived and prayed by the Book. Claimed every promise you could find. But instead of the blessing you were sure you were going to get, the result was more like a curse.

Let’s look at our focus text from Psalm 31:24. Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord. Consider the source of hope. It’s not the thing hoped for, but the Lord. We can be strong and take heart because we have placed our hope, not in the thing we need or want, but the Lord.

Hope that does not disappoint is rooted in God’s love. Check out the NKJV rendering of Romans 5:5.

Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

As a young man, I wanted more than anything to find a girl to love and who would love me in return. It meant more than establishing a career or attaining a good income. My greatest need was love.

Ultimately, I found what I was looking for. And by the grace of God we’re still together. In that time, there have been many things I’ve hoped for that failed. But through it all, love has prevailed. Tough times have taught us to say, We still have each other. Paul’s instruction about love was spot on. Love never fails.(1 Corinthians 13:8)

Hope doesn’t disappoint because God’s love resides within us, …poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit… Our basic need for love has been met by God in a most amazing way.

If your hope is in God then you can be strong and take heart even in the midst of tragedy. The greatest love of all lives in you to comfort, console, encourage, counsel, and help through your darkest hours.

There’s an important key here regarding hope. As Christians, we hope FOR things — but we hope IN the Lord. Even when we are shaken by our circumstances, God always has everything under control. His indwelling love is a constant reminder He has our best interest at heart. Don’t be deceived by the appearances of your predicament. Be relieved by the certainty of God’s love.

Now, to be certain you have caught onto the subtlety of this spiritual truth, I’ll ask two questions:

(1) What are you hoping for?

(2) Who is your hope in?

Keep your focus on the second question. You will always be encouraged and strengthened when your primary focus is your hope IN the Lord. In it you will experience the truth of Philippians 4:7.

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:7

October 4

Times of Refreshing

Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord,

Acts 3:19

What comes to mind when you hear the word refreshing? I’m reminded of the hot summer days of my youth. That was before video games when it was still safe to play outdoors. From early in the morning until dark we played baseball, relived the battles of WWII, road our bikes, and played cowboys and Indians. But many days, when we could get our hands on a nickel, we stopped at Art’s Service Station on Main Street for a bottle of Coke. The big red machine with a silver handle dispensed a perfectly chilled bottle of cola mixed with ice. For hot and thirsty kids, those frosty soft drinks were a little bit of heaven.

Those brief episodes of refreshing are long since gone and never to be repeated. But there is an incomparable refreshing that can be experienced forever.

For refreshing to occur there must be something from which we need relief; a tough day at work, fatigue from doing housework or mowing the