Caleb, because of his faith and determination was certainly a risk-taker. If we are not willing to risk losing by stepping out of our comfort zone to fulfill God’s will for our life, we will lose all that God has in store for us. Or, as William Arthur Ward expressed it so poetically:

To Risk

“To laugh is to risk appearing a fool,

To weep is to risk appearing sentimental.

To reach out to another is to risk involvement,

To expose feelings is to risk exposing your true self.

To place your ideas and dreams before a crowd is to risk their loss.

To love is to risk not being loved in return,

To live is to risk dying,

To hope is to risk despair,

To try is to risk failure.

But risks must be taken because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing.

The person who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing, is nothing.

He may avoid suffering and sorrow,

But he cannot learn, feel, change, grow or live.

Chained by his servitude he is a slave who has forfeited all freedom.

Only a person who risks is free.

The pessimist complains about the wind;

The optimist expects it to change;

And the realist adjusts the sails.”

As another has said, “Nothing ventured, nothing gained. The timid soul asks, ‘What do I stand to lose if I do it?’ The fruit-bearing Christian asks, ‘What do I stand to lose if I don’t do it?’ Real life is lived on the cutting edge.”

What will you and I risk for God and his work here on earth?

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, you didn’t merely risk your life for me. You gave it willingly. Because you died for me, help me to risk living life to the full for you. Help me to always remember that ‘he is no fool who gives up that which he cannot keep in order to gain that which he cannot lose.’ Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name. Amen.”

1. Joshua 14:10-12 (NIV).

What could a tiny lizard possibly teach us? For one thing it can teach us the rewards of persistence.

It has been said that “the race is not always to the swift but to those who keep on running.” This principle certainly applies to fulfilling our God-given life-purpose and achieving our human and spiritual potential. We don’t have to be geniuses to do this, but we do need to be persistent and keep on keeping on regardless of our circumstances.

The Apostle Paul experienced all sorts of trials and setbacks. He was shipwrecked, stoned and left for dead, whipped and beaten, thrown in jail for preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. He knew firsthand what it was to experience loneliness, cold and hunger. He wrote some of his great letters to the churches while he was in prison—as did John Bunyan with his book, Pilgrim’s Progress, when he was in prison.

I listened to a preacher some time ago, a preacher who had cerebral palsy and struggled with every sentence he spoke. I was deeply moved. God used this man to influence hundreds of lives for all eternity. If ever I saw persistence it was in this man. In spite of his debilitating handicap, he reached his top and was maximizing his full potential.

God has a plan and a life-purpose for every one of us. To achieve it will take dedication, commitment, hard work and persistence. As Paul said, “It is God himself in his mercy who has given us this wonderful work . . . and so we never give up.”²

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, in the midst of setbacks and the disappointments of life, please give me the gift of persistence to never give up the challenge to become what you want me to be and to keep on doing what you want me to do. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name. Amen.”

1. Proverbs 30:28 (NIV).

2. 2 Corinthians 4:1 (TLB)(NLT).

David was conscience stricken because he knew he had disobeyed the Lord’s directives. Have you ever noticed how some people, no matter what they do, don’t seem to have a conscience, or have a dead conscience and justify their every action? And then there is the philosophy that says, “If it feels good, do it.” And this is supposed to make it right? This is pure nonsense.

Everybody is born with a conscience that is programmed very much by the way we are brought up. The word con-science literally means with-knowledge. If we grew up in a rigid, legalistic and punitive home or church/religion, chances are we will have a rigid, legalistic, punitive conscience. On the other hand, if we grew up in a very liberal environment, we may do things that God’s Word teaches are sinful and not feel a tinge of conscience.

As a result of faulty teaching, some people feel guilty when they shouldn’t and don’t feel guilty when they should. On the other hand, people who consistently ignore the voice of their conscience can end up anesthetizing or deadening it, which is a dangerous way to live. Some of these people become psychopaths.

To have a healthy conscience, first we need to deprogram the rigid legalism and other faulty input and teaching we received in the past as well as our rationalization of actions we knew very well were wrong. Then we need to reprogram our conscience with knowledge based on what God’s Word teaches as right and wrong. Repetition, repetition, repetition in our mind of these truths and these principles is how we reprogram our conscience.

To reinforce this programming it is imperative that we consistently do what we know is right regardless of how we feel. Remember, a healthy con-science is with-knowledge, not with-or-about-feelings.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please give me the good sense to learn what is right according to the principles as found in your Word, and the help to always follow your directives in thought, word, and deed. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name. Amen.”

1. 2 Samuel 24:10 (NIV).

Floyd Lane, a talented basketball player who attended “City College in New York in 1951, accepted a $3,000.00 bribe to shave points in just three games. Because other players were doing this, he decided to go with the group.”

Big mistake. He and the other players got caught, arrested, and expelled from school. For the next twenty-three years Lane was unable to get a job as a player or a coach in sports because of what he had done. Finally, in 1974, his old college employed him as a coach.

When we make mistakes, which we all do from time to time, it’s encouraging to know that we still have a choice to put things right. Fortunately, when we admit what we have done, God forgives us. The next step is to put things right, and to make sure we deal with and resolve the root cause of our mistakes so we don’t keep repeating the same mistakes and making bad choices.

More important is that we don’t make bad choices in the first place because it is “choice, not chance, that determines our destiny.” All of us are where we are today based on the choices—good and bad—that we have made in the past. Furthermore, where we will be in five, ten, fifteen, twenty years time—and in eternity—will be based on the choices we have made or will make today and in the future.

Above all, when it comes to eternity—life after death—as the Bible urges, choose carefully and wisely whom you will serve. Be absolutely sure you have your “passport for heaven.” You can see how to obtain yours by going to: https://learning.actsweb.org/art_passport.htm. Whatever you do, don’t leave earth without it.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank you that we have a choice about life after death and that you have provided the way of salvation by giving your Son, Jesus, to die for my sins. Please help me to know with certainty that my sins are forgiven and that I have my ‘passport for heaven.’ Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name. Amen.”

1. Joshua 24:15 (NKJV).

It has been said that if you stand for something worthwhile, you will have some people for you and some against you. If you stand for nothing, you will not have anybody against you, but neither will have anyone for you.

In today’s society there is tremendous pressure to be open-minded and politically correct. That is, to accept just about every belief except for Christianity—and for what Christians stand for. To agree with the latter means to be identified as narrow-minded, rigid and fanatical.

What many don’t realize is that if you stand for nothing, you can fall for anything. Or as E. Stanley Jones put it, “The difference between a swamp and a river is that a river has banks, and a swamp has none—it spreads over everything. Some people are rivers: they know where they want to go, and they confine themselves to the banks that lead to that goal. But some people are swamps: they spread over everything; their minds are so open they cannot hold a conviction.”

I’d much rather be a “river for God” and know where I stand and where I’m headed and be labeled narrow-minded than be a swamp for “anything goes” and be politically correct and popular with the crowd.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, help me to always live to please you and not the crowd. Give me the courage to stand for what you teach as moral and right, and stand against that which you condemn. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name. Amen.”

1. James 1:8.

“These boys won’t make it. Go back to Liverpool, Mr. Epstein, you have a good business there.” This is what a recording company executive told the Beatles’ manager at their first audition!

“That kid can’t play baseball. He can’t pull the ball,” is what the manager of the Brave’s Triple A team said about Hank Aaron in 1952. Aaron went on to hit 755 home runs, breaking all previous records.

Remember, no matter what the critics say, in God’s economy, everybody has a purpose and everybody has something of value to offer. Never give up until you know what your talent is; then sharpen it, dedicate it to God, and give it all you’ve got. Take courage. Nothing you do for God will ever be in vain. Remember, too, that one of the greatest ways we can serve God is by helping others—and every one of us can do that every day.

Also, as long as what you are choosing to do is in harmony with God’s will, then dream big dreams, work hard, trust God and in time you will reap what you sow and be richly rewarded. Know your God-given dreams and keep hope alive no matter what the setbacks and never ever give up.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me to know my God-given life purpose and dream. Help me to be faithful to this calling and keep hope alive so that I will never give up and in due course will receive the reward that comes from serving you. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name. Amen.”

1. Proverbs 13:12 (TLB)(NLT).