Langdon's Devotional

Colossians 2:6-7 – “Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.” I knew a lot of kids in grade school that were clearly very bright, yet something held them back from reaching their full potential. Whether it’s rooted in laziness, a bad home life, or just a bad work ethic in general, no one likes seeing wasted talent. That person is still naturally talented – and that will never change – but it’s unlikely that they’ll take it any further. The danger of treating our salvation as a contingency plan is that it gives us this idea that our faith is just a “plan B”, and so we fail then to sanctify ourselves and grow our faith. After we accept such a wonderful gift, we leave it untended to until we “need” it after death. What a waste! We always need God and His gift to us. Failing to build on it and walk with Him is to say that the gift we’ve been given to us is ...

Psalm 118:13 – “I was pushed hard, so that I was falling, but the Lord helped me.” I find that the people I meet that are the most on fire for God are the people that have been targeted the most by the enemy. Those that have felt themselves being pushed again and again, falling into sin each time, know more than anyone the many blessings of the Lord. Why is that? Because who is the One that helps us up once we’ve fallen? Surely not ourselves, we can hardly get back on our own two feet without assistance. Like countless others, I can attest to the fact that I have never needed to – the Lord helped me . Our “success” is never defined by how many times we allow the enemy to push us down – he will eventually push us hard enough for us to fall. We often hear that success is rather defined by how many times we get back up. This is undoubtedly the truth, but I’d prefer to take it a step further than that. Our success is about how many times we reach out to the Lord for Him to help us up . An...

James 3:17 – “But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.” I can think of several very smart kids I grew up with in grade school that I don’t remember too fondly, simply because they were know-it-alls. It’s funny how childish pride can turn knowledge and wisdom into a bad thing, and while kids are more often guilty of this, it’s not necessarily something that everyone grows out of. I’ve found that the desire to be seen as intelligent is a personal flaw of mine, and I find it to be rooted not only in a desire for validation, but in sinful pride as well. As sinners (just as with children), we default to assuming that our own wisdom and knowledge is king; we fail to prioritize any “external” wisdom, as that would somehow make our own less valuable. In all honesty, it’s less than shocking that the wisdom that we consider to be our own, holds little value in the first place. Divine Wisdom, however, i...

James 1:5 – “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given to him.” I think that a misconception about maturity is that it comes from the wisdom that we already have. The wiser we currently are, the more mature we display when involved in tough situations. Instead, I propose this: spiritual maturity does not come from the wisdom we already possess, but rather the desire to gain more wisdom under God . In other words, we can only have as much wisdom as we ask for from God. God’s wisdom does not change. It’s always perfect, and it’s always available. When we are unsure how to solve a problem in our lives, the solution already exists. The Lord knows the answer to every question and knowing that puts our issues into a completely different perspective. Instead of us having problems with solutions that don’t exist yet, we now have problems with solutions that we haven’t gotten yet. The wisdom we seek to overcome hardships and...

1 John 4:20-21 – “… for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen … whoever loves God must also love his brother.” No one is surrounded with hypocrisy more than the lukewarm Christian. This is evident when we imagine the life that the Gospel tells us to live versus the life that we are the most comfortable living. However, the Christian that feels “on fire for God” can fight with hypocrisy all the same. Any contempt that we hold for those we know or those we don’t has a way of getting between us and the person we wish to be. Disdain or disgust that is rooted in Christian beliefs is especially sly (and illogical). Followers of Christ that are truly “on fire for God” should not use that fire with the sole intention to burn others. Instead, we should use that fire as a light to display the grace of God – and what a Grace it is! Don’t get it twisted – it’s very important to stand firm in our belief of God’s teachings, but allowing ourselves to ...

Hebrews 4:15 – “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.” As they begin to learn about and experience genuine hardships for the first time, teenagers often hold onto this belief that whatever they are going through, they must be alone in it. No one – especially not parents – could possibly understand what they’ve been put through. Personally, I think that deep down I always felt like being the only person that has experienced something painful almost gave me some kind of merit. Like some mental medal of honor that sets me apart from my peers and even superiors. By nature, I want to feel like I’ve overcome this extraordinary obstacle that was unique to me, so that no one else could get recognition for sharing the pain that I went through. Like most things, as we hold onto this mentality by pushing away our parents / loved ones, we do the same to God. After all, our God is ...

1 Thessalonians 5:17 – “pray without ceasing” I try my best to stand by this belief during times of growth: improvement comes from being the person you want to be, when you don’t want to be them . If we choose to be that person only half the time, then at best we will only be half of that person. The same goes for our prayer lives. We seek for God to help us grow, but we often only communicate with Him half of the time. Some people feel naturally inclined to go to the Lord when they feel as if they owe Him for the good things that He’s been doing in it recently. Others only go to Him when they feel that they have nowhere else to go. Regardless, this is no way for us to live a life that is conducive to the Holy Spirit.  In order to grow as followers of Christ, we need to stay in touch with Him. Praying when our hearts overflow with thanks. Praying when they feel defective or empty. Praying when we are unsure how we feel. Never pausing, never ceasing. Otherwise, we can only be a frac...

John 14:27 – “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” One of the biggest sources of hatred on Earth is the inability to trust others. While most of the time this is a way to protect ourselves, it is often rooted in ignorance during times when vulnerability is important. In any case, it’s an understatement to say that God deserves our trust before anyone or anything. So, why then are we subconsciously skeptical of His ability to give us peace? The reason that I love this verse so much is that God reiterates such a simple truth that sinners still need to hear: “My peace is different.” Sometimes, when we familiarize ourselves with God so much, we begin to view God as just another human being involved in our lives. While being familiar with God is indescribably important, and He absolutely is the greatest friend we’ll ever have, it’s important that we’re quick to remember just how...