Devotional Thoughts
A Full Life is a Free Life
September 15, 2023 • Derek Murphy • Romans 8:1–5, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Galatians 5:1
The only way to live a full life is to live a life that is free. What do you need to surrender to God today that is holding you back from a life that is free? Maybe it is shame, expectation or sin. Whatever it might be, God is ready to free you today.
The Next Step of Faith
March 12, 2023 • Derek Murphy • 1 Kings 13, Psalm 40:2
God is calling us to trust him to take the next step of faith. What we want is the whole plan laid out, because we want to know the outcome to know if its a path we should take. God is calling us to trust he is leading us somewhere amazing. Today Derek encourages us to just take one more step forward, knowing it might illuminate more of what God has planned. Trust he is leading and guiding you.
For Such a Time as This
March 7, 2023 • Derek Murphy • Esther 4:14
I had this realization hit me two weeks ago, I was praying and I just sensed a real peace that God has been preparing me my entire life for this moment. All of my experience in ministry and life has pointed me to this moment. For example, I just lead a Discipleshift event in Idaho with Greg Love and a couple guys I used to work with in Idaho. I was first exposed to that material in college. And what we’re doing in DMM has just been building off of that. How God lead us to Utah 5 and a half years ago, which was the most supernatural happening I had experienced up to that point set the stage for the ways we are experiencing God regularly today. All the little moments seemed to flash before me that God has gone way before us to prepare us for this very moment. Even this devotional, caught me off guard. I prepared the basic thoughts for this 2 weeks ago and tried to record it twice, but it just didn’t feel right. Then this morning. I was praying and I heard “for such a time as this.” And then when I opened the Bible app to do my daily reading I saw the verse of the day was Esther 4:14. The scripture I had used to prepare this thought two weeks ago and had a real sense one of you watching this today needed to hear this message. Because, just like me. God has been preparing you for your entire life for this moment. Thats where the story of Esther comes in. Esther became the Queen of Assyria through a beauty contest where the King chose the most beautiful woman to be his queen after a year of preparation. The problem was nobody knew she was a Jew. not even the king, and when a decree went out that allowed the indiscriminate murder of any Jew without cause. Esther’s Uncle came to her to plead with his to use her position to save her people. Esther had a dilemma. She couldn’t just approach the king. He had been in the court for a month and she had not seen him and if someone approached him in the court without permission the law was death, even if you are the Queen. No exception. Unless… the King pardoned you by raising his scepter. It was a precarious position to be in and Esther was stuck with a decision on whether she was going to try to save her life and let her own people be murdered, or put her life at risk and potentially save her people. Her uncle knew what sort of position she was in and spoke into it. 14 For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14 NIV) for such a time as this! This is what God has been whispering to me. But it may be what God has been whispering to you Esther ends up taking the risk and putting her life on the line in this moment to see her people find freedom and deliverance. but….It took her putting everything on the line… It is easy to think, God made me for such a time as this. Often the reality is, in order to step into the call God has been preparing you for, it means you have to risk everything and take a step of faith, not knowing if everything will work out for you before you take the step. This is how God works. I think you have a step of faith god is calling you to take. It’s a step that is incredibly scary. It may feel completely irresponsible. But if you take it, you can step into the identity God has for you and inspire and maybe even save others because of this step. Take a moment and pray, right now. Ask God if there is something he has been asking you to do, that you have been resisting. You were made for this moment, and perhaps you were put in this position for “such a time as this.“ Don’t miss out on the privilege of how God is calling you to serve his Kingdom. Let’s take a step of faith today.
Joy is my Strength
February 19, 2023 • Derek Murphy • Nehemiah 8:10, Hebrews 12:2
For the joy of the Lord is our strength. Which means if we have no joy, it also means we have no strength. a joyless Christian life is not the life God has planned for you. When you struggle to maintain joy it is a sign something is off and an invitation to pray.
Hope for the Soul
December 16, 2020 • Derek Murphy • Proverbs 13:12
Hope is a type of protection for our minds. Without hope, we're told our heart becomes sick. We have to trust that God is working out all things in our life for the good. Acts like focusing our minds on the good, and living with gratitude. Hope is an anchor for our soul because we know that even if life seems hopeless on this side of heaven, God is going to renew us, even if its on the other side of heaven.