Tim Hetzner – Daily Devotions

* Everybody Has A Thorn — Part Two “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.” (Ephesians 6:10) Paul tells us two things about his thorn: First, that it was a messenger of Satan sent to buffet him. The word buffet means “to render blow after blow.” It was not one battle, […]

* Everybody Has A Thorn — Part One “To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.” (2 Corinthians 12:7) Paul writes: “A thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to […]

* Faith Equals Righteousness With God “Consider Abraham: ‘He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” (Galatians 3:6) We think of Abraham with a halo. Hardly. Not once, but twice he throws his wife under the bus. As they travelled through Egypt, Abram says to Sarai, “You’re a beautiful woman; I’m afraid […]

* A Peaceful State Of Mind “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body, you were called to peace. And be thankful.” (Colossians 3:15) God wants you to have a peaceful state of mind. His Word says: “Let the peace (soul harmony which comes) from Christ rule (act […]

* Blessing Is Progressive “Now summon the people from all over Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel. And bring the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.” (1 Kings 18:19) The greatest chapter in the story of Elijah’s life took place on Mount Carmel. That’s when […]

* The Difference Between Abraham And Peter “But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’” (Matthew 14:30) When Peter stepped out of the boat at the command of Jesus, he was doing something he had never done before; something miraculous – walking on water. As […]

* Are YOU Feeling Unqualified? “I answered them by saying, ‘The God of heaven will give us success. We His servants will start rebuilding, but as for you, you have no share in Jerusalem or any claim or historic right to it.’” (Nehemiah 2:20) With its walls torn down, Jerusalem was defenseless against her enemies. […]

* Improve Your Self-Talk “I will extol the LORD at all times; His praise will always be on my lips.” (Psalm 34:1) Whether you know it or not, you have an ongoing conversation with yourself. How does it sound? Do you encourage yourself? Or do you condemn yourself? If you are positive, then you strengthen […]

* Prayer — Part Two “Then Jesus told His disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.” (Luke 18:1) A PhD student at Princeton University once walked into Albert Einstein’s office and asked, “What is there left in the world for original dissertation research?” The brilliant scientist replied, […]

* Prayer — Part One “One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When He finished, one of His disciples said to Him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.’” (Luke 11:1) Demonstrating an uncommon level of honesty, a well-known pastor says: “Prayer is the biggest struggle I have…It’s difficult […]

* Breaking Out Of The Failure Syndrome “No, in all these things, we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” (Romans 8:37) When you have been abused, rejected, or abandoned, it’s easy to become shame-based and end up with a very poor self-image. The devil knows this, so he will attack your personal […]

* Your Calling Or Your Comfort “When they came to Haran, they settled there.” (Genesis 11:31)  The Bible says, “Terah took his son Abram…and together they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan. But when they came to Harran, they settled there” (v. 31). A Christian author writes: “Terah accompanied Abram […]

Faithfulness “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’” (Matthew 25:23)   Jesus begins the parable of the talents with these words: “For the kingdom of heaven is like” (v. 14). […]

Pride Before The Fall “Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God.” (2 Corinthians 3:5)   Before his 1971 fight with Joe Frazier, Muhammad Ali said, “There’s not a man alive who can whup me. [He jabbed at the air with his blinding left.] I’m […]

Are You Searching For Meaning? “I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.” (Ecclesiastes 1:14)   Are you thinking that if you had more money or greater success, you would be happy? Tennis star Boris Becker said: “I had won Wimbledon […]

Friendship . “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.” (Proverbs 17:17) Jonathan was the rightful heir to the throne of his father, Saul, but David had been called by God to succeed Saul as Israel’s next king. From day one, they were on a collision course. They had everything […]

Keep Praying For Your Children . “Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not turn from it.” (Proverbs 22:6) The Prodigal Son eventually came back home and was restored to his place in the family. When he lost everything and ended up feeding pigs, the Bible […]

Getting Beyond It . “Joseph named his firstborn Manasseh …. The second son he named Ephraim.” (Genesis 41:51-52) When you experience tragedy or loss, unless you get help, you can shut down emotionally and remain stuck. And when you focus on the pain of the past, you risk forfeiting the blessing God has for you […]

Only Jesus Can Satisfy Your Soul . “Whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4:14) The woman Jesus met at the well had been married five times. She had tried multiple relationships […]

Understanding Righteousness . “But now a righteousness from God, apart from Law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify.” (Romans 3:21) You will go to heaven because you trusted in Christ’s righteousness, not your own. You say, “But isn’t doing the right things important?” Absolutely. Your salvation depends on trusting […]

When God Shows Up “The God we serve is able to save us from it. But even if he does not …” (Daniel 3:17-18) When Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to bow before Nebuchadnezzar’s 90-foot golden god, he threatened them with a fiery furnace. Here is what they told him: “Our God whom we serve […]

Glean – Store Up – And Share “They should collect all the food of these good years that are coming and store up the grain under the authority of Pharaoh, to be kept in the cities for food.” (Genesis 41:35) Notice what Joseph told Pharaoh: “Collect one-fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt […]

Salvation Does Not Always Mean Instant Deliverance “When He saw them, He said, ‘Go, show yourselves to the priests.’ And as they went, they were cleansed.” (Luke 17:14) Luke records: “There met Him ten…lepers, who…lifted up their voices and said, ‘Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!’…He said to them, ‘Go, show yourselves to the priests...

Settle The Never-Ending Dispute Between Your Flesh And Your Spirit “For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want.” (Galatians 5:17) If you’re serious about fulfilling God’s […]

Think Right So You Will Live Right “A wise man’s heart guides his mouth, and his lips promote instruction.” (Proverbs 16:23) The Bible says, “The mind of the wise instructs his mouth, and adds learning and persuasiveness to his lips. Pleasant words are as a honeycomb, sweet to the mind and healing to the body” […]