Encounter Devotionals by Zach Wood

“The Great Inheritance”

By Zach Wood

1 Peter 1:3-4 NLT

All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay.

How often do we stop and seriously consider what our life in Christ really brings us? Maybe we go to church every Sunday, hear a good sermon, attend a Bible study and meet up with some church friends through the week to have a fun time. While this is good, we so often get into a “churchy” routine and we forget how truly amazing our life in Christ is.

We can get so caught up in the things we have in this life on earth that we forget the great importance of what we have in Christ. Do we live in great expectation of all that He can do through us and with us? Do we wake each morning with a wonderful feeling of “Okay Lord, what will be new today?” Many of us wake each morning with nothing but feelings of anxiety, stress, worry and guilt. Our minds are loaded each day with anything anticipation of what God can do.

No matter what some of us may have inherited in life, there is no greater inheritance than what Christ has waiting for us in heaven. All that waits for us can never spoil, fade, change or decay. This inheritance is completely priceless. Nothing in the world could ever compare to the life we have in Him and the life that is to come when we go to be Home.

As much as I enjoy the time I have with my family each day and time with friends and other family throughout the year, there are some days when I think about how wonderful it would be to just be Home with God. I am thankful for His great mercy and the salvation I have through Him. I desire God to do great things each day and to show me new things about life and great discoveries.

I want to live in great expectation everyday for what He can do and appreciate all that He has done. Are you and I thankful for the great inheritance and life we have in Christ?

Posted by zwdevotions at 6:41 PM No comments:

“Our Amazing God Of Amazing Abilities”

By Zach Wood

Isaiah 40:28 NLT

Have you never heard? Have you never understood? TheLordis the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding.

Isn’t it crazy how busy life seems to get these days? It seems we are all running around like chickens with our heads cut off with work, school, sports events, church activities, etc. The list could go on and on and on. We absolutely wear ourselves out these days because we feel it’s best to always be busy.

Most of us work a hard day’s work at our jobs and find ourselves exhausted at the end of the day. Sometimes we have energy in our day to do some extra things, but many times, we just want to kick our feet up and relax for the evening. However, many of us then find ourselves going from day to day with activities in the evening and through the weekends.

With this all being said, we are busy people and we lead busy lives. When do we rest? When do we just “chill”? Many times we find it hard to do that. With all the busyness we find ourselves in these days, I am so glad that we serve an Almighty God that never grows tired or weary. Could you imagine serving a God who takes a day off or goes on vacation? Could you imagine trying to talk to God and only hearing a voicemail greeting and having to leave a message for Him to get back to you?

As much as you and I both get tired from exhausting work and other activity days, it’s such a comfort to know that no matter how we are feeling or what we are dealing with, God never sleeps and He is always there to hear us when we need Him. How is the possible? How can He be everywhere and available to each one of us at all times? Isn’t that crazy? It really is! No one can possibly comprehend His depths of understanding.

Our amazing God is everlasting. He never grows tired or weak or weary. He is never too tired or busy to spend time talking to you. He won’t turn you away. He won’t put you on “hold” until He is ready to speak to you. He won’t turn on the “auto responder” when you try to reach Him. He won’t say as many of us parents do “Just a second!” No, He will always be available, no matter when or where we are.

Let this devotional and passage be a great reminder that we serve an Almighty God Who is always there for us. He’s never too busy to spend time with us. What an amazing God we serve!

Posted by zwdevotions at 7:57 PM No comments:

“Properly Equipped”

By Zach Wood

Ephesians 6:11 NLT

Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil.

How many of you are sports lovers? I can just hear the guys yelling with a macho, “Oh yea! You got that right!” Whether you are a child, teen or adult, when you play a sport, you prepare yourselves. Not only do you put in the practice so that you and your team can win, but you also prepare by putting on proper padding that the sport calls for to ensure safety.

Could you imagine NFL players showing up to each game with no padding or helmets? How about a MLB catcher showing up behind home plate with no face guard? How about NHL players showing up without any masks or padding on their bodies?

It would be plain dumb for any player to show up without proper protection for these games. Why? Because that lack of proper equipment could result in some serious injury. Sure, injuries can happen no matter how padded or equipped you are. However, the injuries can be quite lessened when players are protected properly. My family watches a lot of football and I can’t begin to imagine how much more serious injuries would be without all that padding and the helmets they wear.

If we’re playing a sporting game, we want to be prepared and properly equipped so that we can play the game well. We put so much attention on preparing for different events so that we can win, honestly how sad that we put very little effort often into being prepared for what our spiritual enemy throws at us. We should put just as much attention, if not more, into our daily lives to ensure that we are ready for battle against Satan’s strategies. He is NOT dumb! He is quite intelligent and he constantly develops strategies to knock us out of the game.

Paul is very clear as he talks about how we need to suit up with the full armor of God so that we can be strong against the enemy when he attacks. If we are not prepared and not properly protected, he will take us down hard. Why would we even consider not putting the time and effort into studying God’s Word and applying what we read into our daily lives so that we can be strong against Satan?

Are you properly equipped? Do you want to stand strong with God at your side when the enemy attacks? If so, then digging into God’s Word daily needs to be at the top of the daily priority list. We all need to be properly equipped.

Posted by zwdevotions at 7:59 PM No comments: