Daily Readings at Southeast

 Advent is the first season of the Christian church year, leading up to Christmas. It's an amazing celebration of anticipation for the birth of our Saviour! Advent celebrates four main themes: hope, love, joy and peace. Learn more about each of these topics and where they're found in the Christmas story in this four-week advent devotional series. We would like to thank Hope Bible Church for providing this plan. For more information, please visit:  https://hopeoakville.ca Come Thou Long Expected Jesus The thing about waiting is that most of us are okay to wait for a reasonable amount of time. We can wait a few moments in line for coffee, or a few minutes going through a drive-through. We wait for test results and we wait for our food to come out at a restaurant. We wait for surgeries. As teenagers, waiting until the legal age to drive can feel like a lifetime. Parents wait nine months for the birth of a child, a little more, or a little less. You see, how long we are willing to...

 I once prayed that God would help us overcome the challenges we were facing as we launched The A21 Campaign in Greece. In fact, I was on my way there and had just said amen when an announcement came over the loud speaker. “All passengers on Aegean Airlines flight to Thessaloniki, Greece, we are now boarding. Those on Aegean Airlines to Thessaloniki, Greece, board at gate A21.” By choosing, at the exact time that A21 was under fire, to have my flight leave from the gate that bore the same name as our campaign, God was subtly reminding me of who was in charge: “Yes,” He was saying, “the odds are stacked against you. Overwhelmingly, in fact. Yes, every bit of reason and all the advice you’ve paid for say to stop before you’ve even started. Yes, the giants you’re facing can make you think there’s no way forward. But none of those things can stop Me, and when you do My will, they can’t stop you, either.” Although there will always be difficulties in this world, the One who created the ...

 Experienced marathon runners will have visualized their whole race – the entire 26.3 miles from start to finish – before they set off. Long-distance runners come to grips with the race internally, in their hearts, before ever setting foot on the course.  We ought to have that same overall sense of vision for our lives! Having a clear picture of what the race of life is all about, where we are heading, and what we are likely to encounter along the way will sustain us for the entire duration.  Many people do not finish their race, simply because they lack long-term vision. Pause for a moment and reflect on this: Are there any areas in your life where you have given up because you’ve lost sight of the bigger picture?  Maybe you have lost your vision for life emotionally, physically, relationally, or financially. If so, DON’T GIVE UP! Identify the point where you gave up, renew your vision, and GO FOR IT! Scripture:   Hebrews 12:1-3 Philippians 3:7-14

 Comparison is completely destructive. It makes you feel less than you really are and leads to self-depreciation, self-rejection, depression, and fear.  Spending your time looking at what you are not, what someone else is doing, or what you wish you could be doing only serves to shrink God in you.  God did not make you to be someone else or to do someone else’s ministry.  He made you to be you, and when you become the best that you can be, there is more of you to be filled with God. Competition is healthy on a sporting field, but not within the body of Christ.  We are all a part of the same body; comparison and competition only serve to destroy it. We are called to complete each other, not compete with one another.  Let’s remember that we are on the same team, fighting for the same cause, serving the same master – Jesus Christ. Scripture: Philippians 2:1-18

 I want you to think about a dollar bill. You don’t know its history, what it has paid for or where it has been, but you do know its value. The value is determined by the United States Treasury Department that printed the bill. Do you know it is no different when God looks at you? It doesn’t matter where you have been or what you have done; God knows your value because when He looks at you He sees His Son. You are worth far more than gold. He loves you unconditionally and has a plan and purpose for your existence.  So, every time you see a dollar bill, remember . . . Your worth is found in Jesus! Scripture: Psalm 139:1-24

 When my daughter Catherine was about two, she had many words she was able to communicate, but whenever we had another toddler over to play at the house, there seemed to be only one word in her vocabulary: “Mine!” The guest could have ventured to the very bottom of the toy chest and picked out something Catherine had not played with for months, but as soon as she saw it in another child’s hands ... well, you know: “Mine!” All children go through this phase, and it takes another year or two for them to sincerely want to share their toys. With the right direction, they begin to grasp the concept that they are not the center of the universe – that every other human being has not been placed here for their pleasure and convenience. Think about this: It would be ridiculous for a person to stand in front of her church, guarding the front doors and yelling, “Mine!” to any new person trying to enter; we would think something was seriously wrong with that person. But if we are brutally hone...

 I love that moment in the Bible when Peter has the revelation that Jesus truly is the Son of the Living God.  I received this revelation for myself after I had been a Christian for a while. I’d had plenty of opportunities to wallow in self-pity and to label myself a victim, but one day Jesus helped me realize that I wasn’t an ex-abused, unnamed, unwanted, poor, marginalized member of an ethnic minority in a foreign country. I was, in fact, a child of Almighty God! I understood who God was to me and who I was to Him. When we get a revelation of who Jesus is, then He will tell us who we are and what we are on this planet to do, and it is so much more than the limitations of our past and present. So much more!  You don’t have to remain limited by who you once were or who you are not. Find out who Jesus says you are and then undertake the path to becoming who He has already made you to be. Scripture: Matthew 16:13-20 John 14:1-14

 No amount of Christian activity compensates for an authentic relationship with Jesus Christ. Our authenticity (or lack thereof) is made evident by the fruit that our lives are bearing, fruit that is only produced by the Holy Spirit. If we want to bear good fruit, working on our soul's muscle is imperative, regardless of whether or not our pasts look like a train wreck. The goal for all of us is to develop prosperous souls from which flow the qualities Paul mentions in Galatians 5.  This fruit cannot be manufactured or externally generated; it results only from soul transformation and an authentic relationship with Jesus Christ. Scripture: Galatians 5:1-25

 The Bible tells us about an awesome young Jewish man, Daniel, who powerfully impacted the culture and society in Babylon, where he lived as an exile. He was not defiled by this culture, but instead maintained a strong witness and brought change to it.  While all the people around him worshiped foreign gods, Daniel chose to stand by his convictions, even when the punishment for disobedience was death. He never compromised his witness or standards. And God so honored Daniel’s faithfulness that He gave him gifts, privileges and authority that Daniel could never have dreamed of – all because God knew He could trust him. God wants to do the same in your life when you choose to trust Him completely, stand by your convictions and be faithful even in the little things. He wants to give you gifts and privileges and bless you in greater ways than you could ever imagine! Scripture: Psalm 37:1-11 Daniel 1:8

 One day, back when I was in university, my professor projected an image of a small black dot in the middle of a very big white screen. He asked us, “What do you see?” Every student immediately responded to his question, “A black dot.” He paused, and then asked again, “What do you see?” When we gave the same reply, he told us that he saw a huge white space. While we saw a small black dot, he saw something far bigger. It had been there all along, but each one of us had missed it. We see what our eyes are trained to see, and it takes effort and time to train them otherwise. How often do we focus on the small things in life instead of the big God that we serve? We can have twenty great things happening in our lives, but when one thing does not go right, we lose sight of the twenty and focus on the one little black dot. We must decide to make God bigger than anything else in our lives. The more we focus on Him, the smaller the dots will become.  Scripture: Psalm 19:1-14

 I have always been the type of person who asks questions. In fact, if we were spending time together over a coffee, I would ask you endless questions because I love to learn from everyone. (Some might say that I am just nosey.) I am not sure if it is genetic, but my two daughters have definitely inherited this trait from me; their favorite question at this age seems to be: “Why, Mummy?” Some questions really are pointless, but then there are those that, if asked at the right time, have great power. In fact, Jesus made a habit of asking questions daily. If we had met Him in person, He would have been more likely to ask us something than to tell us something, and His questions penetrated to the core. He asked questions such as, “Why are you so fearful?” “How is it that you have no faith?” “What do you want Me to do for you?”  Jesus asked questions because the right question at the right time can change the course of a person's life. God can move in our situation when we ask the...

 When one of my little girls began losing a tooth every other day, I began to think about the fact that the new tooth cannot come in unless she makes room by losing her old baby teeth.  Perhaps in our own lives we sometimes try to hang on for too long to things that are past their expiration date. Baby teeth are fine when you are a baby but not when you are an adult. To be able to eat solid food, you need your big teeth. I have found that my Christian life is a constant journey of getting rid of the old in order to make room for the new. The longer I try to hold on to something that the Lord is finished with, the more clutter I create and the less room I have for the new thing to take root and operate. We often pray for the new thing but are not prepared to endure a season of a “toothless grin” in order to make room for it. God wants to do new and fresh things in our lives. Let’s make sure we are not hindering what He wants to do by hanging on to things we need to let go of. S...

 After years of full-time Christian ministry, I have found that a major snare for many people is their fear of other people. So many people fail to make decisions or take action, because they are overly concerned about what family, friends, workmates or peers might think about them. Essentially, in such moments they are more concerned about what people think than what God thinks. We cannot be people pleasers and simultaneously be God pleasers. In order to be obedient to God, we will have to be okay with disappointing some people or making decisions that they do not understand. Our fear of God must become bigger than our fear of man. And no amount of temporal satisfaction or approval from others is worth compromising the destiny for which we have been created.  Until we choose to be God pleasers above man pleasers, we will not walk in the fullness of the purpose and destiny that Jesus Christ has for our lives. Let’s determine to please our Lord more than each other or ourselves...

 One day I went to the zoo with my family, and as I walked past the lion cages, I realized something that fascinated me. The lions were extremely quiet. They were completely tame and domesticated. And when I noticed this, I received a revelation. I said to my husband, "This is what happens to many of us in the church. Jesus created us to be untamed, to be wild, to be undomesticated for the cause of the King and His Kingdom, but we get into the cage of religion and we start to assume this certain persona. We become safe, nice and domesticated.” And then I heard Jesus tell me, "I did not give my life and rise again from the dead just so that you can live a nice, little, safe, comfortable, complacent, ordinary life. I called you to live a faith adventure. Your latter days can be greater than your former days, and the best is yet to come!" Jesus Christ is calling me and YOU onward to a faith-filled adventure!  Scripture: Ephesians 2:1-10 Job 8:7

 All issues – whether emotional, financial, relational, or physical – come back to the heart.  Today I want to ask you, what’s the condition of your heart? Is it still beating for what God’s heart beats for? Christianity is not about heart contraction; it’s about heart expansion – growing bigger so that we can be more about what God wants to do.  So don’t allow fear and disappointment to take the place of what God wants to do in your life.  Set your heart on Jesus and Him alone, and you will see your heart expand with the love and goodness of God! Scripture: Proverbs 4:1-27

 I have a deep love of perfume. I love the whole process of spraying perfume and allowing the fragrance to touch everyone I come into contact with. I wish I could spray it on once and have that scent remain on me all day, but I find myself having to reapply it to keep the smell alive.  In his epistle, James reminds us that this precious gift called life we have been given lasts only about as long as a vapor. Our days on the earth are limited and very precious; we must not waste a moment.  So the next time you spray yourself with a fragrance, take a moment to observe how quickly the vapor fades.  In light of eternity, this is how long our lives last. We must ensure that while we are here on the earth, we do not waste a second. We have a mandate to fulfill, an objective to accomplish, and we only have as long as the clock is still ticking. There are people all around you who need to experience the unconditional love of God. Invest this time you have been given for the ...

 It was my mother’s seventieth birthday party. Within a span of hours, I was characterized by different people in a variety of ways. To one, I was my mom’s only daughter; to another I was Nick’s wife; to another, I was Catherine and Sophia’s mom; to another, I was George’s sister. Some old friends considered me the “weird one” who had “got religion,” and friends from church know me as a Bible teacher and author. While it’s true that the way each of the partygoers identified me is a legitimate aspect of the various roles I fulfill in life, none of these roles is who I really am. If we allow ourselves to be defined by our roles instead of allowing who we truly are in Christ to define our roles, we’re going to get all messed up. No one role completely defines us. In other words, who you are is not determined by what you do; that is, your do is not your who! If we try to get our identity, significance and security from the roles we play, ultimately our lives become focused upon mere fu...

 Years ago when my husband Nick and I started dating, I must admit I had to make an effort not to make Nick the center of every conversation. The trust, love, laughter and closeness I was experiencing were new to me, and I was so happy about our relationship that I sometimes just couldn’t help myself. Then once we got married and had children, all restraint was thrown out the window! I cannot help talking about my loving husband and my beautiful princesses, and God bless any person I am sitting next to on a plane as I have an entire photo slideshow of my family ready to go on my phone. When our relationship with Jesus is fresh and passionate, it is the same way. We cannot help but proclaim how much we love Him and how He has changed our lives. When we are in a love affair with Jesus, we can’t keep quiet. His love is that good!  Scripture: Psalms 103:1-22

 Have you ever felt like you just can’t find where you fit in?  Sometimes we do not find our place because we confuse the concept of a place with having a position. We expend a lot of time, energy, and resources preparing for a position we think we want, rather than embracing the place God has already prepared for us or is preparing for us. Because God made us, He knows how and where we will be most fulfilled, functioning at our maximum capacity. So much of the frustration we experience is because we try to fill a position for which we were never designed. If we truly believe that God is good and that He does good, then surely we can believe that He has prepared a good place in His body for us. Nothing will satisfy us like the place He has prepared for us. God made us and knows where we will flourish; all we need to do is step into that place and trust Him with our future.   Scripture: Romans 12:3-21 Matthew 6:33

 I fell into bed completely exhausted after another long day of meetings. All I could think about was everything I still had left on my to-do list, including laundry sitting on the kitchen table waiting for the angels to fold it, kids’ uniforms that were not washed for school the next day, an unreturned phone call from my mother, and an inbox so full it had stopped receiving any more emails. Have you noticed that we spend a huge portion of our lives thinking about all the things we haven’t done, what we do not have time for, and who we are not? Before our feet hit the ground in the morning, we already feel we are behind, lacking, or losing – and we go to bed at night feeling we never did quite enough. If we only focus on what we do not have or devalue the little we do have, we will surely despair. We need to arise, change our posture and perspective and begin to see all that we have in Christ, all that we are in Christ, and all that we can do through Christ.   Scripture: Phili...

 When I was in second grade, I received a school report card with the following comment from my teacher: “Christine is a great motivator, but she must realize that she cannot always be the leader.” Can you believe a teacher would write such a thing? That single sentence totally devastated me, and I remember as an eight-year-old child making a deliberate decision to take a step back and never volunteer for any leadership role again.  How many times have we succumbed to the limitations others have placed on us? I have discovered that if the enemy cannot convince us directly that we are not enough, he will endeavor to use others to hold us back. If our own doubts are not enough to stop us from getting up, then there will always be a multitude of other voices trying to keep us down. Unfortunately, it is often the voices of those who are closest to us that echo the loudest and to which we tend to listen most. We must determine to listen to the voice of the Lord more than any other ...

 When I was in the process of dealing with my childhood abuse, one thing I had to learn was how to receive the unconditional love of God. This was such a challenge for me at first, because the hurt and abuse I had experienced had deeply woven into my mind and soul the belief that I had no worth or value to God or other people. Deep down, I believed the only way I could be loved or have any worth was to earn it through performance. As a result, I found my identity in everything I did, rather than in who I was in Christ. I had to replace that false belief with the truth that the magnitude of God’s love for me did not hinge on the degree of my abilities or accomplishments. All of us want to get to the place where we understand God loves us just as much in our “broken state” as He ever would in our “perfected state.” It doesn’t matter what we have gone through, what we have or don’t have, or what other people have said about us; the truth is that God delights in us and our core identit...

 It seems to me that every single day of our lives we need to remind ourselves that God loves us. The enemy of our souls will daily and relentlessly bombard us with thoughts and feelings of inadequacy, guilt, shame, condemnation, insufficiency, insecurity, fear, doubt and rejection. He is an accuser constantly trying to make us feel that we have blown it so badly this time that God could not possibly want us back. I want to remind you today that no matter what you have said or have not said, what you have thought or have not thought, what you have done or have not done, what you have accomplished or have not accomplished, God loves you and always will. Love is not only what God does; it is who God is. He cannot stop Himself from loving us, because He is love. That means His love for us is based entirely on His character, not our performance.  Decide today that you will not listen to the lies of the enemy but to the truth of God’s Word. God has always loved you, and He always w...

 One year for my birthday I got the most wonderful, bright pink Vespa, which I absolutely adore, and Nick booked me on a riding course to ensure that I learned to drive the thing safely! The course was spread over two days, and the whole time the instructor kept telling me, “Keep your head up. You’ve got to look in the direction you want to go.”  When it comes to the purposes of God, our instructions are no different! It’s all about perspective. Many of us are locked in the prison of our current circumstances because we have lost perspective regarding His promises for our lives.  We need to lift our heads and look forward in the direction in which we want to go. God has a promise for our future that is much greater than where we are right now. He has promises for our marriages, our children, our health and prosperity – every aspect of our lives – all of which are much bigger than we can currently see or understand. We need to look up and begin to see what God has for us, ...

 Not too long ago, I had what I’d like to call my very own Good Samaritan opportunity. As I sat in my living room, I noticed out the window, one of my neighbors packing up his truck. I didn’t give it much thought. I assumed he was just cleaning out a few things. However, the next day, as I was talking to this man’s wife, Nicole, she broke down and revealed that her husband had left her and their two children for another woman. At that moment, I had a choice to make. Would I simply hug her, tell her I was sorry, and pray for her? Or would I choose to get involved in her pain? I chose to get involved. During the next few weeks, we spent a lot of time talking and crying. I was able to shine the light of Christ in the midst of very dark circumstances, and what could have been simply another statistic turned into a great testimony. In time, Nicole became a follower of Christ, and she and her children are now building their lives on the foundation of God’s Word. Never underestimate what ...

 I wonder if Moses ever thought of giving up. He’s a perfect example of how God uses every season to prepare us for our biggest moments – at least, if we let Him. Moses spent 14,600 days on the backside of a desert. There must have been at least a few occasions when, sitting on a rock, sand in his sandals, watching over his flock, he wondered, “How in the world did I wind up here?” Moses could have devalued that season and written off all those days as meaningless. Although the Bible doesn’t say much about what Moses did during those forty years, it’s clear he spent the season honoring God, because when God “suddenly” showed up on day 14,601 in a burning bush, Moses was ready to respond and so doing, changed the course of history for the then-known world! What if Moses had given up? The people of Israel would have remained oppressed, perhaps for generations until God could raise up another person to complete the task destined for Moses. Every season that God takes us through has a ...

 Josiah, in the Bible, was born in the midst of Israel’s darkest hour and was just eight years old when he ascended to the throne. However, 322 years before Josiah’s birth, a prophet mentioned his name and that he would be born in the house of David. God knew Josiah was coming to earth and had a predetermined plan for his life. The Bible says that Josiah did what was right in the sight of the Lord and walked in the ways of David. He fulfilled his purpose and was pivotal in restoring the house of God, His Word, and worship in the hearts of the Israelites. God requires that we do for our generation what Josiah did for his. The plan that God has for our lives usually complements the gifts and personality that He has placed in us. His desire is that we use our gifts for His glory, to build His kingdom. In order to do that, we must discover God’s purpose for our lives by seeking Him, reading His Word, and searching our hearts for the gifts and passion He has placed there. It’s important...

 In our fast-paced world driven by media and technology, we have the opportunity to access literally hundreds, thousands and perhaps tens of thousands of views on every imaginable subject and issue. The real question is, are we taking time to listen to what God thinks about these issues? It’s fine to hear what the media or social commentators have to say about world events, but are we also seeking out God’s views?  On a more personal level, it’s okay to listen to what our friends or our parents have to say about the situations happening in our lives, but more importantly, what’s God saying to us about them? I think sometimes we get lost in the storms of adversity because we haven’t stopped to listen to what God is speaking to our hearts or to follow His directions on how to navigate them.   Storm or no storm, it’s critical that biblical truth is the overwhelming sound in our lives. Scripture: Proverbs 30:5

Essentially, there are two perspectives through which we can view every situation in life. One is the “heavenly”; the other is “worldly.”  Did you know that we have the power to transition our thinking out of the worldly perspective and into a heavenly one? This isn’t always easy at first. It takes practice and commitment to change your default mindset. That’s why it is so critical to spend time in God’s Word daily, meditating on the truth it contains, rather than the facts of our current circumstances. We need to immerse our minds in His Word so we can quickly recall these principles during difficult moments or challenging seasons. When we are fueled by God’s Word, our thoughts inevitably become governed by His truth, and this truth causes us to be internally transformed. It has an incredible effect on our actions and responses to people and circumstances. We begin to analyze situations from a heavenly perspective and react accordingly. It’s amazing what the appropriate response c...

 When we are not fully awakened to God in our lives, we miss the thrill of seeing Him at work. It’s like the time Nick and I took our girls to Disneyland and Catherine fell asleep just before the evening firework display. All day long, she had been anticipating the show in the sky that night. But we had seen so many sights and wonders that, by evening, she was tired. Later, she awoke as we were headed back to the parking lot to go home. “Mummy,” she cried, “why didn’t you wake me up?” She had slept through the only part she had really wanted to see. How many of us do exactly the same thing? We end up sleepwalking through this thing called life, oblivious to the needs of people around us and the pain of our world, missing the very purpose for which God created us. A daring adventure awaits those who are awake. God wants to do the impossible through you! For more encouragement from Christine Caine, check out her free daily devotional,  First Things First   Scripture: Ephesi...