The Drive - A Daily Devotional by Pastor Mike Sternad

Send us Fan Mail Don’t back down from opposition. Use God’s strength to stand firm.  The haters can actually be used in your life to spur you on to live for the Lord even more devotedly. Oftentimes your worst criticizers are those who are doing nothing for the Lord. They think their job is to point out sin in others and judge and slander them. That is not a gift of the Spirit. Opposition will come...

Send us Fan Mail You have one life to live. Live it for the Lord who loves you.  This life is here and gone. It is a flash and before you know it, you’ll be at the latter end reflecting back on the moments you’ve experienced. As the years fly by, the worst thing you can do is look back and regret what you didn’t do or what you could have done differently. Your time is valuable, especially when you...

Send us Fan Mail Live like you matter to God, because you do.  At times you may feel undervalued and over- looked. Please don’t buy into that mindset because it’s not from God. He does not think you are a bother or that you are in the way of His plans. The Lord absolute- ly loves you, values you and sees you as one of a kind. You can be confident in the Lord because He sees you as a part of His pl...

Send us Fan Mail Your life is so short. Make it count.  You are going to die. I promise I’m not trying to be melodramatic, but the fact is ten out of ten people will die! The Bible is clear that our time on this earth is super short; and so we must redeem the time and use what time we have left wisely. When you’re older I know you don’t want to look back filled with regrets because you half-hearte...

Send us Fan Mail Not every opportunity is from the Lord.  Pray for discernment to know which opportunities are from within and which opportunities are from above. Just because something is good does not mean it’s God’s will. The way to discern is to seek the Lord for clear confirmation through the avenues in which He speaks to you. Opportunity can sometimes cloud the Lord’s calling in your life so...

Send us Fan Mail Don’t look for a pat on the back. Live to please the Lord.  You are not to try to get approval from people. You are to get in line with God’s will and His ways. Of course, to your flesh it feels good to get approval from people, but that should never be your main goal. Walk on the path of His purpose. As you live your life for the Lord, He is pleased and you are blessed. Those who...

Send us Fan Mail Your trials may be intense, but so is God’s strength.  You’ve been through some serious and unbelievable difficulties. I’m sure you’ve faced storms that you thought would tear you down and take you out. There have been moments of stress and maybe anxiety that have threatened your spiritual life as the enemy was working overtime to get you away from God’s will. Please remember and...

Send us Fan Mail The Christian life is not about strict rules—it’s about a solid relationship with God.  If you feel like your walk of faith is all about a rote set of rules that you must follow or God will be mad at you, that’s the wrong mindset. The Law was given to demonstrate to you that you are not good without God. I’m not trying to be mean, but the fact is the Ten Commandments were written...

Send us Fan Mail Don’t let conflict complicate your relation- ship with the Lord.  Sometimes when you allow discouraging thoughts that stem from conflict to ru- minate in your mind, your relationships get compli- cated. You begin to stress out and freak out. Things don’t seem in line; your life feels chaotic and messy. What should be simple has turned complicated and brings anxiety, stress and an...

Send us Fan Mail  Every day is an opportunity for you to go all out for the Lord.  To go all out for the Lord is to prioritize living for Him first and letting Him lead your day-to-day schedule. It is to live with the motivation to please Him rather than to please people. You see, in serving God you may ruffle some feathers and it may cause people to mock or criticize you. That’s OK. Let those opi...

Send us Fan Mail Being exhausted for eternity is so fulfilling.  Your goal is never to get as tired as you can while serving the Lord, but the reality is that you will get tired in doing God’s work and will! Yes, you have rest in your heart from Jesus, but you are to keep your hand to the plow and serve the Lord full-heartedly— never half-heartedly. Give your all for the sake of the kingdom and co...

Send us Fan Mail Love is a great indicator that you are living for eternity.  If you lack love and are just angry and bitter all the time, then biblically you are not living the way God intended you to live. You should be in the midst of joy on a regular basis! If not, you may be focused on other things rather than on the Lord. Are you reflecting the love of Jesus or are you portraying Him as a ty...

Send us Fan Mail  It is biblical for you to be expectant of God to do great things.  When you expect a lot out of people, you are setting yourself up for complete letdowns and disappointments. But it is very spiritually healthy to expect God to do the miraculous, to move in difficult situations, and to work greatly in your life. After all, you can do small things without the Lord, but great things...

Send us Fan Mail Empathy is possible when you are eternally minded.  You’ve dealt with difficult people throughout your life and sometimes you just want to walk away. The fact is that without the Lord, things people say and do will get to you and stress you out. The way to change that mindset is to see people as God sees them. He created each person and so loves each one and desires that they be s...

Send us Fan Mail  Division is loathsome because it stems from the flesh.  Some people will disagree with you and care less about making peace. These people may be professional bridge burners and want nothing to do with you. Instead of being forgiving and conciliatory, they prefer to hold grudges, be angry and let that root of bitterness grow out of control. This mentality is not of God and is tota...

Send us Fan Mail Division is loathsome because it stems from the flesh.  Some people will disagree with you and care less about making peace. These people may be professional bridge burners and want nothing to do with you. Instead of being forgiving and conciliatory, they prefer to hold grudges, be angry and let that root of bitterness grow out of control. This mentality is not of God and is total...

Send us Fan Mail Love one another despite differences.  It’s such a great fact that you are different and unique from everyone else on this planet. God didn’t make a mistake when He made you. He knew exactly what He was doing as He did with every other human being on the face of this earth. Therefore, God’s heart is that we treat everyone as created and loved by God, because they are! There is no...

Send us Fan Mail God wants to give you peace in the midst of your problems.  I know it’s hard for you at times, because life is so busy and there are so many things you have to juggle! Even vacation can seem frenzied and you come home more tired than when you left. You need to slow down but you just have a lot going on. Remember this. The Lord Jesus wants to give your heart peace in the most inten...

Send us Fan Mail Don’t let drama cause division and derail you. Let the drama die.  Drama is such a waste of time. Life is too short to get caught up in the minutiae happening around you. Ignore the pettiness and focus on the more serious, eternal facets of life. Don’t allow strife to sidetrack you from what God is calling you to do. It is destructive and has no place in the church or in your life...

Send us Fan Mail God’s not only there in the bad times—He’s with you in the victorious times as well.  When you are able to overcome difficulties in your life, God doesn’t flee just because you are doing well. He stays right there with you rejoicing because He has given you the strength and wisdom to triumph and have a breakthrough! Isn’t it amazing how God celebrates your victories with you? He i...

Send us Fan Mail Every daily decision you make can lead to either deliverance or destruction. Choose wisely.  Sounds like a lot of pressure, doesn’t it?! It is true. Decisions matter so much to our immediate future that it is super critical to make decisions with God not only integrated in those decisions, but leading the way! I’m sure there have been times in your life when you made a decision or...

Send us Fan Mail  When evangelizing, you are simply called to share the truth; you aren’t called to control the results.  This should take the pressure off of you! The Lord has called you to share the gospel, not to save anyone. You are a vessel through whom the truth runs in order to reach people who need to be saved. You should never feel burdened to yield results because you cannot do anything...

Send us Fan Mail  A small portion of the Lord’s strength can get you through the biggest trials.  God created the universe and He created you. He loves His creation and deeply cares about what you go through. God is not indifferent. Ever. As you face serious conflicts in life, know that the Lord is all you need to lean upon for dear life. He will hold you up and if need be, carry you. God is stron...

Send us Fan Mail  If you don’t mourn over your sin, you may be complacent toward it.  It’s such a good thing to mourn over your own sin, because then you are sincerely sorrowful over your disobedience to God! That is a good thing. If you didn’t feel bad for going against the ways of the Lord, then you would feel bad only that you got caught—not that you did wrong. Have a heart that is in tune with...

Send us Fan Mail God will hear and respond to your prayers no matter how small you think they are.  Our human understanding is so small and limited. There are some things that we don’t even pray about, because we think they are not as important as other bigger and more lofty issues. The Bible makes it clear that we are to pray often and about everything. Perse- vere in prayer and know that God wan...