This page has various series of Daily Devotions that the Staff and members of Second Baptist have written and shared. These devotions have been for both specific times – Christmas/Advent and a January Bible Study – as well as for general encouragement and hope. 

January Bible Study

Love

Galatians [5:22] “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”

The verse says that these things are the fruit of the Spirit.  As the Spirit comes to dwell within us, the fruit that will be produced will begin to be these things. The fruit is one thing with several parts.

We don’t get to pick the ones we like and disregard others. As Christians, all of these should be a part of who we are.  This is the first of a series where we will look at each one of those attributes of the Spirit in our lives.

Let’s look at Love first. Love in its purest form can only come from God. The extreme opposite of love would be pure hate. I think most people find themselves somewhere in the middle of those two realities.

What is in this middle? Close to true love might be compassion or friendship. Friendliness. Then comes friendly, but reserved. Continuing downward might be noticing flaws. Looking for flaws. Skeptical. Judgmental. False friendliness. Not noticing the person at all. Ignoring. Unforgiving. Then expecting the worst and hate. I have these drawn up on a chart. 🙂You could insert others.

Take a few minutes to examine your relationships today with Love in mind. Where on this scale are you placing that person that you meet? What can we all do today to move more toward Pure Love and further away from Hate? None of us probably thinks of ourselves as Haters, but we may be coming closer than we realized.   

As we head into the Thanksgiving Holiday it is a privilege to bring to you this opportunity for self-reflection. This series of devotions are written by Harriet Bowman and allow for us to consider the work of God’s Spirit in our lives.



Uncomfortable

Luke 6:1-11

We’ve all been there. Family. Friends. Circumstances. Places we’ve been.

Someone says something. Asks a question. Says something that you know will provoke others. And we start to shift a little in our seat.

Someone is wearing something; a rival team’s shirt, a slogan that is provocative, or something out of place. Something that just doesn’t fit the occasion, the group, or the room.

There is a tension in the room. You walk in and it’s evident that there is more going on than can be easily seen but you can sense the problem and now you’re not sure what to do.

Maybe it’s silence. Silence can be overwhelming. Silence can be a dominant force in a room or situation.

And we FEEL uncomfortable. We don’t like uncomfortable. In fact, those who go about provoking don’t like uncomfortable, they are actually provoking so that the response to them is predictable.

Jesus is uncomfortable. Jesus is uncomfortable to those who reject God. Jesus is uncomfortable to those who say they seek to honor God.

In the story of the man with the withered hand, Jesus’ command is simple; stretch out your hand. As the man did so, he was healed. Jesus did not touch him. Jesus did not say anything that could have been prescribed as work.

And the religious folks went into a tailspin. Here are a few applications for us; us religious folks, who seek to honor God.

  1. Simple questions about culture, behavior, and our witness among others can sometimes set us into a tailspin. This reflects the possibility that our reliance is more upon our performance than upon a dependence upon Jesus.
  2. We should be willing to become uncomfortable. I have learned over my 42 years on earth that if you want an opinion on something – ask a Christian. Most of us are going to give an earnest, factual (at least in our mind), answer on just about any topic; movie watching, national politics, global politics, weather, health concerns, and on and on. This often speaks to our unwillingness to be uncomfortable. Since we KNOW the answer there is no reason to give any consideration to the question, or more specifically, the questioner.

And yet the man was healed. A life was changed. Those who KNEW what SHOULD happen went away fuming. Jesus gave a parting shot that still challenges me today.

“I ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?”

Jesus, in a first century synagogue

Daniel Harding



Hide and Seek

Colossians 3:1-17

It’s a given that anytime we go to eat with my sister that her children will want to play hide and go seek with me. Now friends, I don’t mean to brag but I may be the best hide and seeker Brantley County has ever produced. I can hide so well it takes them 20 minutes to find me (of course the three kids are younger than 7 so I don’t think I can brag too much). And when they eventually find me I in return have to find them. And like a good uncle I must take 20 minutes to find them and ignore the fact that I can hear the cabinet door close as they peek to see where I am. And ignore that I can see their feet from underneath the blanket. It really doesn’t take too much effort to find them.

But as a Christian there is something that we should be seeking very diligently in our lives. We should be seeking things that bring honor and glory to God and further His kingdom here on earth. Well how do we do this? We are by nature sinners and are prone to seek after things that please us. 

When we are born again/saved most of us that are able are baptized. This baptism is symbolic of us putting to death the natural, carnal mind and being born again into a new creature. This is what Paul is telling us to do here. We must put anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, and filthy communication away from us. We must put off the old man (sinful nature) and put on the new man (Christ). 

Well what does this new man look like? He is clothed with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. He forgives those who have done him wrong. But in my mind the most important thing is that he is clothed in charity. Charity by definition is brotherly love, affection, good will, love, and benevolence. 

By putting on this new man we are now able to devote ourselves to seeking things that are above. Well how does that work? By letting God rule (direct or control) our heart we are able to look and think on things that honor Him. It allows us to teach and correct fellow believers (new believers and old alike) with the words of Christ that were left with us here on earth.

Seeking things that are above. So does that mean we walk around looking up at the sky all the time, waiting for God to hit us with a sucker punch of holiness and love? To quote a friend of mine, God forbid. I think that to seek things that are above we have to look down and around us to see how we can help our fellow man in their troubles. We show them the same love that Christ showed us when He died for our sins.

Paul gives us a good way to do this towards the end of these verses. 

 “And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.”

Everything that we do in this life should be done for Christ. And it should be done with a thankful heart. Sounds good on paper but how do we make this work in the real world? For me it looks like this; I pray before I meet with a family that they will be comforted during this time of loss and whatever we do at the funeral home will be used to honor God and be a comfort to the family. While meeting with them (if the opportunity presents itself) I talk about Jesus and the comfort we have in Him, and the promise of being with Him forever one day. I tell them about the Good Shepherd and how he is with us through the valley of the shadow of death. How He loves and cares for us. I give a hug or handshake. Sometimes I just listen patiently while a family talks about their loved one. And God lets me know He’s there and working in the family’s life when the family comes to us later and says how thankful they are and how much it means for us to be there to help them.

That is just what I can do at work. What can you do at your job, school, or just out shopping? Can you hold the door for someone? Can you share the gospel with someone? Can you just take a moment and pray for someone when you see and know there is a need? 

God has put us all in positions that we may serve Him in this life. We have to diligently search for and serve Him while living in this world. 

Riley Lee



Simplicity

But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.   2 Corinthians 11:3

Chapter 11 of 2 Corinthians has always seemed a little strange to me. Many bibles have headings for different sections and yours might say something to the effect of “Paul defends his apostleship” or “Paul reluctantly boasts.” It seems absurd in today’s Christianity that anyone would question Paul’s apostleship, but that was precisely the case here for the Corinthians.

To them, Paul wasn’t as big of a name as some of the earlier disciples. Although he felt it “foolish,” Paul defended himself to the Corinthians because he deeply desired for them to hear his teaching and guidance. Paul’s boasting was also odd. He points to many of his lowest moments including beatings, stoning, and being shipwrecked. But he claims that boasting about his weaknesses truly shows the strength of Christ (a lesson we could all learn).

All of this aside, something Paul said at the end of verse three caught my attention this time through. He says that we might be led astray from the simplicity of devotion to Christ. I don’t think many people would use the word “simple” when describing their relationship with Jesus. In fact, many might say the complete opposite and point to the complexity and challenges of their relationship.

If you grew up in church or have helped with children at church, you can see how simple our faith can really be. Maybe it’s the “ABCs” or “Love God, Love People” but it only seems to get more complicated the older we get. While it may be true that our lives are more complex as adults, that doesn’t mean that our relationship with God has to be more complicated. As Paul states in this verse, it’s the simplicity of devotion to Christ.

Now you may say that being fully devoted to Christ isn’t that easy, and I agree. But there is a big difference in simple and easy. While the idea of throwing a football to a teammate is very simple at its core, it’s not always easy to accomplish. Just like being devoted to Christ is simple enough (love Him, obey Him, desire to read His word and spend time with Him in prayer), but it’s not always easy to accomplish.

Although throwing a football is simple, it’s the job of the defense to make it difficult. To confuse and complicate a simple task. Paul mentions the serpent is deceiving and crafty. He can certainly confuse and complicate any situation. So while our devotion to Christ may be difficult at times, we can find hope in knowing that it’s not complicated.

Walt Howard



A Restless Spirit

  • Us four and no more.
  • Us four and no more – and shut the door.
  • Anytime you happen to pass my house, I’d sure appreciate it.

Maybe you know a similar saying. We laugh a little self-consciously about this when it comes to church. We know that’s not what we’re called to, but the comfort of knowing OUR folks and OUR routine usually trumps our conviction.

Many time we will gladly embrace those whom appear as if they will easily fit in. They know our routines, our beliefs, and our basic assumptions about life.

Let’s challenge ourselves by looking again at Luke 4. In Luke 4 we hear the story of Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness. Immediately after this temptation he is in his hometown and they attempt to kill him when he proposes that the kingdom of God is not about their gaining political or physical authority. Then Jesus is met by a demon-possessed man whom he casts the demons out of and orders him to hold his tongue.

He is sought out by the people of the area and they beg him to stay with them. To completely rid them of diseased people. To completely eradicate the demonic possessed. To feed them.

Jesus rejects their wishes and states that he has a calling to go to more places and meet more people. May God give us a restless spirit to travel and engage outside of our social circles, our ethnic circles, our cultural circles, and even our religious circles. Let’s meet some folks.

Daniel Harding



Words We Speak To Our Children

Colossians 2:2 That their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, and attaining to all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the knowledge of the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ,

While reading a book about Outreach Ministry, I came across a passage that talked about how words can build up or destroy a child or anyone else for that matter. The question was asked, “Do you remember when someone you loved or looked up to said something very demeaning to you?” Immediately, I remember some hurtful words that someone very dear said to me and it brought me back to that moment and tears filled my eyes. Then the question was asked, “Do you remember when a person you loved and admired said some words of encouragement to you?” Again, I could tell you the place, where I was when my Dad told me that nothing was impossible for me to accomplish, the only thing that could hold me back from my dreams was me. In both situations, the words spoken to me were both heavy with hate and love. The weight of their impact is still staggering.

When we minister to children and others our words maybe the only encouragement they get that day. Having grown up in a household before Christ, I can tell you that until our family was saved, words were very critical and mean spirited most of the time. I was terrified to talk to people and kept to myself entirely, especially through my teenage years. I did not feel that I was worthy or of any value. Solomon says in the Bible in Proverbs [18:21],” death and life are in the power of the tongue.”

The old adage “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me” is just a defense mechanism for a wounded heart. I pray as we go through my days and the ministry that the Lord has given all of us that, we will remember the power of words to encourage, love, lift up, to be the antidote of the ugly, hateful, discouraging things that are said to speak humiliating, lowering, discrediting phrases that only kill and destroy the spirit of those we live before.

Jackie Gillespie



Knowing Jesus

Matthew [7:21]-23  Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord’, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.  Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; Depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’

I boarded a flight one time from Nigeria to Ivory Coast. My seat was on the first economy row. Soon afterward a richly dressed woman came on who had a seat further back. When she discovered the location of her seat, she began to protest loudly. She wanted to sit on the first row. There was an empty seat there. She insisted that the stewardesses give her that seat. After a very loud altercation for about 10 minutes, they gave up and let her sit there. (In America, she would have been escorted off the plane. But this was not America) 

Across the aisle, there was seated a man wearing traditional Islamic dress.  He was closely observing this ongoing loud drama.   When the plane started to take off, this lady then began to pray loudly In Jesus’ Name that we would all make it safely. I thought, “Don’t bring Jesus into this!” I was very embarrassed because I felt that she put shame on the name of Jesus and took away any witness to that Islamic man. 

There are many people who know about Jesus. They have information about him, but they do not know him. They do not have God’s Spirit living inside them to guide their lives. In Matthew [7:21]-23 Jesus talks about those who thought they knew Jesus, but find out on Judgment Day that they were wrong.

I can’t judge that lady on the plane. Maybe she was a true Christian, but the fruit of her life was not proving that.  All of us have a bad day once in a while, but if the pattern of our lives is like this then we have to question ourselves.  Each person has to examine their own heart and be sure that they have Jesus in there and not just the knowledge of Jesus.

Harriet Bowman