Tim Hetzner – Daily Devotions

Transformed From Rubbish Into Treasure “Therefore, He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him, because He always lives to intercede for them.” (Hebrews 7:25) A Christian leader writes: “The Italian violin maker Antonio Stradivari was a poor man. And yet his violins are now the most prized violins ever made […]

Quitters Do Not Win And Winners Do Not Quit “…whose weakness was turned to strength” (Hebrews 11:34) Persistence and a refusal to abandon your vision kept you coming back and back and back again until you finally succeeded. Try to imagine what life would be like without the light bulb or the polio vaccine. Yet […]

Planning For The Best But Being Prepared For The Worst “Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth.” (Proverbs 27:1) Unexpected events can knock us off our feet. And while some of us get knocked down and out, others get back up and go on. They refuse […]

A Spiritual ECG “Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.” (Romans 12:11) Just as an electrocardiogram (ECG) can measure the health of our physical heart and blockages that can threaten it, it’s helpful to have an instrument that can measure the level of our zeal, commitment, and wholeheartedness when […]

Strive For Wholehearted Devotion To God “He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, but not wholeheartedly.” (2 Chronicles 25:2) The Bible says, “Amaziah … did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, but not wholeheartedly” (vv. 1-2). Contrast that with what God said about David: “I have found David […]

Forgiveness Comes First “Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil.” (Psalm 37:8) Small offenses can be forgiven easily. But when someone hurts us badly and seems to be getting away with it, forgiveness is a real challenge. Until you forgive the offense and let it go, you will […]

Leave the Judging to God “When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.” (Matthew 13:26) Jesus said: “‘The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. But when […]

Catching Fish “‘Come, follow me,’ Jesus said, ‘and I will make you fishers of men.’” (Matthew 4:19) Jesus told professional fishermen, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” These men knew three things about catching fish: 1) You must go where the fish are. You might say, “I thought we were supposed […]

Wait In the Presence of God “We wait in hope for the LORD; He is our help and our shield.” (Psalm 33:20) Our inner self can be trained to wait on God, even though our outer self is stressed and anxious for answers. This is not easy to do in our fast-paced society, where the […]

Songs of Deliverance – Part Four “Worship the LORD with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs.” (Psalm 100:2) The psalmist wrote, “Come before His presence with singing…Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name” (vv. 2, 4). When you approach a king, […]

Songs of Deliverance – Part Three “Yet You are enthroned as the Holy One; You are the Praise of Israel.” (Psalm 22:3) The original King James Bible says, “O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.” The New King James Bible says, “You are…enthroned in the praises of Israel.” You say, “Which translation is accurate?” […]

Songs of Deliverance – Part Two “About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.” (Acts 16:25) Even science agrees that music has healing power. Today, we have music therapists who play sounds that set captives free in hospitals, special educational needs classrooms, nursing […]

Songs of Deliverance – Part One “You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.” Selah (Psalm 32:7) The psalmist wrote, “You are my hiding place; You shall preserve me from trouble; You shall surround me with songs of deliverance.” When trouble comes, you can turn […]

Jesus Can Use It, No Matter How Small “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?” (John 6:9) If you feel you’re not talented enough to be used by God, read the story of the feeding of the five thousand. Actually, […]

Stand on the Promise God Gave You “Until the time that his word came to pass, the word of the LORD tested him.” (Psalm 105:19) When Joseph’s brothers stripped him of his coat of many colors, which represented his father’s favor, what held him steady? The promise God gave him. When he was thrown into […]

Be a Giver – Part Two “Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” (2 Corinthians 9:7) Paul writes, ‘Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for […]

Be a Giver – Part One “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” (Luke 6:38) If you want to become a giver, think of yourself as […]

Leadership Can Be Lonely “At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them. But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I […]

Do Not Be Envious “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” (Exodus 20:17) Envy, in essence, accuses God of being unfair, a respecter of persons, and unaware of what’s best for our […]

It’s a New Day, You Can Change “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:13) Self-help books sometimes claim you can change your life in five or ten simple steps. It takes a lot more than that to make substantial and lasting changes in your life. First, change comes by drawing […]

Your Daily Bread Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.” (John 6:35) After World War II, Europe was devastated with hungry, homeless children who had been orphaned by the battles. They were put in […]

Keep Praying About It “You want something but don’t get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God.” (James 4:2) Many of our failures result from our failure to pray. As we examine our mistakes, we discover […]

Depend on God – Part Three “Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God.” (2 Corinthians 3:5) In the Bible, when God calls someone to do something, you will notice they don’t jump up and say, ‘No problem, I’m ready.’ In story after story, they […]

Depend on God – Part Two “I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20) The last thing Jesus said to His disciples before returning to heaven was this: ‘Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations…I am with you always.’ When God gives you an instruction or an […]

Depend on God – Part One “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:13) Paul shares with us the key to his amazing success in life: ‘I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me [I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner […]

Take Time to Rest and Relax “He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters.” (Psalm 23:2) When you find yourself saying, ‘I don’t know how much longer I can keep this up,’ you may need to change some of your priorities and adjust your lifestyle. The psalmist said, ‘I […]

Taking Control of Your Thoughts “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:5) Your mind is the battlefield where victory or defeat is decided. That’s why Paul writes, ‘We lead every thought and […]

Nothing About You Surprises God “For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.” (Ephesians 1:4) Nothing about you surprises God. He knew what He was getting when He chose you. He ‘actually picked us out for Himself as His own’. You didn’t just […]