Encounter Devotionals by Zach Wood

“What About You?”

By Zach Wood

Matthew 16:13-16 NIV

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

Recently our pastor at church brought this passage up in his sermon and it just got me thinking a lot. It got me thinking about how I view God. What are my feelings about Him? What do I think of Him? Who is He to me? What value is He in my life? Who do I say He is?

When we are young, we learn from our parent’s faith a lot and kind of live faith through them. We rely on them for a lot of things and trust that they will help us make good decisions. However, there comes a time when we have to start thinking for ourselves and make decisions that we feel are best for our walk with Christ. There comes a time when we have to decide how we are going to look at God and figure some things out on our own. It’s not easy to do, but God wants us to do this.

Jesus asked this question first about what others thought about Him. Then He turns the question to them about who they think He is. He doesn’t want them to think only about what others say He is, but He wants them to think for themselves.

It is important that each of us considers who Jesus is. Don’t go along with the crowd. Don’t just go with someone’s answer because it sounds cool. Think about who God is to you. Who is He personally to you? What does He mean to you? Don’t spend your live living your faith through other people. You must have your own faith and belief in who He says He is. Have your own quiet time with Him. Pray to Him. Seek Him. Ask Him to reveal Himself more and more to you.

“What About You?” That’s a very important question. Think about it every day. Who is Jesus to you? Who do you say He is? Do you believe He is who He says He is? Talk to Him. Be honest with Him. And, when you’re presented with a situation where someone asks you about the faith you have, you can answer confidently that Jesus is the Christ, the son of the living God.

I remember making this confession of faith before a crowd of people when I gave my life to Christ and was baptized. I confessed before a crowd that I wanted to make Him Lord of my life. Every day, I need to continue to ask myself what He means to me. Who do I say He is today? Who do you say He is today?

Posted by zwdevotions at 6:13 PM No comments:

“God Be Greater, Stronger & Louder”

By Zach Wood

Psalm 18:30-32 NIV

As for God, his way is perfect: TheLord’s word is flawless; he shieldsall who take refugein him. For who is God besides theLord? And who is the Rockexcept our God? It is God who arms me with strength and keeps my way secure.

One of my favorite Christian bands is We Are Messengers and they have a song called “Magnify”. I have come to really enjoy this song and appreciate the lyrics. I want to share part of those lyrics with you.

“God be greater than the worries in my life, be stronger than the weakness in my mind, be louder let Your glory come alive, be magnified.”

I have thought about these words in this song the past couple of weeks and they’ve made a huge impact on how I feel each day. I want to share this devotion as a prayer through each of these lines I’ve shared with you.

God, be greater than the worries in my life:

Father, I ask that You and You alone with greater than all the worries I have in my life. God, You know me better than anyone in the world and You know how I’m so consumed with the worries of life and I need to not be. I worry about things going on, things not yet to be and if I will continue to be the servant, husband and father You have created me to be. God, be greater than any worry in my life and help me to not worry, but let Your way be perfect and reflected in my life. I pray that Your flawless Word would be evident in the way I live my daily life. Help others to see that You alone are my strength and Whom I take refuge in.

God, be stronger than the weakness in my mind:

Lord, my mind is so weak so often. I allow negative thoughts to invade my mind and sin creeps in to take over. God, help me to be stronger in my mind and allow Your Word to take control and push those negative thoughts out. Lord, I am weak, but You are strong. I pray that Your mighty power would invade my mind and take over crushing the weakness in my mind to remind me that I am strong through You.

God, be louder let your glory come alive, be magnified:

God, I want Your voice to be louder than any other voices trying to get my attention. There are so many things trying get my attention in the world every day around me. It’s hard to know what to listen to and what to avoid. Father, I need Your voice louder than all of those so that I can follow and obey and magnify Your Name. So many days Lord I try to follow all other voices and do my own thing. God, forgive me when I ignore Your voice and become distracted from what You want me to do.

Posted by zwdevotions at 5:00 PM No comments: