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The Bible urges us to forgive – totally. It is very surprising, therefore, to learn that there is no teaching of this kind for forgiveness in Judaism.
Last time we read together we covered lessons learned from Joseph’s example.
- Do not let anyone know what someone said about you or did to you?
- Do not allow anyone to be afraid of you or intimidated by you.
- We will want them to forgive themselves and not feel guilty.
But there’s more. Let’s cover those tonight.
Last time we talked about how Joseph’s actions toward his brothers demonstrated total forgiveness. So what lessons about total forgiveness can the example of Joseph teach us?
The story of Joesph provides a heart-searching frame of reference by showing us how he was able to totally forgive his brothers.
Forgiveness isn’t approving of, excusing, justifying or pardoning an offense. It doesn’t have to include reconciliation and it doesn’t mean we deny, turn a blind eye or forget the sin against us. We don’t have to refuse to take a wrong seriously or pretend that we weren’t hurt by it. But forgiveness is necessary.
“Just as God forgives people without approving of their sin, we also must learn that forgiving people does not imply an endorsement of their evil deeds.”
So let’s take a look at what forgiveness is.
Last week we started chapter 1 and left off with this quote:
Total forgiveness does not mean closing our eyes to those who will continue to harm others.
Before going any further, let me clarify what total forgiveness is not.
One must totally forgive those who will not be reconciled. It must happen in the heart, and when it does, peace emerges – with or without a complete restoration of the relationship. What matters is that the Holy Spirit is able to dwell in us ungrieved, able to be utterly Himself.
He has chosen to share many of those prophecies with us, if we will only heed what they say.
We’ve now spent twenty-nine chapters exploring the reality of the Rapture. A moment is coming when our world will change “in the twinkling of an eye”. The Lord Jesus will appear in the clouds and gather His people to Himself – first those who’ve died in Him, and then those who are fortunate enough to witness His return in the sky.
When Jesus leads His heavenly offensive against Satan and the Antichrist at that battle, He will follow a similar strategy as the US forces in Iraq – although He will have no part with conventional ammunition. His weapon will be glory. Christ’s transcendent splendor and power will be fully aimed at the evil that has bedeviled humanity for so long.
In that final showdown, the rebellion of the Tribulation Period will come to a head. The Antichrist, the kings of the earth, and the souls that follow them will gather one last time to try to defeat Jesus Christ. Their armies will be made up of soldiers from the ten nations of the revived Roman Empire. The Antichrist, with the False Prophet at his side, will lead those massive armies in defying Ghrist’s authority and right to rule – the ultimate revolt against God.
When Christ’s return draws near, they will do everything they can to prepare for the battle of the ages. And they will fail spectacularly.
When Jesus leads His heavenly offensive against Satan and the Antichrist at that battle, He will follow a similar strategy as the US forces in Iraq – although He will have no part with conventional ammunition. His weapon will be glory. Christ’s transcendent splendor and power will be fully aimed at the evil that has bedeviled humanity for so long.
In that final showdown, the rebellion of the Tribulation Period will come to a head. The Antichrist, the kings of the earth, and the souls that follow them will gather one last time to try to defeat Jesus Christ. Their armies will be made up of soldiers from the ten nations of the revived Roman Empire. The Antichrist, with the False Prophet at his side, will lead those massive armies in defying Ghrist’s authority and right to rule – the ultimate revolt against God.
Signs play an important role in the modern driving experience. They tell us what’s coming. They alert us to possible problems. And they help keep us safe.
The same is true for the “signs” identified throughout God’s Word. Thankfully, those signs cannot be altered or adulterated!
In order to have a firm grasp of God’s prophetic plan for the future, we need to notice the distinctions between the Rapture and the Second Coming.
There are many times when silence is a powerful witness to the facts, and that’s true when it comes to the Rapture of the chruch and the events of the Tribulation as we find them in the book of Revelation. So far, we’ve already established our conviction that the Rapture occurs before the Tribulation. The “curious incident” of dead silence regarding the church in the core chapters of Revelation comes alongside that conclusion and helps corroborate it.
The Rapture is a biblical promise stating that one day Jesus will drop everything, bring His people to Himself, and make our deepest dreams come true by welcoming us to His Father’s house for all eternity.
In this chapter, we’re going to closely examine one verse of Scripture that indicates a before-the-Tribulation Rapture. It’s one of the most important verses in the entire New Testament on this subject and worthy of investigation.
All of us who know Christ are His ambassadors, His representatives in a deteriorating world. Just before the storm of the Tribulation’s violence hits the gates of the church, our great Commander is literally going to airlift us to safety, rescuing us before the storm.
We’ve talked about that rescue often in these pates – it’s the Rapture. What you may be surprised to learn is that God has followed that pattern many times in history. Proverbs 11:8 says, “The righetous is delivered from trouble, and it comes to the wicked instead.”
From Dr. David Jeremiah's book, The Great Disappearance
We saw in the previous chapter that the Rapture is Imminent, meaning it can happen at any moment. Yet our Lord Jesus has not yet returned. For two thousand years, Christians have watched and waited for the catalyst of the Rapture to coalesce into the next phase in God’s prophetic plan. And we are still waiting.
It's fair to ask the question: Why the delay?
One of the key teachings about the Rapture that is recorded in several places in Scripture is often called the doctrine of imminency.
When something is imminent, it could happen at any moment. There are no barriers that need to be removed or qualifications that need to be met before it occurs. Importantly, an event that is “imminent” is not necessarily “immediate.” Saying an event is imminent does not mean it is guaranteed to occur in the immediate future, only that it could occur at any time.
Bible expositor A. T. Pierson wrote, “Imminence is the combination of two conditions . . . certainty and uncertainty. An imminent event is one which is certain to occur at some time, uncertain at what time. Imminent is not synonymous with impending. It is not exact to say what is imminent is near at hand; it may or may not be.”
I am highlighting this term because the Bible presents the Rapture as an imminent event – one that could take place at any moment. This chapter will show you where to find those claims in Scripture and why the doctrine of imminency is important for your everyday life.
Join us every week as we read through another chapter from our book review series.
SALVATION IN THE TRIBULATION CH 20
The grace of God will pull many people out of the rubble of the Tribulation. There will still be hope for those left behind after the Rapture. The gospel will still be available, even if the church is gone.
There will be at least four streams of gospel truth that will cut a channel through the Tribulation. In fact, it is possible that the spiritual awakening that will occur during the Tribulation will be the greatest evangelistic harvest the world has ever seen.
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Reading about the horrors of war as a student of biblical prophecy causes me to think about what our entire world will experience in the future. Reading about the trials and tribulations of people in a war-torn country reminds me that the Tribulation is coming — and perhaps coming soon.
Remember, the Rapture will not occur in a vacuum. The moment Jesus steps through the gates of heaven and returns to rescue His people from this world, the countdown to Tribulation will begin. Therefore, it’s important for us to learn more about that seven-year period looming on the horizon of human history.
The Picture of the TribulationSeven Years of Surprise
Now that we know a little more about what heaven is and what we will experience there, let’s learn how the reality of heaven impacts our lives here on earth. The New Testament constantly affirms that what we believe about heaven affects how we live now. How we view the future has a tremendous influence on how we conduct ourselves in the present.
We’ve spent many pages exploring and seeking to uderstand the Rapture of the church, during which Jesus will escort believers to heaven to live with Him forever. We know amazing new experiences are in store for believers in heaven, and we will learn about some of them in this chapter.
But what, specifically, can we expect to encounter there? What will we find?
In a word, everything! Everything that is most precious and clear to you and me, everything that is important to Christ-followers, is currently in heaven. Everything we need or desire will be found in heaven once we pass through its magnificent gates, either by death or by being caught up with Christ at the Rapture.
Perhaps you’ve been wondering about the relevance of the Rapture. If the Rapture is coming in the future, why does it matter now? And if the Rapture is the moment when all Christians – living and dead – are reunited with our Lord in heave, why should that event affect my life on Earth?
In the same way death can help all people recognize the value of life, the reality of the Rapture must motivate followers of Jesus to make proper use of our time in the here and now. History will not endure forever. There is an end coming – and perhaps coming soon. Therefore, we are responsible to love God and love others to our fullest capacity while we still have the opportunity to impact eternity.
If ever there was a time for the church of God and the people of Christ to catch this sense of urgency, that time is now. Paul offered four keys to resisting the seductiveness of our generation and remaining alert to the coming of Christ. I like to think of those keys as Rapture Priorities for the people of God.
What happens to children when they die is key to understanding what will happen to them should they be lifing on earth when the Rapture takes place.
Many ask what will happen to young children on the day of the Rapture? What will happen to those little ones who are too young to make a decision about eternity when eternity crashes into our world? Does the Bible offer any clarity for parents and grandparents – any hope?
Yes. What happens to children when they die is key to understanding what will happen to them should they be living on earth when the Rapture takes place.
Scripture gives us four solid reasons for believing that children who die – and children who ar eliving when the Rapture occurs – will go straight to heaven.
The Rapture must never become just an academic journey. The revelation in the New Testament of this future event is meant to encourage, challenge, and motivate us. If we really, truly comprehend the reality of the Rapture, it will change the way we go about life in the here and now.
Let’s look at four words that describe the Rapture effect – four words that will help you determine if you are rapture ready. Not just ready for the Rapture if it should happen today, but ready even if it does not happen in your lifetime.
The Great Disappearance Ch 13
By Dr. David Jeremiah
Read by Andi and Brian Hale
"The Reunion"
The idea of family reunions is not new, of course. Eternity represents the grandest family reunion on could ever imagine.
The idea of family reunions is not new, of course. Bible students know we are all decendants of Adam and Ev and therefore all related. The human race as a whole is truly a worldwide family – a “Global Family”. But there is a difference between the world family and the family of God – those who are related to God by faith in Jesus Christ. For us, eternity represents the grandest family reunion on could ever imagine.
For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words.
1 THESSALONIANS 4:16-18 NIV
The Rapture will be restricted only to those – living or dead – who carry the passport called Christ.
We’ve explored the “what” and “why” of the Rapture in many ways and from many angles throughout these pages. Yet it would be a mistake for us to ignore the “who.” Meaning, who will take part in the Rapture? Who will be “caught up” with Christ during that future event?
The answer: not everyone. The Rapture will be restricted only to those – living or dead – who carry the passport called Christ.
I know such a claim clashes with the values and norms of our culture. It’s becoming more and more dangerous to even hint that only certain people will experience eternal life. But that’s exactly why it’s important for us to have a solid understanding of this issue. You could say this chapter explores the apologetics of the Rapture – we’ll examine both the reality of and the reasons for the restrictions connected to the Rapture.
Another Chapter Reading with Andi and Brian Hale...
One day soon the followers of Christ will be transported to another world in the twinklin of an eye. They’ll vanish from this world and appear with the Lord in glory.
The Bible calls this the Rapture.
While most Christians are familiar with the Rapture of the church – the future moment when Christ will gather His church from the earth to meet Him in the clouds – many are unaware ther are other raptures mentioned in Scripture.
Five other “disappearances” are recorded: those of Enoch, Elijah, Jesus Christ, Paul and two individuals who will appear during the Tribulation.
Let’s take a biblical tour of these vanished victors as we read through chapter 11 of The Great Disappearance by Dr. David Jeremiah
The Rapture, the moment believers disappear from the earth in a moment. Imagine how officials will try to explain the spontaneous disappearance of millions or even billions of people. How will the governments explain it? What conspiracy theories will grip the popular imagination? what panic will haunt the hearts of those left on earth?
LISTEN IN as Brian and Andi review chapter 10 of Dr. David Jeremiah’s book, The Great Disappearance.
Wouldn’t we all like to have “the perfect body”? Im not interested in looking amazing, but wouldn’t it be wonderful to have a body that never broke down? One that wasn’t plagued by the imperfections of age and ailments, sickness and senility?
Here’s some wonderful news: if you are a follower of Jesus, you will receive such a body! At some point in the future, you will upgrade your current model to one that is top-of-the-lilne in every respect!
Listen in as Brian and Andi read chapter 9 of the Great Disappearance by Dr. David Jeremiah.
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The Bible is filled with mysteries – though not the type we find in novels.
When you find the word mystery in the Bible, it always describes something God has waited until the right time to tell us. These truths or realities have always existed – they have always been part of God’s plan – yet were only disclosed at a specific point in history.
Biblical mysteries are an important part of the New Testament. The word mystery occurs twenty-six times from Matthew to Revelation (it’s found nowhere in the Old Testament). These mysteries are theological truths connected to salvation, the church, God’s kingdom, and other important topics.
Listen in as Brian and Andi read through 5 specific mysteries in chapter 8 of The Great Disappearance by Dr David Jeremiah.
Tonight we review Chapter 5, The Return. Join us as we read through and review Dr. David Jeremiah's book, The Great Disappearance on our Faith Matters Podcast each Friday night. Tune in to this one to find out about the Beginning of The End (The Rapture!)
Join Andi and Brian Hale as they dig into Dr. David Jeremiah's book, The Great Disappearance. The Hales read through and comment on Dr. Jeremiah's work under the fair use act. We encourage everyone to purchase his book of 31 ways to be rapture ready!
Watch on diggingdeepertv.com either on on demand or on our Rumble channel, all at www.diggingdeepertv.com
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Join us as we read through and review Dr. David Jeremiah's book, The Great Disappearance on our Faith Matters Podcast each Friday night. Tonight we review Chapter 2, 'A Great Day' referring to that glorious event that no one will REALLY believe until it happens, then they will still doubt.
We truly admire the work of Dr. David Jeremiah, as a pastor and author and many other things. Please join us in purchasing his book and read along with us as we review his latest "The Great Disappearance". It's of highest priority to be ready for what's to come. Remember, you cannot work your way out of this one. You are either informed and ready, or you aren't. LISTEN IN!
The Power of Now by Jentezen Franklin from YouVersion devotional Acres of Diamonds. We love this writer, listen in!
Brian and Andi offer their perspective on listening to the Holy Spirit. Listen in to find out what's going on in their lives lately.
from The Tongue by Rocky Fleming
“What made me say that? What was I thinking? Oh, how I regret what I said. If I could only take it back. Who else will hear what I said? Will I ever be forgiven for this? Will I forgive myself? Will I ever recover what I’ve lost? Can God forgive me?” Have you heard yourself ask these questions before? I speak from experience when I say that I have asked these questions, and that is why I can also tell you that it is an agonizing place to be in your thoughts. You don’t want to be there, and it is something you want to avoid. It is something that Jesus wants you to avoid, and since it is our mission to make disciples, it becomes imperative that we address this subject. So, let’s talk about avoiding some regrets that keep you from asking the questions above. Here is rule number one:“I have said many things that I have regretted. But I have never regretted something that I chose not to say.” Somewhere in my past, I came across this wisdom and it has been my guide for many years now. I wish that I had always listened to it. When I have followed this wisdom, I have discovered that it has kept me from speaking too quickly, too rashly, in a wrong way, and often without needed information. This week I want to take our thoughts to the wise use of words, for words can both curse and bless. It simply depends on how they are used.The next bit of wisdom I will share is to wait and think before you speak. When a word leaves your mouth, it cannot be retrieved. Therefore, consider your words carefully before they leave your mouth. There will be a better time and there will be a better way to act rather than what a reaction can produce. This is where you choose to avoid some regrets.
The final sermon in the series, COEXIST? by Pastor Bob McCartney. We've heard how all the other world religions fall short, now we have the answer! TUNE IN!
Faith Matters with Brian and Andi
Relentless Joy by Christina Patterson
We rob ourselves of joy when we don’t believe God will finish what He’s started in our lives.
Join us as Pastor Bob McCartney spells out the issues the Bible has with these misguided souls.
Author Johnny Moore and Pastor Bob McCartney team up in this episode to deliver a powerful message on ISIS. We use the Fair Use Act to analyze this classic. In fact, we had the chance to hear this live and thought it would be very important to share. Lots of truth here. LISTEN IN!
A Sermon Series by Pastor Bob McCartney
Can we all be right? Does is matter if you’re wrong? Pastor Bob McCartney delves into other world religions in order to focus on what Christians believe and why we believe it.
Listen as Pastor McCartney focuses on eastern religions and culture in the third sermon of this series.
Can we all be right? Does is matter if you’re wrong? Pastor Bob McCartney delves into other world religions in order to focus on what Christians believe and why we believe it. Listen to the second sermon addressing the Islamic belief system in this series here...
Using the Fair Use Act, we evaluate Pastor Bob's sermons every week and write about anything significant. One thing is certain, he has never disappointed.
A Sermon Series by Pastor Bob McCartney
Can we all be right? Does is matter if you’re wrong? Pastor Bob McCartney delves into other world religions in order to focus on what Christians believe and why we believe it. Listen to the first in this series here with a very special guest!
Faith Matters with Brian and Andi Hale
Before the Throne, a 5 day devotional on prayer. Today we look to Paul for insight.
If someone were to study your prayers, would they see prayers from the heart or superficial words?
Faith Matterw with Brian and Andi Hale
Before the Throne, a 5 day devotional on prayer. Today we reflect on the psalmist.
Do you find yourself in circumstances where you don’t understand what God is doing?
Faith Matters with Brian and Andi Hale
Before the Throne, a 5 day devotional on prayer. this one is a lesson from Hezakiah
We can experience times when everything’s going great, but we also go through seasons when life is hard, and we face overwhelming circumstances.
Faith Matters with Brian and Andi Hale
Before the Throne, a 5 day devotional on prayer.
The psalmists wrote the very thoughts I feel or want to say but don’t know how to put into words.
Faith Matters with Brian and Andi Hale
Before the Throne, a 5 day devotional on prayer
Most of us have probably had people in our lives who were difficult and challenging. Let's look at Moses to see how he handled it.
Breathing Room by Sandra Stanley
And I sent messengers to them, saying, “I am doing a great work and I cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and come down to you?”NEHEMIAH 6:3
Every yes to please someone is also a no that may disappoint someone else. We give our time, our money, and our breathing room away until there is nothing but leftovers for the ones we love most.
I admit it: I’m a people-pleaser. (You too?) I’ve realized there’s something incomplete about that title, though. Being a people-pleaser also means I’m a people-disappointer. Working late to please your boss means disappointing your workout buddy by skipping the gym. Joining the book club to please your friends means disappointing your spouse by missing family dinner. See? Every yes to please someone is also a no that may disappoint someone else.If you’re like me, you pay for this people pleasing by giving up your breathing room and trying to do it all. I’ll eat dinner at home and just be a few minutes late to book club! As we wrap up our look at breathing room, I want to share an Old Testament story—specifically one verse—that changed an entire season of my life.
Hundreds of years before Jesus, the city of Jerusalem had been conquered and pretty much destroyed. Rebuilding the walls of the city was urgent, and Nehemiah was the guy leading the project. One day, he received an invitation, and his response became a defining verse for me. Nehemiah said, “…I am doing a great work, and I cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and come down to you?”At the time I first heard this verse, I had three little kids at home, I was homeschooling the oldest, and my husband was launching a church. We had zero breathing room. And yet, it was so hard for me to turn down invitations and opportunities.What I found in Nehemiah’s statement was permission to prioritize the most important people in my life.
Being a mom was my “great work.” I couldn’t “come down” to join that committee or to speak at that women’s event. Saying yes to these things would mean saying no to the “great work” of my family. Ladies, we can give ourselves, our time, our money, and our breathing room away until there is nothing but leftovers for the ones we love most. Instead, let’s bring back our breathing room by giving our loved ones first dibs. And to everything else, we can simply reply, “I am doing a great work and I cannot come down.”
Faith Matters with Brian and Andi Hale
Breathing Room by Sandra Stanley
How you manage your money matters to God because the bottom line of your bank account may keep you from being able to say yes to what he’s calling you to do.
Faith Matters with Brian and Andi Hale
Reading Breathing Room by Sandra Stanley - Day 3
Knowing that your time is limited forces you to limit what you do with your time.
So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. PSALM 90:12
Faith Matterw with Brian and Andi Hale
Breathing Room by Sandra Stanley
Trusting God instead of gritting our teeth and pushing past our limits is the way to finally, permanently find breathing room.
When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me? PSALM 56:3-4
Faith Matters with Brian and Andi Hale
Breathing Room by Sandra Stanley
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.PSALM 23:1-3
In the chaotic everyday pace of meetings, events, obligations, carpooling kids, caring for parents, serving others, finding “me time,” running errands, running across town, running myself ragged, and running out of energy . . . I sometimes want to literally “lie down in green pastures,” or sit “beside quiet waters.” (Though I’d settle for just a cup of coffee on the back porch. You too?)We need breathing room.
Breathing room is the space between your pace and your limit.
Faith Matters with Brian and Andi Hale
Chasing Failure by Ryan Leak
Let failure remind you that you are getting closer and closer every day to achieving what you once thought was impossible.
Faith Matters with Brian and Andi Hale
Chasing Faliure by Ryan Leak
Doing the right thing for the right reason is like failure insurance. In the process of failing, try to treat people well and do everything with a high level of integrity.
Faith Matters with Brian and Andi Hale
Chasing Failure by Ryan Leak
We can fight against shame in three key areas: our expectation of perfection, the temptation to shame others, and the way we talk to ourselves.
Faith Matterw with Brian and Andi Hale
Chasing Failure by Ryan Leak
God has created each of us with a deep need to do something of great significance—something to reach our full potential and help others reach theirs as well.
from Chasing Failure by Ryan Leak
In my twenties my goal was to be in the NBA. As I trained, I had the opportunity to compete against a few former NBA players, and I quickly realized I was headed toward failure, so I decided to abort pursuing that dream. The thought of failure stopped me. A few years later I thought, “Why?” So I decided I was going to pursue my dream of playing in the NBA anyway. I had never failed at becoming an NBA player before, so how could I know the outcome without even trying? And what’s so scary about failing anyway?
This was the day I decided to start chasing failure. I managed to arrange a tryout with the Phoenix Suns, and I failed. It was one of the best days of my life. Something happened in Phoenix that I don’t believe could have happened in the comfort of my own home: the fear of failure was broken off in my life...
LISTEN to this devotional with Brian and Andi Hale above, or PURCHASE Ryan's book here...
https://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/easy_find?Ntt=chasing+failure+ryan+leak&N=0&Ntk=keywords&action=Search&Ne=0&event=ESRCG&nav_search=1&cms=1&ps_exit=RETURN%7Clegacy&ps_domain=www
Faith Matters with Brian and Andi Hale
Why Are You So Mad?, a devotional by Gregg Matte on Youversion
Dive Deep into Your Heart
One of the hardest things to do in life is to examine yourself. Let me encourage you to dive deep into your heart and ask these questions.
Faith Matters with Brian and Andi Hale
Why Are You So Mad?, a devotional by Gregg Matte on Youversion
The Devil’s Opportunity
When we choose to carry our anger into the following day, we allow Satan to hurt our relationship with God, others, and ourselves.
Faith Matters with Brian and Andi Hale
Why Are You So Mad?, a devotional by Gregg Matte on Youversion
What is the Result of your Anger?
We must pay attention to the fruit of our anger. If it does not result in us helping others, then we must address it “before the sun goes down.”
Faith Matters with Brian and Andi Hale
Why Are You So Mad?, a devotional by Gregg Matte on Youversion
Why are you angry?
Anger is at the surface, but the emotion that triggers it is the root of the problem. Are you angry because of your preferences or God’s purposes are being challenged.
Faith Matters with Brian and Andi Hale
Why Are You So Mad?, a devotional by Gregg Matte on Youversion
Be Angry but Do Not Sin
The reaction of anger is normal, but the problem is that it can become sinful. The results of anger can hurt us and our relationships.
Andi and Brian Hale bring you good news in a world of darkness with daily devotionals, book reviews, and stories of faith. You can LISTEN IN or READ!
PRACTICING GRATITUDE
Celebrate the Good
The Bible promises that seeing the good in daily life leads to peace.
Andi and Brian Hale bring you good news in a world of darkness with daily devotionals, book reviews, and stories of faith. You can LISTEN IN or READ!
PRACTICING GRATITUDE
Stop Comparing Good
When you’re trying to fan your flame of gratitude, comparison douses it like a bucket of ice water.
Andi and Brian Hale bring you good news in a world of darkness with daily devotionals, book reviews, and stories of faith. You can LISTEN IN or READ!
PRACTICING GRATITUDE
Point Out the Good
Saying “thank you” isn’t something you grow out of when you leave childhood.
Andi and Brian Hale bring you good news in a world of darkness with daily devotionals, book reviews, and stories of faith. You can LISTEN IN or READ!
PRACTICING GRATITUDE
Focus on the Good
It’s easy to notice the good around you when things are going well. It can be harder to practice gratitude when things go poorly.
Andi and Brian Hale bring you good news in a world of darkness with daily devotionals, book reviews, and stories of faith. You can LISTEN IN or READ!
PRACTICING GRATITUDE
Notice the Good
Gratitude is a spiritual practice of seeing and celebrating the good in the world around you. This is easier said than done.
Faith Matters with Brian and Andi Hale
Killing Comparison by Nona Jones
No man or woman is a threat to the purpose God has placed within you. You don’t have to measure yourself against someone else because there is no comparison.
Faith Matters with Brian and Andi Hale
Killing Comparison by Nona Jones
What if we made an intentional effort to include, celebrate, encourage, and affirm people when we’re feeling left out, overlooked, discouraged, and not good enough?
Faith Matters iwth Brian and Andi Hale
Killing Comparison with Nona Jones
Toxic comparison’s power infected my heart. It made me believe that, if I achieved a certain physical appearance, I would finally be beautiful.
Faith Matters with Brian and Andi Hale
Killing Comparison by Nona Jones
For much of my life I struggled with feeling left out, overlooked, and unwanted. My mind flooded with questions like, “why wasn’t I invited?” “Why was I left out?” “Why wasn’t I good enough?”
Faith Matters with Brian and Andi Hale
Killing Comparison by Nona Jones
Insecurity is at epic levels around the world because many of us see other people’s success as our failure. But why is this? And how do we get free from it?
Faith Matters with Brian and Andi Hale
Our review of the Book of Signs by Dr. David Jeremiah. This is chapter 26, Armegeddon
Armageddon. The very word chills the soul. There ar eprobably very few adults who ar enot familiar with that word and what it implies. This war, called Armageddon, makes all the wars fought to date look like minor skirmishes It will draw the final curtain on modern civilization.
Faith Matters with Brian and Andi Hale
A devotional from UncomMen called SOIL on Youversion
Jesus Christ is the seed. We’re made good soil by His perfect works.
Faith Matters with Brian and Andi Hale
A devotional from Uncommen entitled Soil on Youversion
They persecuted Jesus. They will persecute us. We should expect it. In fact, Matthew 5:10 says it’s a blessing.
Faith Matters with Brian and Andi Hale
A devotional from Uncommen titled Soil on Youversion
How many times do I care more about the world and riches and whatever else than I do my faith? Shouldn’t I be devoting everything in my life to serving him?
Faith Matters with Brian and Andi Hale
The parable of the sower in Matthew 13
If faith wasn’t planted, it wasn’t deep enough to withstand difficult times. When the storm came, it took the faith with it.
Faith Matters with Brian and Andi Hale
The parable of the sower in Matthew 13
God is the one who changes hearts. We can’t force them to have an interest in the Gospel; it must come from God.
Faith Matters with Brian and Andi Hale
Our review of the Book of Signs by Dr. David Jeremiah. This is chapter 25, Mark of the Beast.
As citizens of the modern world and participants in a "civilized" culture, we like to think the Holocaust represents the last time a mark will be used for identification as a way of perpetuating evil in our world on such a large scale. But it won't be. Satan plans to use another mark during the Tribulation, the mark of the Beast, and its use will be worldwide.
Faith Matters with Brian and Andi Hale
A devotional from "Get a Grip" by Dr. Doug Weiss on Youversion
When we keep sin hidden in the dark, the problem can seem overwhelming. But when our situation is brought into the light, we can look at it for what it is and deal with it honestly.
Faith Matters with Brian and Andi Hale
A devotional from "Get a Grip" by Dr. Doug Weiss on Youversion
Forgiveness allows you to rest in the peace that you are being obedient to God. A person is never free when weighed down with bitterness.
Faith Matters with Brian and Andi Hale
A devotional from "get a Grip" by Dr. Doug Weiss on Youversion
Regardless of the past, healing can take place. It can be hard and requires some patience but the results are nothing short of marvelous.
Faith Matters with Brian and Andi Hale
A devotional from "Get a Grip" by Dr. Doug Weiss on Youversion
Identifying your scapegoats is a key way to move through some of the blocks that have kept you from getting a grip on your behaviors.
Faith Matters with Brian and Andi Hale
From the devoational "Get a Grip" by Dr. Doug Weiss on Youversion
If you feel like something has taken control over your life, and you’d like to break free from it, don’t worry. There is hope.
Faith Matters with Brian and Andi Hale
Our review of the Book of Signs by Dr. David Jeremiah. This is chapter 25, The Dragon.
It seems there is more evil operating in the world than mere human sin can account for. Satan, the lord of death, is our perennial adversary, the archenemy of God and His creation.
A day is coming when Satan's thrashing will cease. We are in the thrashing time and the temptation is to despair. We have to remember, though, that it won't last forever.
Faith Matters Devotional with Brian and Andi Hale
Don't Believe the Lie!
Getting Unstuck by Meredith Schafer on Youversion
The enemy would love to keep you from getting unstuck because that would mean you aren't making progress on the destiny the Lord has given you.
He may whisper in your ear that you'll always be here, that there is no way out. He might tell you you're not good enough; you don't have enough education, you're too old, you're too poor, you don't have what it takes. He might make you believe that being stuck is the only thing you're good for.
He is a liar!
Some truth: You are a child of God. You are an heir to the throne. You were created for this moment to do whatever God has called you to do.
Is This All There Is?
One of the most insidious ways we get stuck is to buy into the lie that this is all there is. That the place you are now is the best you can hope for, so why bother trying anymore?
This goes directly against the word of God that says, Never doubt God's mighty power to work in you and accomplish all this. He will achieve infinitely more than your greatest request, your most unbelievable dream, and exceed your wildest imagination! He will outdo them all, for his miraculous power constantly energizes you. (Ephesians 3:20 TPT)
This isn't all there is, in this world or the next.
God's plan for you is bigger and more amazing than ever imagined. Being stuck is just part of the journey, but it doesn't have to be all there is for you.
God's promises are for you in this time and this season, no matter how deep that rut is that you're stuck in. His plans are good, and he is always working and moving to accomplish them.
It doesn't matter how long you have been stuck, how difficult it will be to get unstuck, or how discouraged or disappointed you have become. God has the way out; he has the way forward.
He is the Way.
Action: Ask yourself what lies you have been believing. Then remind yourself of the promises in Ephesians 3:20 and Jeremiah 29:11. Read them aloud over and over if you need to until you believe what God says. Those promises are yours!
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, Ephesians 3:20
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11
Prayer: God of the Way, I trust your plans are for me and my good, even if it doesn't feel like that right now. I may be stuck, but this isn't all there is, according to your words. I am clinging to your promises that you will help me get unstuck because your plans for me are good. Help me believe that you have more for me than this, and help me not to accept the lies of the enemy. Thank you for getting me unstuck! In Jesus' name, amen.
Faith Matters Podcast with Andi and Brian Hale
Fight Disappointment
Getting Unstuck by Meredith Schafer on Youversion
When we are stuck, not only do we have to be vigilant to guard against discouragement, but we also have to fight disappointment that can feel like a cold, soggy blanket thrown over our lives.
Disappointment can make us ruminate on the decision that cost us, the hurt that came to us through no fault of our own, or the dry bones of our dreams that we can’t bear to look at anymore.
Disappointment is a destiny-killer. But it doesn’t have to be.
Disappointment is a tool the enemy likes to use to keep us stuck, to make us unable to move forward. But when we believe God’s promise that no weapon formed against us will prosper, as Isaiah 54:17 reminds us, we take ground for our dreams.
Put Your Dreams on Notice
To get unstuck, we have to take part in the fight against disappointment by taking back our destinies. If you have ever felt like your dreams were no longer attainable, if you have ever wanted to do or be something other than you are right now, if you feel so stuck in a rut that you’re starting to pick out paint colors, take heart! Even dry bones that hear the word of the Lord must rise again.
Ezekiel 37:4-5 paints a picture that translates to the dry bones of our dreams: Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live.”
Ezekiel prophesied the word of the Lord to dead things, and they became alive!
Putting your dreams on notice is prophesying to them that God’s not finished yet, and you have the faith to keep going until they come to fruition.
Create New VisionSometimes we get disappointed because our vision for our destiny has gotten cloudy or dusty in that stuck place, and we can’t see as clearly as we need to to keep going. This is a great place to ask God for a new vision.
When he gives you the new vision, the next steps, the way out of that rut, get excited, friend! The dry bones of your dreams can no longer be dusty and lifeless when activated by the word and hand of God.
Keep fighting disappointment, knowing that the Lord has your back. Whatever he has put in motion cannot be stopped, even by getting stuck.
Action: Speak Ezekiel 37:4-5 over your dreams. You might feel awkward or weird at first but speaking the word of the Lord is the most powerful thing you can do.Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. Ezekiel 37:4-5
"no weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and this is their vindication from me,” declares the Lord. Isaiah 54:17
Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Joshua 1:8
Prayer: God–I need you to help me fight against disappointment. Help me put my dreams on notice that I will no longer be stuck in this place. Please show me what new vision you have for my life, and then give me the courage to implement it. Thank you for making dead things come to life! In Jesus’ precious and mighty name, amen.
Guard Against Discouragement
Getting Unstuck by Meredith Schafer on Youversion
When we fail, when life doesn’t turn out the way we hope, or when someone lets us down, we can feel discouraged–that is a natural human response.
We get stuck when we stay in that place of discouragement too long (or can’t figure out how to move out of it).There will be times when discouragement overwhelms us. But we can get unstuck when we begin to think about the things of God: things that are true, noble, lovely, excellent, and of good report, just as Philippians 4:8 reminds us. When we start meditating on those things instead of the ways we are disappointed, that can go a long way toward moving forward.
Change Your Perspective
If you want to supercharge getting unstuck, try to look at things from a new perspective. Did your best friend hurt your feelings? Zoom out to see if something else is going on. Were they having a bad day, or did their words come from their own place of hurt?
Maybe you are discouraged because you didn’t get your dream job despite your best efforts or being qualified for it. If you can begin to look through the lens of gratitude for the ways God has shown up for you before, it can keep you from sitting in discouragement too long.
Often, getting unstuck is as simple as changing our minds. Don’t get me wrong: It is ok to feel what you feel. You just can’t stay there.
So, what are other ways to change your perspective? Ask a mentor or trusted friend what their thoughts on your situation are. Play worship music–it is hard to feel discouraged for too long when you begin to praise the Lord. Write out your frustrations; sometimes, dumping them out helps relieve the emotion surrounding them.
It is so hard to feel stuck, but the good news is that you can take action to change your perspective. Getting unstuck may take some time, and it is usually a process, so don’t forget to give yourself a little grace. That, plus a new perspective, can open your eyes to the way out of the rut you find yourself in.
Action: Journal your gratitude, reach out to a friend, pour your heart out to the Lord, or worship. Pick any one of these things to help walk you through the process of getting unstuck.
For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope. Romans 15:4
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:2
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Philippians 4:8
Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Proverbs 4:23
Prayer: God of Heaven and earth, thank you for being with me even in the stuck places. You know the way out, and I put my trust in you. I know you will show me the next step at exactly the right time. Help me guard my heart against discouragement and help me change my perspective. Please show me what I am missing right now. Help me change my mind, in Jesus’ name. Amen!
Unleash Your Creativity
Sometimes we just have to shake things up when we're stuck.
After answering the questions honestly on Day 1, hopefully, you know what has gotten you stuck. Now it is time to do something about it.
Listen in to this Faith Matters podcast with Andi and Brian Hale.
Sometimes we just have to shake things up when we’re stuck.After answering the questions honestly on Day 1, hopefully, you know what has gotten you stuck. Now it is time to do something about it.
You may be thinking to yourself I’m not that creative. But the Bible says we are formed in God’s image and that he is the Creator–that means we are creative, whether or not we feel like we are.So how do we unleash our creativity?
Spend Time with the CreatorWhen we spend time with God regularly, we develop a relationship with him. We hear his voice more clearly, are encouraged by his word, and get inspired by The Creator himself.
Jesus did this a lot. Mark 1:35 (NIV) says Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place where he prayed. Even Jesus had to leave behind the crowds and his disciples so that he could spend time with his Father.
Try Something New
Don’t be afraid to try something new. Jump into that creative flow with both feet: paint a picture, write a song, read a poem, rearrange your furniture, make a necklace, play with clay, or join your kids in a game of tag. Doing something different can change your perspective.
Don’t Forget Self-Care
Burnout, tough times in a relationship, or being under an avalanche of financial worries sometimes makes us forget about ourselves. Remember what you used to do that made you feel like yourself? Do that again!
You are worth it. Even if you don’t have all the answers or still feel stuck, you will begin to feel better if you take good care of yourself. When you feel better, you do better.
Action: Shake things up today: spend time with the Creator in a new way or time. Do something new. Follow that up by doing something good for yourself.
Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 1 Corinthians 6:19
So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. Genesis 1:27
Prayer: Creator of Everything–help me to be more like you! Holy Spirit, show me how to step into the flow of creativity with boldness so we can move out of this stuck place together. Remind me that I am creative because you made me that way–you created me to be creative! Thank you, and I love you. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Faith Matters Podcast with Andi and Brian Hale
Why are you stuck?
Getting Unstuck, a five day devotional from Meredith Shafer on YouVersion with Andi and Brian Hale.
It happens to the best of us. There comes a time when we don’t know which way to go. We can’t figure out the next step, and after a while, we realize we are stuck.
It may seem like you aren’t moving forward because of burnout, an unsatisfying job, a relationship in a tough spot, unmanaged health issues, not knowing your WHY, feeling like you don’t have options or a financial hit. These can leave you feeling stuck in the mud.
But there is a way out.Be HonestTo get unstuck, you have to figure out why you are stuck. Asking yourself hard questions and answering them honestly is a good start. To get where we are going, we must know where we are starting.
Spending time in prayer, journaling, or meditating on God’s word are great ways to get to the heart of the matter. And usually, being stuck is a matter of the heart.
If you don’t drill down to the main issue, you will continue spinning your wheels.
Ask for WisdomSometimes we can’t figure out why we’re not moving forward. Asking God for his wisdom is always a good idea. Jeremiah 33:3 says Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.
God has everything you need to get unstuck. And he will use this season to make you better, stronger, and more capable for the next. When things get hard, that is usually the training ground he has for us.Action: Answer the following questions:
-Am I stuck because of my job, relationship, health, or finances? Is it something else?
-What feelings am I getting stuck in because of my situation?
-Do I have some areas of my heart that I need to declutter to move forward?
Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. Romans 5:3-5
Prayer: Father, I can’t seem to get any traction, and I need your help. Please give me your wisdom, so I know what step to take next. Take all these big emotions I am feeling in this stuck place and heal me. I want to walk out the purpose you have for me, but I can’t do it without you. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Faith Matterw with Brian and Andi Hale
Chapter 23 of The Book of Signs, with Dr. David Jeremiah.
God will not write off the billions of unbelievers groping in darkness after the Rapture. He will send rescuers - voices to proclaim the gospel - offering a secure lifeline out of the depths of their impending doom.
But even amid the horrors of the Tribulation period, some will heed the two witnesses' message of redemption and respond to the loving call of God.
Stressed, Depressed, Hot Mess devotional on Youversion
When we hit the depths of depression or crash from an anxiety attack, we can feel lower than a catfish’s belly button. (I know, catfish don’t have belly buttons, but they’re bottom feeders. You get the picture).
In Psalm 42, the writer owns his depression. He speaks to his soul and says, “Why are you so dark?” Look at verse five and the first part of verse six:
Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. Psalm 42:5-6a
The writer is in the pit of despair. He has no hope. His gut’s growling. Yet it’s as if that still, small voice whispers in his ears, “You’re going to be okay. You need to refocus. Your hope can’t be in yourself. It has to be in God.
”Our souls were created to be filled with Jesus. He gives us health professionals, medicine, godly men and women, and the Church to lower life’s volume or pick us up when we’re down. But none of those can replace Jesus. That’s why His invitation to us is so important as we deal with anxiety and depression. Look at that invitation:
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. Matthew 11:28-30
Jesus is always there with you through your highs, lows, wins, and losses in life. He simply invites you to come to Him. He’s not there to shame you, to tell you that you’re less than something because you’re suffering. Instead, He’s there to provide you hope, love, rest, and relief.
I picture Him standing there with two nail-pierced arms open wide, lovingly looking at you or me, saying, “I know you’re going through something rough. Come to Me. You’re tired; life has put something on you that you can’t do by yourself; that you didn’t bring on yourself. Only I can give you that true rest that you need. Do you want rest for your soul? I promise you that I’ll give it to you. I’m gentle, loving, patient, and kind. Let me help you.”
Will you come to Him?
“Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah Psalms 46:10-11 ESV
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Matt. 11:28-30 ESV
Are you at the end of your rope? Tie a knot and hang on.
Listen in as Andi and Brian Hale read this devotional and hopefully shed some light on any depression or discouragement you are experiencing. We want to be the light in the darkness.
Stressed, Depressed, Hot Mess devotional on Youversion
As someone who has struggled with anxiety and depression, I’ve found the psalms medicinal and life-changing. They’re real. They’re raw. They’re rejuvenating. The beauty of Psalm 42 is how the writer speaks from his gut. He laments as he remembers. Look at verse four:
These things I remember as I pour out my soul: how I used to go with the multitude, leading the procession to the house of God, with shouts of joy and thanksgiving among the festive throng.Psalm 42:4
At one point, the writer (a member of the group of Temple musicians and assistants known as the Sons of Korah) would not only attend worship at the Temple in Jerusalem, he’d lead the people into the Temple. He experienced incredible joy as he worshiped with fellow believers. Now he was no longer there, and it hurt him to the depths of his spirit. He was, in a word, isolated.
When we’re dealing with a season of depression, our natural bent can be to isolate ourselves. When I hit rock bottom in the late spring of 2020, so much was happening. A big issue was that we weren’t meeting as a church. I didn’t realize how much I needed face-to-face time that you simply can’t replicate online. Because of the shelter-in-place order, I couldn’t go into the office.
I was isolated.Psalm 42 was a lifeline for me as I “poured out my soul” to God. I hadn’t forgotten God, and I knew He hadn’t forgotten me. I was in despair. I was at the end of my rope. That was the place from which I prayed.
A key lesson I learned at that time was this: God does some of His best work when you’re at the end of your rope.
God reminded me that my isolation was unhealthy; that I needed to reach out to a couple of trusted friends and ask for their help. As always, my incredible wife, who knows me better than anyone else, ensured I wasn’t isolated.
Through prayer, which was simply, “God, help me,” God showed up as I waited on Him.
It’s hard to do anything when you’re a stressed, depressed, hot mess, let alone pray. But God hears our prayers in all of our times in our lives, especially in the times of anguish when all we can pray is “help me.”
As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?
My tears have been my food day and night, while they say to me all the day long, “Where is your God?” These things I remember, as I pour out my soul: how I would go with the throng and lead them in procession to the house of God with glad shouts and songs of praise, a multitude keeping festival.
Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God. My soul is cast down within me; therefore I remember you from the land of Jordan and of Hermon, from Mount Mizar.
Deep calls to deep at the roar of your waterfalls; all your breakers and your waves have gone over me. By day the Lord commands his steadfast love, and at night his song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life.
I say to God, my rock: “Why have you forgotten me? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?”
As with a deadly wound in my bones, my adversaries taunt me, while they say to me all the day long, “Where is your God?” Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me?Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God. Psalms 42:1-11 ESV
Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name. Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you. Psalms 33:20-22 ESV
Anxiety and depression are beasts. You can’t eat, you can’t sleep. And that’s what’s going on with the writer of Psalm 42. He says these words:My tears have been my food day and night, while men say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”Psalm 42:3
The psalmist is on the Salty Tear Diet. As we look at his predicament, it’s safe to say that he’s not resting. A lack of sleep leads to irritability and an inability, over time, to make wise decisions. Beyond that, our stressed/depressed/hot mess of a writer has critics shooting spiritual arrows at him as they attack the one thing he needs most, faith.
Anxiety and depression are complex issues because face it, we’re complex human beings. Thanks to a fallen world, there are multiple causes of anxiety and depression. It’s easy to simply say, “It’s a faith issue” or “It’s a sin issue” without really understanding the complexity of it all.We tend to forget how the body and the spirit work hand-in-hand when combating invaders such as anxiety and depression. Let me give you a brief example found in the book of Daniel. You may remember the story but if not, allow me to refresh your memory.
Daniel and his teenage friends were exiled to Babylon with the majority of their compatriots. Talk about angst and depression. They’d seen the horrors of war up close and personal. They’d been led as slaves to a foreign land, separated from their families. Then they were thrust immediately into Babylon’s Got Talent.The good news is that they were chosen to be wise men in the king’s palace. The bad news is that life turned their world upside down. They were a stressed, depressed, hot mess trying to figure out this new life.
Don’t miss the significance of this. God placed it on Daniel’s heart to resolve to eat a nutritional diet. The result was a major difference between Team Daniel and the rest of the wise men.What you eat can affect your mind and body, which can affect your spirit.
Remember, the body and spirit work hand-in-hand. Nutrition and exercise help greatly in crash prevention and eventually crash recovery. Combine those two things with Scripture reading and prayer. Over time, those healthy habits will help you fight the beasts.God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. SelahPsalms 46:1-3 ESV
But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king’s food, or with the wine that he drank. Therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself. And God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the chief of the eunuchs, and the chief of the eunuchs said to Daniel, “I fear my Lord the king, who assigned your food and your drink; for why should he see that you were in worse condition than the youths who are of your own age? So you would endanger my head with the king.”Then Daniel said to the steward whom the chief of the eunuchs had assigned over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, “Test your servants for ten days; let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then let our appearance and the appearance of the youths who eat the king’s food be observed by you, and deal with your servants according to what you see.”
So he listened to them in this matter, and tested them for ten days. At the end of ten days it was seen that they were better in appearance and fatter in flesh than all the youths who ate the king’s food. So the steward took away their food and the wine they were to drink, and gave them vegetables.As for these four youths, God gave them learning and skill in all literature and wisdom, and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.
At the end of the time, when the king had commanded that they should be brought in, the chief of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar.Daniel 1:8-18 ESV
Stressed, Depressed, Hot Mess devotional on Youversion.
Anxiety and depression often walk arm-in-arm down the same street. Most of my issues, I thought, stemmed from anxiety. That is until the late spring of 2020. As an associate pastor of a large church stuck in the COVID lockdown, I struggled in my spirit.
* Our state was in a shelter-in-place mode, meaning I was isolated.
* Political turmoil and racial tension rocked our area, meaning I was anxious and depressed over things I couldn’t control.
* I was receiving a lot of criticism about how our church was dealing with the lockdowns, meaning I felt attacked.
I was at the beginning of a head-on collision with a depression episode.
Whether your depression is chronic or episodic, you’ve probably been there, too. The wet blanket descends on you, weighing you down. You don’t know where the feeling came from, but it paralyzes you. Not out of fear. Out of despair. You weep over nothing. You overreact or underreact to things going on around you.
You feel, in a word, helpless. As a result, unhealthy thoughts travel through your unhealthy mind.
The beauty about Jesus is that He meets you right in the midst of your pain and suffering. Sometimes, though, He feels far away. Really. Far. Away.
And that’s what’s happening with our psalmist in today’s verses.
As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? Psalm 42:1-2
The psalmist is suffering from soul thirst. He’s crying out to the living God as if he’s lost in a desert that has not a drop of water. Maybe you haven’t been depressed, but we all go through those dry seasons in which we can’t hear God.
If that’s you today, give yourself the freedom to simply sit in your soul thirst. Own it. Breathe in the words of this entire psalm. Be raw and real, praying your soul thirst to God.
I once heard someone say that God isn’t here to shame us. He’s here to help us. So as you pant for the living water, Jesus, know that He will not leave you nor forsake you. He’s right here with you.
** If you have suicidal thoughts or thoughts of harming yourself, please call the National Suicide Hotline at 1-800-273-8255.
For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken. On God rests my salvation and my glory; my mighty rock, my refuge is God. Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us. Selah Psalms 62:5-8 ESV
It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed. Deuteromy 31:8 ESV
Stressed, Depressed, Hot Mess devotional on Youversion.
I felt the panic attack coming. Tightness in the chest. Check. Inability to focus. Check. Sweaty palms. Check. Heart rate up. Check.
For those of you who’ve been there, you know that one of the worst feelings on the planet is when you’re in the midst of a panic attack.
I’ve had more than a handful in my life. But, as I’ve dealt with my anxiety, I’ve realized this truth: Scripture has a way of defusing it. When I quote or read Scripture, especially during an attack, God calms me. The demons flee when they hear the Word of God.
God’s Word, the Bible, calms the anxious heart and pulls the lowly spirit out of the depths of depression. It does more than that, though.The Bible is God’s voice. When we fall under God’s authority in all areas of our lives, God transforms us in ways unimaginable.
God’s got a lot to say about that.Paul writes these words to his young protégé, Timothy, to remind him of the importance of Scripture:
All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip His people to do every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17
Paul wants Timothy to remember that God’s word is life-changing and useful for us to walk closely with Him. Many of us forget that Paul was referring not only to the letters written by his fellow disciples but the books of the Old Testament.
From hundreds of prophecies fulfilled to archaeological evidence that science supports, the Bible has stood the test of time. Our job is to read it, study it, wrestle with it, and use it to transform our lives, especially as we deal with being stressed, depressed, or a hot mess.If you suffer from panic attacks, attack back:
1) Breathe.
2) Remind yourself that you’re not dying, that this is a panic attack.
3) Turn on some Christian music that you know has soothed you in the past.
4) Pray Scripture promises: Isaiah 41:10; Isaiah 43:1-2; John 8:36; Deuteronomy 31:8.
5) Picture that calm place in your mind, and breathe.
fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10 ESV
But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. Isaiah 43:1-2 ESV
So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. John 8:36 ESV
teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age. Matthew 28:20 ESV
Faith Matters with Brian and Andi Hale
The Book of Signs by Dr. David Jeremiah. This is chapter 22, the 144,000.
In the depths of the Tribulation horrors, the world will witness the greatest spiritual awakening ever to occur on planet earth. Our loving and creative God continually surprises us with methods He devises to care for His people in their darkest hours. During this time, His care will rise through the agency of 144,000 specially-chosen Jewish evangelists.
The Tribulation period will wreak devastation like the earth has never seen. But those who turn to God will experience this new beginning, which will be more glorious than the mind can imagine. God's raising up, sealing, and rewarding His dear 144,000 Jewish evangelists gives evidence that regardless of the depths the world may sink into, God remains sovereign. His plan for ultimate victory will not be thwarted. Because we who trust Him understand that, in our darkest hours we can sing praises to Him with great joy!
Faith Matters with Brian and Andi Hale
The Book of Signs by Dr David Jeremiah. Here we review chapter 21 on Martyrs.
There have been hosts of believers who have been martyred for their faith over the centuries. It has been said that the entire history of redemption is written in the blood of martyers.
Whether we look at history, current events, or the future revealed in Revelation 6, we find tha tpersecution and martyrdom have always accompanied Christianity - and always will. Satan, who in Eden usurped the lordship of this fallen world, is determined to annihilate anyone exuding the aroma of goodness and godliness.
Stand strong in your commitment to Christ regardless of the severity of the cost. Even if it means giving up your own life, what is that compared to the glory of the reward?
Faith Matters with Brian and Andi Hale
This is the Book of Signs by Dr. David Jeremiah chapter 20, The False Prophet
The world has suffered no shortage of false prophets. Throughout history, many self-proclaimed prophets attracted masses of followers and led them either to disappointment or disaster when their predictions failed.
The world has suffered no shortage of false prophets. Throughout history, many self-proclaimed prophets attracted masses of followers and led them either to disappointment or disaster when their predictions failed.
Faith Matters with Brian and Andi Hale
The Book of Signs by Dr. David Jeremiah. This is chapter 19, the Antichrist.
The Antichrist will aggressively live up to his terrible name. He will be Satan's superman, who persecutes, tortures, and kills the people of God, making Hitler, Stalin, and Mao seem weak and tame by comparison.
This chapter discusses the personality, profile and program of the coming world ruler.
Faith Matters with Brian and Andi Hale
The Book of Signs by Dr, David Jeremiah - Today we begin the 4th part of this book, with the first of 9 Tribulation Signs in chapter 18, Four Riders.
There are many people who don't understand the judgement of God. Nor the righteous anger of God. God gives us prophecies, even dark ones, for our own benefit. They serve as a warning.
Through prophecy, God has made the darkness of the world's approaching doom clear to us. When the Tribulation arrives and God's people are taken into heaven, the door will close on those who have heard and rejected the gospel.
I urge you to come to Christ - take it while the Tribulation is still just an approaching shadow. Act now!
Faith Matters Podcast with Andi and Brian Hale
Seek Christ, Seek Wisdom, a 5 day devotional from Vance Jackson
“Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.”Matthew 10:16 KJV
Be wise as a serpent, yet harmless as a dove. Let your actions be ruled by His Word. Let your actions be ruled by His Counsel. Let your actions be ruled by His Power. Let your actions be governed by His Character.
“Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.”Ephesians 4:29 KJV
Let no corrupt communication proceed from your mouth. Let not the toxins of this world entangle and contaminate your words. Let not the corruption of this world contaminate your heart.
Choose to reflect and represent Christ in everything that you do. Choose to represent Christ in Business. Choose to represent Christ in Government. Choose to represent Christ in Media. Choose to represent Christ in every aspect of your life. Let the Wisdom of Christ lead you.
“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” Romans 12:2 KJV
Let not the venomous behavior of the world contaminate your heart. Let not the venomous ways of the world harden your way. For God has given you power to overcome the venomous attacks and tactics of the enemy.
“Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.”Luke 10:19 KJV
Although you’re surrounded by wolves — do not conform to their ways.
For God has given you the wisdom and power to tread upon serpents, scorpions, and all of the power of the enemy. Seek the Counsel of Christ. Seek His Way in everything that you do. Let His Word, Wisdom, Counsel, and Character become the Blueprint of your life.
Faith Matters Podcast with Andi and Brian Hale
Seek Christ, Seek Wisdom, a 5 day devotional from Vance Jackson
“Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.”James 4:8 KJV
Draw nigh to God. Draw nigh to Wisdom. Let His Word purify you. Let His Word cleanse you. Let His Word transform you. Stay close to Wisdom. Let Wisdom rule your heart. Keep your hands clean. Keep your heart pure.
“I wisdom dwell with prudence, and find out knowledge of witty inventions.”Proverbs 8:12 KJV
Let Wisdom dwell richly in the borders of your mind. Let Wisdom dwell richly within the borders of your thoughts. Draw nigh to Christ and let His Word and Wisdom shape the Blueprint of your life.
Let Wisdom lead and focus your heart. Let your heart be resolute. Choose to focus on Christ. Choose to focus on His Word. Choose not to be double-minded. Let not your heart waver. Let His Word, Wisdom, and Counsel navigate your path.
“Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth. Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!”James 3:4-5 KJV
Let your words reflect the Heart of God. Let your words reflect His Counsel. Let your words reflect His Character. Let your words steer the course of your destiny. Let your words steer the framework of your family.Your words have power. Your words have weight. Your words have authority. Your words matter. Let your words steer the course of your life.
“Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.”Proverbs 18:21 KJV
Draw close to Christ. Let His Word lead your lips. Let His Word lead your destiny.
Faith Matters Podcast with Andi and Brian Hale
Seek Christ, Seek Wisdom, a 5 day devotional from Vance Jackson
”Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.”Proverbs 4:7 KJV
Wisdom is the principal thing. Let the Wisdom of God lead your path. Let Wisdom build out the fabric of your heart. Let the Wisdom of God build out the framework of your ‘Thought Life’. Let His Word lead your thoughts. Let His Word lead your way.
“The beginning of Wisdom is: get Wisdom (skillful and godly Wisdom)! [For skillful and godly Wisdom is the principal thing.] And with all you have gotten, get understanding (discernment, comprehension, and interpretation).”Proverbs 4:7 AMPC
Let the Wisdom of God reign in every area of your life. Let God’s Wisdom lead and rule every aspect of your language. Let the Wisdom of God lead your conduct. Let the Wisdom of God lead your character in private and in public. Let the Wisdom of God establish the foundation of your heart.
The Amplified Version expounds on Proverbs 2:6 AMPC, in the following manner,“For the Lord gives skillful and godly Wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.”
Wisdom comes from the Heart and Mouth of Christ.
“If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.” James 1:5 KJV
If you lack Wisdom — ask God for Wisdom. If you lack Guidance — ask God for Wisdom. If you lack Direction, Instruction, and Insight — ask God for Wisdom. Our Loving and Powerful God gives Wisdom liberally. Let God lead every aspect of your life.
Faith Matters Podcast with Andi and Brian Hale
Seek Christ, Seek Wisdom, a 5 day devotional from Vance Jackson
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.”Proverbs 3:5-6 NLT
According to Strong’s Concordance the Hebrew word for “Trust” is, ‘batach’ (H982) which means, “To have confidence.” Have confidence in Christ. Trust Him. Trust in His Way of doing things. Seek His Will in all that you do. Seek His Will and He’ll show you what path to take. His Word is His Will. His Word is His Counsel. Let His Word light your path.
“Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.”Psalms 119:105 NLT
Let His Word light the course of your destiny. Seek His Way. Seek His Counsel. Seek His Wisdom. Seek to follow and obey the Principles and Precepts of Christ.
Let His Word shape the framework of your family. Let His Word shape the framework of your heart. Let His Word shape the framework of your career. Let His Word shape the framework of your house. His Word is more powerful than any weapon of the enemy.
Hebrews 4:12 AMPC declares,“For the Word that God speaks is alive and full of power [making it active, operative, energizing, and effective]; it is sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating to the dividing line of the breath of life (soul) and [the immortal] spirit, and of joints and marrow [of the deepest parts of our nature], exposing and sifting and analyzing and judging the very thoughts and purposes of the heart.”
Let His Word sift, shift, and transform your heart. Place your trust in Christ. Put your trust in His Word.
Faith Matters Podcast with Andi and Brian Hale
Seek Christ, Seek Wisdom, a 5 day devotional from Vance Jackson
“Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:” Isaiah 55:6 KJV
According to Strong’s Concordance, the Hebrew word for, ‘Seek’, used in Isaiah 55:6 KJV, is ‘Darash’ (H1875) which means, “To resort to, seek with care, inquire, require, to worship.”
Choose to seek God. Choose to diligently seek the Counsel of Christ. Choose to inquire and seek His Wisdom. Let His Word lead you. Let His Word guide you. Let His Word direct your course.
Choose to follow, worship, and honor His Word. May His Word transform you. May His Word keep you. May you keep His Word close to your heart. May you seek God while He may be found. May you seek Him while He may be near. May you keep Christ the King close to your heart.
The Amplified Version expounds on Isaiah 55:6 AMPC in the following manner,“Seek, inquire for, and require the Lord while He may be found [claiming Him by necessity and by right]; call upon Him while He is near.”Call upon Christ — for He is near.
Call upon Christ in every season of life. Call upon Christ when things are going well. Call upon Christ when things aren’t going so well. Call upon Him throughout the day. Choose to lean upon His Word in every season of life. Call upon Christ in your time of need. Choose to seek Christ early in the situation. Choose to seek Him in all matters. Choose to seek His Way in private matters. Choose to seek His Way in public affairs. Choose to seek Christ in everything that you do. Let the Word, Power, and Hand of God direct your path.
Find Your People, Day 5
By Jennie Allen
Ephesians 2 tells us that we—you and I and everyone ever to live—were dead in our trespasses and sins and that we were children of wrath, meaning that we deserved for God to send a meteor our way. “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ” (Ephesians 2:3-5).
Jesus rescuing us from our sin and giving us a way out changes not only our eternal future with Him, but also empowers us to love like Him here. “All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:18).
You and I are to give that reconciliation and hope away to living, breathing, broken, longing people. God purposefully set you in your place and in your time to love people in such a way that they will feel their way toward Him and find Him.
Jesus not only provides the means to live a full, thriving life with each other and with Father God, He also modeled how it would look! He laughed and learned and sang and grew up in the context of a village. He found His people in unexpected places, not universities or temples. His people were prostitutes, uneducated fishermen, hated tax collectors, children, and mothers-in-law. They were often, by any onlooker’s estimation, the wrong ethnicity, the wrong gender, the wrong age, the wrong status, the wrong personality type, the wrong people.Jesus’s people were all wrong—except that they were willing. And they were wanting. And they were all in.
Jesus made a habit of pushing away crowds and eating with His twelve. Within that twelve, there were three He spent the most time with. But what began in a village with a tight group of people would reach generations and the ends of the earth. This is the endgame of community: we find our people, and together we build safe, beautiful outposts that offer the love of God.
God, in this weary, tired world it feels like just more work to be “all in” with people who have hurt us or could hurt us. Help me to focus on the endgame: building a community, a circle of friends, that can be a beautiful beacon of Your love. May nothing stand in the way of the relationships You are preparing for me. Amen.
I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. John 15:15
But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God. Ephesians 2:4-8
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 2 Corinthians 5:17-19
Find Your People, Day 4
By Jennie Allen
Nothing in my relational life has helped me more than coming to terms with these simple truths: You will disappoint me. I will disappoint you. God will never disappoint us.
Accepting this shifts our expectations from people to God. And He can handle our expectations. But because our current world has been built on such rampant independence, it will take deliberate intention to return to the kinds of relationships that God had in mind for us to enjoy.
The most frequent question I am asked online is “How do I make friends?”
This is something sixty-year-olds are asking, twenty-five-year-olds are asking, and young moms are asking. I get it, because the art of making and keeping friends was never really spelled out for most of us.
But is it possible that we are asking the wrong question? What if that intimate circle we’re craving is actually found in the wider network of the village that we’ve been missing?
We wait for those perfect few friends to come along, and then we look to them to be everything to us. What if the power of a little team of friends is that each one brings different things to your life?
I have fun friends who always make me laugh. I have wise friends who give me advice and call me out. I have encouraging friends who cheer me on and tell me what I’m doing well. I have challenging friends who disrupt my thinking or push me to take greater risks.
If I expected one or two people to fill all those roles, no one would ever hit the mark. Also true: if I didn’t appreciate the unique roles my friends play in my life, I might be mad that my “challenger” friend doesn’t encourage me more, or my “wise” friend isn’t fun all the time.
If I start to see that God has put different people in my life to bless me in different ways, then I can both embrace who they are and rest in what I bring to those relationships.
Maybe the question we are really asking behind the question of “How do I make friends?” is this: “How can I belong to an intimate community of people?”
God, what “village” do You have for me? How can I grow in intimacy with that community? I pray for eyes to see how different people in my life show me different aspects of You. Amen.
As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another. Proverbs 27:17
Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. Galatians 6:2
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. 1 John 1:7
Find Your People, Day 3
By Jennie Allen
So if this plan is so good for us, why don’t we just prioritize this plan, fight for this plan, and make this plan unfold every day of our lives?
Two words: the enemy. If deep, loving, intimate connection is God’s goal, then the enemy might hate nothing more than for you and me to enjoy deep, loving, intimate connection!
No wonder it feels like every aspect of our lives is stacked against our connection to other people. It is.
The Bible warns us, “Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8).
We are called to be a community of people, on a mission, delighting in God, delighting in each other, redeemed and reconciling the world, inviting them into this family.
Yes, community is to encourage you. Yes, it is to comfort you. Yes, it is to fight for you. But ultimately community is meant to open the doors wide to every person on earth and invite them into a family that exists forever with God.
And so of course the enemy wants to divide us. He wants to see us fighting against each other rather than for each other.
We must understand the war we’re in. As Paul says in 2 Corinthians, “we are not ignorant of [Satan’s] designs” (2 Corinthians 2:11). Satan knows that we have no better defensive weapon in life than having the people who love God rally around us, fight for us, and fight with us.
So how the heck are we supposed to fight terrifying stats of loneliness, the devil and his plan to sabotage connection, and the fundamental way that society is set up, and instead build what God cares most about?
You know the saying, “It takes a village to raise a child.”
Well, it takes a village to create a full and thriving life for us adults too. But this village living will not happen by accident. We’ll have to build a new life.
God, sometimes I feel as if my circumstances and our culture and my past hurts make it impossible for me to have a real connection with others. But I know that You are greater than the enemy who is in the world! Show me how to fight for the relationships You want me to have. Amen.
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.Ephesians 6:10-13
in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.2 Corinthians 2:11
Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.1 Peter 5:8
Day 2
The Center of Our Affections
The fact that we were made in the image of God, who is relationship, means our longing for healthy, mutually submissive, supportive, interdependent relationships isn’t simply us craving something good for us, like vegetables or vitamins; we are craving the fundamental reason we were created. We weren’t just built for community; we were built because of it. Woven into the fiber of our souls is a pattern for experiencing an intimate relationship with God and then expressing that love in our families and communities and churches.
How arrogant are we to think that even though the God of the universe exists in a community, our little fragile finite selves can survive without it!
But here is where we go wrong. We look to people to complete and fill what only God was meant to fill. This is the primary reason we all are so unhappy with each other. We have put our hope in imperfect people. But that hope can be answered only in God Himself. Eternity was set in our hearts, Ecclesiastes 3:11 says, which means only a relationship with an eternal God can fill our hearts.
If God is in the center of our relational circle, we will be fulfilled, and out of that fulfillment, we can bless others. But if people are in the center of our relational circle, we end up pulling on others to meet needs that they can’t ever fully meet.
Jesus said it clearest. When asked to name the greatest commandment, He said all the commandments could be boiled down to this: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37-39).
When you have God in the right place, at the center of your affections, you will more likely get people right. Your relationship with God comes first, and that relationship is meant to send you into loving others.
God, forgive me for so often valuing others’ opinions of me more than what You think of me. For putting hope in things and relationships that can never satisfy me like You can because they were never meant to. I want You to be the center of my life so that I can love others well. Amen.
Find Your People, Day 1
By Jennie Allen
Loneliness. Do you feel it too? That sinking feeling that you aren’t seen, you aren’t known, and you are on your own to face whatever difficult thing life is throwing at you. Do you ever wonder if maybe you’re the only person who feels this alone? You aren’t, by the way.
You aren’t alone in feeling alone.
I struggle with loneliness more than I like to admit. I’m not good at being needy. I’m needy, just not good at admitting it. And that has consistently damaged my relationships.
I’ve hurt people.
They’ve hurt me.
I have failed my friends. Some have forgiven me, and some have walked away. While I’m doing better than I used to, I’m far from perfect in this area. And yet I’m going to keep working at it. Because the more I look into the why of our neediness and the problem of our loneliness, the more convinced I am that at our core we are made to be fully known and fully loved. Loved and known regularly and over time by family members, close friends, mentors, coworkers. God built us for deep connection to be part of our day-in, day-out lives, not just once in a while in the presence of a paid therapist.
In fact, God existed in a relationship with Himself before any of us were here. It’s called the Trinity. God is one, and God is three.
Scripture says that the Son exists to glorify the Father and that the Father exists to glorify the Son. It says that the Spirit exists to glorify them both. (See John 16-17.) What that means is that they help each other, they promote each other, they serve each other, and they love each other. What’s more, this exchange has been going on for all eternity.
It means that our God has been relational forever. It means that He created us out of a relationship for a relationship—and not a relationship that is surface level or self-seeking. No, the relationship He has in mind for us is a sacrificial, intimate, moment-by-moment connection.
Relational. It’s who we are because it’s who God is.
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
Genesis 1:1-2
And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.
John 17:5
The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
Colossians 1:15-17
God, I need You! And I need others around me. You created me for You and You created me for relationships. What connections are you calling me to today? Amen.
Centered, Day 5
By Jason Brown, from the book Centered: Trading Your Plans for a Life That Matters
First Fruits Farm, when you get down to its bare essentials, is just a thousand acres of dirt. It’s filled with plenty of other things: trees and ponds and barns and crops, and the dirt might be the last thing you see. To most people’s eyes, dirt’s not much to look at. It’s brown and boring. Get dirt on your hands, and you scrub it away with soap and water. Get mud on your shoes, and you scrape it off. We don’t like dirt. It’s about the lowest, humblest material on God’s green earth.
But put a seed in that dirt and give it a little sun and water and care, and it grows into something useful, even beautiful.
According to the Bible, we’re made of dirt and formed of dust from the ground. And what does God do? He takes us and plants a seed in us. He molds us in His own image.
Sometimes when we look around the landscape of our lives, we see something dirty. Ugly. We see failures and disasters and setbacks. We look at those grimy moments in our lives and wish we could just wash them away. But God uses those moments to grow something good.
Something awesome and true. Something miraculous. He uses humble people, and people who’ve been humbled, to do great works for Him and His kingdom. But we have to trust Him.
We have to allow Him to work through us, even if sometimes it can feel painful.
I look around our farm and think about how good, and how generous, our God is sometimes. How even during the darkest of times—those times when our finances were such that we could barely pay our bills—God sustained us through it all. How He blessed us when we needed it, how He gave us strength and courage when we felt as though we couldn’t take another step in this life. I look at all the miracles He’s given us. I’m not talking about greenhouses or roosters; I’m talking about our children. Our family. Our love for each other.
We have all kinds of needs. But what do I really need? What has been the only thing I’ve ever needed? God.
Just God.
Heavenly Father, I trust that you are good and work for my good. I will remember your sustaining love.
Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
Genesis 2:7
Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.
Matthew 13:8
But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”
Matthew 13:23
But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
2 Corinthians 3:16-18
Centered, Day 4
By Jason Brown, from the book Centered: Trading Your Plans for a Life That Matters
Our God is an awesome God. He can do anything. He is with us.
Most Christians believe this with all their hearts. We know we worship an Almighty Ruler, the Maker of heaven and earth. We say He loves us and is involved in our lives. We say we depend on Him for everything.
But do we ever put it to the test? When I was in the NFL, I worshipped God with my lips but put my real trust in my bank account. We love God if it doesn’t cost us too much. We put our trust in Him as long as we’ve got backup plans in place.
But when we don’t risk, we don’t reap the rewards, either.
After Jesus told me to “pour it all down the drain,” and I did, I wanted to go deeper in my relationship with God. So in a period of calm and comfort, I prayed a new prayer.
“God, You’re amazing,” I said. “You’ve done some amazing things in my life. You’ve just begun writing a beautiful testimony in my life. Make my life something that when people look at me, when people hear my story, they can’t help but see You through it all.”
Then I said something I hadn’t planned on praying. Maybe I knew that for people to see God in my life, they’d need to see, to feel, how much I trusted Him to take care of me, in good times and bad. I wanted to emulate the heroes in the Bible—those people who were so close to the Almighty that they relied on Him as they would a flesh-and-blood father.
With that in mind, I added, “God, I want You to take me to a place where I depend on You. Where I lean on You for everything. Where I cry out to You, God.”
Be careful what you pray for.
When you follow God—truly follow Him, body and soul—you may find, as I have, that God really is with us and that He’s an awesome God indeed. To trust Him leaves you vulnerable. The rains may come. But you know what? You feel the warmth of God’s love on your face too. And sometimes those showers you feel? They’re the showers of blessings.
What do you find difficult to entrust to God? What, if anything, prevents you from praying Jason’s prayer?
Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.
Matthew 16:24-27
In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.
Luke 14:33
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
Romans 5:1-5
Centered, Day 3
By Jason Brown, from the book Centered: Trading Your Plans for a Life That Matters
Ever since First Fruits Farm began, anyone with any financial sense would look at our plans—plans we believe come straight from God—and then look at our bank accounts and say, “This doesn’t add up. How do you expect to [fill in the blank] with what you have?”
My wife and I look at each other and say, “By God’s grace.” Our resources may be paltry, but we’re tied to a kingdom with unlimited wealth and to a generous Father. That doesn’t mean we squander what we have. We need to be good stewards of our resources. And yet those resources, no matter how well we manage them, seem never enough to do what God has asked us to do.
But you know what? Everything we feel He’s asked us to do, and everything for which we’ve gone to Him in prayer, has come to pass. Everything.
When we needed two roosters, I offered up a simple prayer: “God, please help me find a couple of good roosters. Amen.”
Not long after, on a trip into town, we found two roosters wandering along the side of the road.
We’ve seen plenty of wildlife on our way to and from town: dogs, cats, raccoons, deer, even snakes. But never, ever, had I seen a stray rooster, much less two.
“God blesses you in some strange ways,” a friend said of those roosters. “You shouldn’t be surprised, seeing miracle after miracle.”
Set foot on First Fruits Farm and you set foot on a miracle. Every rock, tree, and ripple of water, every squirrel and fish and bird, is a testament to God’s holy power. The nature around us is a declaration of God’s design. The fact that my family is able to enjoy that miracle—to walk through the fields, to gather chicken eggs, to pick fruit, to fish in the lake—is a witness of God’s generosity.
We’re God’s children. And like any good father, our heavenly Father wants the best for us. He wants to shower us with love and blessings that fit in His greater purpose.
What evidence in your circumstances are proof of God’s generosity in your life? How might those blessings reveal God’s purposes for you?
“Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!
Matthew 7:9-11
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
Philippians 4:6
Centered, Day 2
By Jason Brown, from the book Centered: Trading Your Plans for a Life That Matters
My wife and I needed a greenhouse to start seedlings in winter and, in the long run, save some of what little money we had. Greenhouses are expensive. The kind of greenhouse I needed started at $20,000. We had only $2,000 to spend. I couldn’t even buy a dilapidated, used greenhouse for that much. Imagine my shock when the athletic director at a nearby middle school gave me a greenhouse that sat unused in his backyard. His wife wanted it gone.
This greenhouse, built by a previous owner, was a state-of-the-art commercial-grade $100,000 structure—a combination of everything I needed, everything I wanted, and some things I’d never dreamed of. Think about it: If my fortune had been left intact, I would’ve just bought a cheaper greenhouse.
Jesus and Peter were in Capernaum one day when Peter discovered they needed to pay a tax. Jesus asked Peter how much the tax was, and then commanded Peter to go down to the sea and cast his line out. “Take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth, you will find a shekel,” Jesus said. “Take that and give it to [the tax collectors] for me and for yourself.”
This is almost a throwaway little miracle. Jesus seems so nonchalant about it, like finding money in a fish’s mouth happened every day. But if you look at it from Peter’s perspective, the miracle is mind-blowing. He had been a fisherman all his life. He’d probably caught thousands upon thousands of fish in his career—maybe millions. I bet he’d never found money in a fish’s mouth before. But there it is, just like Jesus told him.
If Peter were rich, would that miracle have taken place? Wouldn’t he just have taken a shekel right out of his own bank account? If Peter’s pockets were heavy with coins, would he ever have had a chance to be amazed?
But Peter didn’t have a shekel. He needed a miracle. He needed God to help him out, because he had no other choice.
After Jesus and his disciples arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma temple tax came to Peter and asked, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the temple tax?”
“Yes, he does,” he replied. When Peter came into the house, Jesus was the first to speak. “What do you think, Simon?” he asked. “From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes—from their own children or from others?”
“From others,” Peter answered. “Then the children are exempt,” Jesus said to him. “But so that we may not cause offense, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours.”
Matt. 17:24-27
Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?
“Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith!
Luke 12:22-28
Dear God, I need a “greenhouse miracle” right now. I am dependent on You for everything, because I have no other choice, and because I trust you to meet my every need. Please meet this need in Your perfect way.
Centered, Day 1
By Jason Brown, from the book Centered: Trading Your Plans for a Life That Matters
When you look at the Bible, you may find that not many of its stories focus on rich people. If God’s own plans were governed by spreadsheets, you’d think Jesus would’ve surrounded Himself with rich disciples who could fund His travels, not poor fishermen who couldn’t pay their taxes. Joseph’s family was relatively wealthy back in the day, but it was only when they were poor—when Joseph’s brothers came to Egypt begging for food—that they had a chance to see Joseph’s own amazing, miraculous story. Don’t misunderstand: God uses rich people too. But the poor have a chance to see God operate more powerfully and intimately. They lean on Him because they don’t have their own resources to use as a crutch.
After retiring from the NFL, I thought I’d never be hurting for money again. I was wrong. I lost almost everything through circumstances beyond my control.
I know what it’s like to have a big bank account. I know what it’s like to live a comfortable life. Those who follow a prosperity-gospel form of Christianity believe that God wants us to be comfortable and that He’ll provide us the means to find us that comfort. They think, Oh, I’m going to follow Jesus all the way to a comfortable life. But that’s not what Jesus says at all. He tells us, “Look, if you’re going to be My disciple, you’re going to have to measure the cost.” Even Jesus—the very Son of God—wasn’t comfortable in His time on earth. He wasn’t looking for comfort. He had a job to do.
In the last several years, I’ve learned that having favor from God is worth more than gold and silver. Having that favor—having a real relationship with Him—is priceless, because God is always batting a thousand. I’d never want to go back. I would much rather be in the position I’m in right now: praying to God every single day for my manna, praying for my daily bread. Because when my worldly blessings were gone, the floodgates of heaven were opened for miracles. Through it all, I learned I don’t need an abundance; just give me what I need.
How does having less money than you think you need give you opportunities to trust God instead, for what you truly need?
For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will be no plowing and reaping. But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
Genesis 45:6-7
The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.” Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions.
Exodus 16:3-4
Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”
Luke 9:58
And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’
“Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.
Luke 14:27-33
Spiritual Warfare Battle Plan, Day 5
God has promised us that He will cause our enemies who rise against us to be defeated before our faces. But we can get in the way of our blessing and leave room for the enemy to stand in our faces rather than fleeing seven ways. With that in mind, here are seven tactics to make the devil flee seven ways.
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Diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God
If you love me, keep my commands.
John 14:15 -
Repent before you engage in battle
For the Lord your God is gracious and compassionate. He will not turn his face from you if you return to him.
2 Chronicles 30:9b -
Know that God is on your side
What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
Romans 8:31 NIV -
War from a position of victory
With God we will gain the victory, and he will trample down our enemies.
Psalm 108:13 NIV -
Praise your way through
Praise be to the Lord my Rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle.
Psalm 144:1 NIV -
Take up your armor
Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.
Ephesians 6:11 NIV -
Pray always and be watchful
Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
Mark 14:38 NIV
Breaking the power of vicious circles is often a matter of making better choices, but when it’s a demonic cycle you need to identify the imaginations and wrong thought patterns that are allowing wicked spirits to wreak havoc on your life.
Go forth, spiritual warrior, with praise in your heart and prayer on your lips, dressed for battle. The battle belongs to the Lord, and the devil will flee seven ways. He has no choice when you submit yourself to God and resist him. No demon in hell is stronger than a will aligned with the Word of God. God’s grace floods the soul that seeks first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.
The Lord will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you. They will come at you from one direction but flee from you in seven. The Lord will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to. The Lord your God will bless you in the land he is giving you. The Lord will establish you as his holy people, as he promised you on oath, if you keep the commands of the Lord your God and walk in obedience to him.
Deuteromy 28:7-9 NIV
Spiritual Warfare Battle Plan, Day 4
See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled;
Hebrews 12:15
I was stewing in my own juices. My husband had abandoned me with a two-year-old and tons of debt so he could suddenly start a new life with a woman about half his age in a foreign nation. I was enraged and vengeful. I was bitter—beyond bitter—and it didn’t take the gift of discerning of spirits to see it. I hated him, and I was mad at God.
Bitterness is deadly. Over time, bitterness will defile our spirits and dull our ability to sense the presence of God or hear His voice. If you are mad at God, be honest with Him. Give Him your anger, and He will turn that anger into peace and a greater revelation of His sovereignty if you will let Him.
But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.
Luke 6:35
Lord, I choose to forgive those who hurt me, offended me, abused me, despitefully used me, or wronged me. Help me, Lord, to recognize the enemy’s strategy to trap me in resentment, bitterness, and unforgiveness. Help me not to hold people’s sins against them. Teach me to avoid responding with a judgmental heart when I am hurting. Heal my emotions and renew a right spirit within me. In Jesus’s name, Amen.
Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger,
Ephesians 4:26
And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
Ephesians 4:30-32
Spiritual Warfare Battle Plan, Day 3
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.
Joshua 1:9 NIV
Fear started riddling my soul when I was a small child. I vividly recall seeing the spirit of fear in my bedroom most nights and screaming for my mother. My mother came in with a broom and chased it away, thinking it was merely my overactive imagination at work. But it always came back with a vengeance.
I took you from the ends of the earth, from its farthest corners I called you. I said, ‘You are my servant’; I have chosen you and have not rejected you. So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
Isaiah 41:9-10 NIV
As an adult, after I had suffered many traumatic events, fear dominated my life. Fear’s false feelings were no longer just feelings. I had a legion of fear spirits that impacted every area of my life and manifested in diverse ways.
Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
Matthew 6:26-27 NIV
Fear is your nemesis. It is a master weapon in the enemy’s hand that defies God’s promises in your life. Fear comes to stop you from advancing in God. But you can be free from its stronghold in your mind. You can take authority over fear when it tries to rise up against your soul.
For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.
2 Tim. 1:7 NIV
Father, in the name of Jesus I come to You repenting of giving in to feelings of fear. I rebuke the spirit of fear that is working to entrap me, steal my faith, rob my peace, and otherwise riddle me with anxiety, in Christ’s name. I choose faith, trust, and love. I fear and trust the Lord only, in the name of the Christ. Amen.
Among those nations you will find no repose, no resting place for the sole of your foot. There the Lord will give you an anxious mind, eyes weary with longing, and a despairing heart. In the morning you will say, “If only it were evening!” and in the evening, “If only it were morning!”—because of the terror that will fill your hearts and the sights that your eyes will see.
Deuteromy 28:65, 67 NIV
DAY 2: The Spirit of Jezebel
The spirit of Jezebel seeks to seduce and often works through teaching and prophecy. This spirit seduces the saints into idolatry and immorality. This spirit may use control and manipulation to do it, but ultimately that’s not the end game. Jezebel’s end game is murder. The wages of sin is death, and Jezebel leads people into sin.
Pastors—or anyone, for that matter—who fall into sexual sin are among Jezebel’s trophies. If you are doing anything at all for God, Jezebel wants to cut off your voice. If Jezebel can’t cut off your voice, it will try to pervert your voice by seducing you to defile yourself by tolerating its activity.
Jezebel is not something you can tear down once and for all, but you can break agreement with it and refuse to tolerate it.
Father, I repent for tolerating Jezebel and ask Your forgiveness, in Jesus’s name. I ask You to heal my heart of any detected or undetected hurts, wounds, offenses, pains, pride, rejection, rebellion, or any other open door that may have let or could let Jezebel into my life.
I break Jezebel’s witchcraft, controlling powers, flatteries, deception, word curses, fearful assaults, false accusations, polluted prophetic utterances, subtle seductions, sorceries, intimidations, and other foul operations, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
DAY 1: The Battle Against Evil
When I got saved, I thought I’d spend my life walking beside still waters and lying down in green pastures. I had no idea embracing Jesus as the captain of my salvation meant I was enlisting as a soldier in the army of God.
I’ve since learned that believers are soldiers and Jesus did not come to bring peace but a sword. I’ve discovered that I’m more than a conqueror in Christ, which also tells me ungodly and unseen forces are trying to conquer me.
Keep this truth in mind: the enemy comes to kill, steal, and destroy. Every demon has the same mission. How they go about it—their strategies and tactics—are different. A spirit of fear attacks your faith, for example, while a spirit of rejection attacks your identity. Satan is strategic. His army is highly organized, and he is sending specific spirits against believers to derail them from their kingdom purpose.
My prayer is that you will gain discernment to identify spirits opposing your life—and the lives of those you love—and develop spiritual skills to battle back. Spiritual bondage can manifest in many ways, but the good news is that victory can be ours. By walking in our God-given authority, we can effectively do battle and win in warfare.
What is sin?
Think back to a decision you made recently that didn’t honor God. Maybe in the moment, the choice felt fun, or maybe you didn’t know how to say “no.” Maybe you just felt stuck or tired, and you didn’t see any alternative. We’ve all done things that weigh us down and make us wonder, “Why do I seem to do what I know is wrong?
”The world encourages us to “follow our hearts,” but our feelings can easily trick us into doing things that don’t align with God’s will.
In Scripture, sin is often used to describe actions that miss the target God has asked us to aim for: living a life centered around loving God and others. While there are universal actions that dishonor God, small acts of disobedience also pull us away from Him. The apostle James wrote that “it is a sin to know what the right thing to do is, and then not do it.”In other words, if you know what God is asking you to do, yet you still decide to disobey Him—then you’re undermining God’s authority in your life. Sin entices us because it is self-gratifying, but it results in eternal separation from God and others.
How do we change?
Jesus’ voluntary sacrifice and separation from God led to our reconciliation with Him. None of this is because we deserved it, but because God always desired it. God wants to help us change because He knew we couldn’t overcome sin on our own.
So if you don’t know Jesus, the first step you can take to overcome sin is to invite Him to transform your life.
But if you already belong to Jesus—He has given you the grace, strength, and forgiveness you need to live a life that honors Him. So when you make choices you later regret, here are three practical action steps you can take:
- Keep drawing near to God every day.
The more time you spend with God, the more you will want to honor Him and do His will. Over time, God will transform your mind and change the way you think.
- Get connected to community.
The people who surround you will influence the choices you make. Consider asking some people you know and admire to draw near to God with you.
- Ask God to search your heart.
We can only change when we allow God to change us. Consider praying the following prayer each day, and ask God to transform you: God, I don’t want to take part in bad habits or poor decisions that don’t lead to an abundant life. So please search me, and know my heart. Test my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends You, and lead me along the path of everlasting life. Renew my mind so that I can know what Your will is, and walk in it. Here I am, Lord. I surrender—I am Yours.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.
What’s baptism and why does it matter?
When you think of “baptism,” what comes to mind? If you said “dunking someone in water”—you’re not wrong! Many churches have different approaches to baptism, but the ultimate purpose of baptism is to outwardly express an inward change. It is both a symbolic expression of faith and an act of obedient surrender and repentance, which is why it’s the natural next step someone takes after they make a decision to believe in and follow Christ.
This public act allows us to identify with Christ’s death and resurrection, repent from the way we used to live, and celebrate the new, eternal life we have because of Jesus’ sacrifice.
But even before Jesus came to earth, God symbolizes His ability to redeem people and make them new by having them pass through water. It happened to the Israelites as they crossed the Red Sea, and again when they crossed the Jordan River. It occurs to Naaman the leprous commander in 2 Kings who is healed once he dips in the Jordan River seven times. (And these are just a few examples!) In each of these instances, God prophetically showcases His power and glory by using water to illustrate His ability to cleanse, heal, restore, and redeem.
When Jesus comes, He publicly confirms His commitment to God through baptism. And by doing so, He also foreshadows what will happen when He dies for humanity and arises from the dead three days later. So when we take part in baptism, we are choosing to live like Jesus by following His example. We are choosing to let God redeem and heal us by dying to our old selves and allowing Him to raise us up to a new life.
Baptism matters because it’s something that Jesus exemplified, and commanded His disciples to do. So as you process what baptism means to you, look for opportunities to bring others along with you. Talk to them about what it means to follow Jesus, and consider inviting them to take part in the act of baptism.
Here are some questions you might want to ask…Do you believe you need Jesus?
What does believing in Jesus mean to you?
Do you believe that Jesus died for you and rose again?
What does following Jesus look like?
How have you asked God to forgive you for your past mistakes?
Have you invited Jesus into your life?
Action Step:
Take a few moments today to cultivate discussions about faith with other people who are in different places in their walk with God. Then, reflect on it.
Foundations of Faith
Day 3
Who is the Holy Spirit?
Imagine God’s Spirit hovering over the face of the earth. Everything is dark and without form until God breathes out the words, “Let there be light.” In an instant, everything changes. The light pierces the darkness, and what was once invisible is now seen clearly. This is what God’s Spirit does. He is always close, always near, always bringing to light what was once covered in darkness.
There’s evidence throughout Scripture that the Holy Spirit empowered particular people to take part in His plans and to remind others of His purpose. But Jesus’ sacrificial death and miraculous resurrection changed everything. For the first time in history, anyone who chose to believe in Jesus could receive His Holy Spirit.
The gift of the Holy Spirit is still available. No matter your situation or background, when you belong to Christ, His Holy Spirit is with you at all times, empowering and strengthening you, and praying on your behalf. He understands your needs because He understands you.
And because God understands you, He is always working on your behalf for your good and His glory. This doesn’t mean you won’t endure suffering or encounter hardships. But even in the midst of those trials, God, through the power of His Holy Spirit, will continue to draw you closer to Himself.
But having access to the Holy Spirit and going through life with the Holy Spirit are completely different things. Living a Spirit-filled life requires intentionally seeking God every day.
It’s through intentional time with God that you discover how to love Him, love others, and make disciples. It’s through getting to know God’s character that you become familiar with His Spirit’s power, presence, and authority. And it’s through the power of the Holy Spirit that you become aware of how your actions and choices affect your relationship with God and other people.
Ultimately, the Holy Spirit is available to everyone who becomes a follower of Christ, and He wants to empower you to live in a manner worthy of the calling God has placed on you.
Action Step:
Spend some time meditating on today’s verses. Repeat them slowly and pay attention to any words or phrases about the Holy Spirit that stand out to you. Ask God to show you how He has equipped you with His Spirit, and allow Him to reveal any areas of your life that still need to be transformed by Him.
Who is God?
All of Scripture is an intricate mosaic that reveals a God who is deeply involved in creation and who cares intimately for humanity. And if we believe the Bible to be true, then we have to believe that the God it describes is true in His intentions and unified in His character.
So what does God’s Word tell us about who God is and what He cares about? While the following list is nowhere near exhaustive, let’s take a closer look at four foundational truths about God:
God is Creator and He actively creates.
The word God uses to describe Himself—“Yhwh”— essentially means, “I am who I am” or “I absolutely am.” In other words, He is timeless. He is the beginning of all things and the end of all things. Nothing can exist apart from Him, because all life was created by Him and only exists through Him.
God is righteous and just.
In Jeremiah, God describes Himself as the One who practices “justice and righteousness.” In Scripture, those words often go together. The word “justice” describes a legal decision made by God that results in right actions that honor God’s decrees. God is able to perfectly practice justice and righteousness because He is just and righteous. His decrees and actions are based on His own truthful character.
God is relational.
God created us so that we could experience the joy and love that Heis and then spread that joy and love to others. He does not need us to complete Him, but He wants us to enjoy His presence and partner with Him in caring for His creation.
God is love.
God creates humans with love. He establishes and keeps His covenant with Israel throughout Scripture because of His faithful love. And He sends His only Son to rescue humanity because of His everlasting love. God is able to do all these things because He is love. And so when we delight in God, we get to experience the love that’s beyond our ability to generate.
How do we delight in God?
In John 14, Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” To delight in God, we must first come to know Him. And to know Him, we must know Jesus who created the way through His death and resurrection for us to spend eternity with Him.
Because Jesus became “God with us,” we can have a personal understanding of who God is. We can boldly draw close to Him and experience His love for ourselves. And in drawing close to Him, He makes us righteous and shows us what His justice truly looks like.
Action Step:
Ask God to reveal who He is to you as you study today’s Scripture passages. Create highlights and notes on any words about God’s character and nature that stand out to you, and then reflect on that list throughout the day.
Foundations of Faith
Day 1
What does it mean to be a Christian?We all have an idea of what being a Christian should look like. But if we’re being honest, our views are often influenced by our cultural values, our politics, our background, and what’s currently going on in the world around us. If we were to strip away all those outside influences, what would our faith actually look like?Cultures will change and values will shift, but God’s Word will always reveal the foundations of our beliefs.
So starting today, we’ll take a closer look at some questions about God, the Holy Spirit, sin, and baptism and discover what the Bible tells us about each of them.
But before we get started, keep in mind that the purpose of this Plan isn’t to argue for or against a particular denomination, doctrine, or philosophical position. The purpose is to provide clarity around some common Christian questions by rooting each day in Scripture and providing practical action steps.
So to help us do this, we’re laying out four foundational statements that each day will automatically assume to be true.
1. The God of the Bible is real, true, and perfect.
2. All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for correction and instruction.
3. God’s Word is truth. We can turn to it for trustworthy answers to our questions.
4. As followers of Jesus, we are called to worship God in Spirit and in truth. Basically, if we want to live Holy Spirit-empowered lives, then we need to have a clear understanding of what is true so that we can recognize the Spirit’s promptings. And to clearly understand what is true, we must turn to Scripture—the written documentation of God at work through humanity. By seeking God’s truth we gain a greater understanding of His character, which allows us to confidently walk in His Spirit.
Action Step:
To get the most out of this Plan, try processing each day with a friend, and use the daily content as a starting point for deeper conversations about what it means to know God and make Him known.
Born to Lead
Day 5
We are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
—Ephesians 2:10
With one targeted drop of a piece of an upper millstone from the top of a strong tower, the woman of Thebez saved the lives of all the inhabitants of her city. Their adversary, the heartless, power-hungry King Abimelech was about to set fire to the door of the tower—just as he had recently done in the city of Shechem, where he’d burned 1,000 men and women alive as they sought refuge in a temple. This woman had no delegated authority, and she had no time to seek permission or approval from higher-ups for her proposed actions. She used her resourcefulness and threw down the millstone piece that crushed Abimelech’s skull (Judges 9:53).
Resourcefulness is the ability to find creative ways to solve problems. When faced with challenges, look outside the box for solutions. Confront adverse circumstances with ingenuity and passion. See what others do not and know how to connect the dots to embrace new opportunities.
One benefit of resourcefulness that may be surprising is that it enhances self-development, self-improvement, and self-worth. As you lead, resourcefulness helps you reflect on your current skills and determine if there are any you need to strengthen or develop. All these involve the resolve and resilience of the human spirit. In the book Coach Wooden’s Pyramid of Success, legendary basketball coach John Wooden says, "Resourcefulness is using our wits, proper judgment and common sense to solve problems and meet challenges. It is using initiative in difficult situations and involves inventing, creating, imagining, synthesizing, evaluating, classifying, observing and analyzing solutions to overcome the trials that life throws at us. Resourcefulness is dreaming up ways to meet our goals."
John Wooden had to be resourceful when he lived in a fraternity house at Purdue University. He had trouble studying because there was always so much noise, so he decided to start getting up at 3 a.m. to accomplish the task in peace and quiet. When he needed money, he had to put his resourcefulness to use again, selling food at football games and selling basketball programs during the basketball season. He says that most people would call this an entrepreneurial spirit, but he just saw it as being resourceful.
Here are some questions you can ask yourself to ensure you are making the most of every situation:
• Is there another way to get what I want? If your current plan does not work, prepare a plan B.
• Is my desired outcome really what’s best? You may be going down a wrong path and need to course correct.
• Who else has the information I need? You may not have all the answers, but there is always someone who does. Find that person.
Resourcefulness is a mindset, and to be successful, you must embody characteristics such as discipline, dedication, hard work, confidence, and willingness. If you don’t know the answer, you must find out how to get it. As Ernest Hemingway said, “Now is no time to think of what you do not have. Think of what you can do with what there is.”
In the Bible, we can look to the Proverbs 31 woman as the epitome of resourcefulness. She is described as a woman of excellence in whom her family can place their full confidence. She is a hard-working woman who takes initiative and possesses great strength and courage. She is resourceful with whatever is placed in her hand, skilled in using wool and flax to make clothing for her household. She is a woman of influence, managing her household, servants, money, and land well. The Proverbs 31 woman is both a shrewd seller and a shrewd buyer, and she plans to avoid unforeseen calamities. Most importantly, she fears the Lord, and the text says such a woman is more valuable than rubies.
Resourceful leaders find a way to achieve their goals. They are skilled in thinking creatively, generating ideas, and identifying alternative ways of accomplishing any given activity. Resourceful people are imaginative and can visualize how to achieve the seemingly impossible. Determination enables them to stay the course and emerge victorious.
Those who are the greatest among you should take the lowest rank, and the leader should be like a servant.
—Luke 22:26
Robert K. Greenleaf coined the term servant leadership, saying that it “begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead.” And although Greenleaf coined the term, Jesus coined the concept and explained it to his glory-seeking disciples:
Then they began to argue among themselves about who would be the greatest among them. Jesus told them, ‘In this world the kings and great men lord it over their people, yet they are called “friends of the people.” But among you it will be different. Those who are the greatest among you should take the lowest rank, and the leader should be like a servant.’
—Luke 22: 24-26
Jesus did not measure greatness by the number of people who served him but by the number of people he served.
The effectiveness of a servant leader is not measured by rank or position, rather it’s measured by the legacy the leader leaves behind. All leaders should ask themselves, “Does my leadership cause personal and professional growth in others?”
Servant leaders submit themselves to others voluntarily and not under compulsion. Jesus washed the disciples’ feet, cast out demons, and chastised the Pharisees when he deemed it necessary. He was a strong leader. Servant leaders give selflessly without expecting anything in return.
Servant leaders seek to know the following of those they lead: What are your aspirations? What are your key motivations? How can I help you get from here to there? Because servant leadership embraces self-giving without self-glory, it is an ideal leadership style. Let’s look at a few of the benefits and cautions of this style.
Benefits of Servant Leadership
It’s Not About Just One Person: Many leaders focus on their best interests rather than on the needs of the many. However, servant leaders make decisions that are in the best interest of the organization as a whole rather than just one or two people.
It Improves the Work Culture: Many of us have worked for different companies during our careers, and we can attest that some work cultures are more pleasing than others. When the person at the top is a servant leader, it affects the atmosphere and the people who work there in a positive manner.
It Promotes Customer Retention: Customers often do not know what’s going on behind the scenes in an organization, but they can feel the effects of poor leadership. When employees are unhappy, they pass that on to the customers they serve. In the same way, when employees are happy and love what they do, customers naturally want to do business with them.
It Promotes Innovation: Nothing is more disheartening than to feel that your ideas don’t count. For this reason, servant leaders keep an open mind when their subordinates suggest new ways of doing things. They don’t agree just for the sake of agreeing, but they genuinely consider and embrace those things that would enhance the organization as a whole.
It Keeps the Ego in Check: In a traditional leadership role, the person in charge makes all the decisions, communicates what needs to be done, and then takes credit for the completed project. On the other hand, servant leaders give credit where credit is due to help others reach higher standards of performance.
Whenever you feel like elevating yourself, remember the example of Jesus. Philippians 2:6-7 tells us that Jesus was “in very nature, God, [yet] did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.”
His mission was not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45).
Born To Lead
Day 3
Who gives intuition to the heart and instinct to the mind?
—Job 38:36
We’ve all experienced that moment in time when we were certain of something that we could not logically be sure of. We just “had a feeling” that something was not right or that something was going to happen. That’s intuition—a gut feeling when “something” inside puts you on alert.
Intuition and discernment often work hand in hand, but they are not the same. While intuition refers to a gut feeling or a hunch, discernment helps you wisely recognize and use your intuition when you need it. When looked at this way, we see that intuition isn’t just a reliance on flighty emotions but is grounded in intelligence. Intuition can cause unnecessary fear or worry, and discernment can help you reel in those emotions and not let them incapacitate you.
How to Develop Your Intuition
• Recognize it. Be on alert to recognize when you are having an intuitive moment. If you find yourself thinking about someone more than usual, and they call you up shortly thereafter, it was likely your intuition at work.
• Silence your inner critic. Many times, we try to rationalize away our intuitive thoughts, thinking we should be more logical and rely on facts. The next time you have an intuition about something, don’t analyze it or argue with yourself about it. Give in to it and see what happens. Realizing you were correct will enable you to have more faith in the process the next time.
• Embrace your creativity. Creative activities such as painting, drawing, writing, and crafts allow your mind to flow freely. They can put you in a mindset that allows you to be more open to new ideas and insights.
• Take notes. Carry a small journal or notebook (or use your electronic notes on your cell phone) to record your thoughts, gut feelings, and hunches. Sometimes, we have such reactions throughout the day, but then we forget about them. Writing them down will allow you to review them at your leisure and remember fleeting, but important, feelings that occurred throughout the day.
• Get physical. Go for a walk or a run or even take a shower. Often, taking a break from the daily grind frees our minds to mull over problems and come up with solutions.
• Evaluate your dreams. Often our dreams are windows into our subconscious. Dreams help us process information and deal with stress or unacknowledged desires. They can reveal deep and symbolic messages that escape our attention when we are awake.
• Evaluate the past. There have, no doubt, been many times in the past where you had an intuition and didn’t act on it. You kicked yourself for not listening to yourself. Recall those times and allow them to bolster your confidence in the future.
• Pray. Most important of all, when we need to make a decision, we often have a choice we are leaning toward. However, we second-guess ourselves by going back and forth, unable to decide. In responding to Job, the suffering patriarch, God declares, through a rhetorical question, that he is the source of intuition. “Who gives intuition to the heart and instinct to the mind?” Don’t dismiss the concept of intuition as something mystical or magical. It is God-given. Simply ask the Holy Spirit to lead you as to when to rely on it.
Christians should be cautioned that not all our inner thoughts and feelings should be heeded, for they can lead us astray. “There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death.” That “feeling” or “something” must be submitted to the Holy Spirit’s discernment for our next step. He is the fountain of wisdom and understanding that Jesus sent specifically to teach and guide us.
Born to Lead
Day 2
I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
—Philippians 4:12-13
Resilience and persistence often work hand and hand. While resilience refers to bouncing back after enduring a crisis, persistence refers to the ability to steadfastly pursue an objective despite opposition, delays, or other disadvantages. Both resilience and persistence are important because one must not only recover from a setback but have the endurance to continue and not give up.
Persistence naturally requires being resilient, as you can’t persist if you never get back up. On the other hand, it is important not to take persistence to the extreme. It may seem reasonable to keep going when the odds are stacked against us, but there are times when we just need to learn to let go.
Strategies for Handling Adversity
When adversity rears its head, it is wise to follow some predetermined guidelines as to how you will cope. Here are some strategies that have helped me to overcome many problems.
• Maintain a good attitude. “How frail is humanity! How short is life, how full of trouble!” Job proclaims in Job 14:1. Trouble is inevitable, but it is also a tool that produces spiritual, emotional, and psychological strength. When we resist the temptation to feel that our trials are unfair and resist the pressure to respond in a negative way, we develop the “mental muscle” needed to overcome whatever obstacles arise. We learn to analyze the situation, ask for divine assistance, and anticipate a positive outcome.
• Believe in the God who resides within you. Often in the face of adversity, our self-esteem takes a hit. Don’t allow any circumstances to make you feel less worthy. Your challenges do not define you. Adversity is just an experience; it is not your identity. Whatever happens, you are strong enough to regain control over your life. You simply need to remember that with God you can do all things.
• Rely on your support network. Everyone can get down occasionally. During these times, you can rely on your support network to cheer you on and encourage you to get back up again. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Rely on colleagues, friends, or loved ones to help get you through hard times. Challenges are easier to handle when we have someone to talk to. The people in our support group can remind us of who we are when adversity tempts us to forget. Nurture your support group and do not forget that support goes both ways. Be there for others during their trying times.
• Don’t be overly critical of yourself. Beware of allowing your mistakes or any setback to define who you are. You are not a failure if you lose your job or get passed over for a high-profile role. You still have worth and value, and you just need to get back up and prove it. Every defeat gives you the chance to learn from your mistakes, if any, and be wiser in the future.
• Don’t be afraid to accept responsibility. Sometimes adversity seems to come inexplicably out of the blue; other times, it comes as a result of our own actions. If you find that you have made unwise decisions, don’t let this incapacitate you. Accept responsibility for your part in creating the problem and learn from your mistakes. Prepare a game plan to take those necessary next steps.
• Don’t neglect self-care. Ironically, the key to resilience is first learning how to stop rather than forge ahead. It is essential to take care of your physical, mental, and spiritual health. Eating right, getting enough sleep, and exercising are critical. Most importantly, the time spent in the empowering presence of God and his Word will reap big dividends.
We often underestimate our ability to recover from challenging situations, but most people are far more resilient than they give themselves credit for. Many of us have already made significant accomplishments that required resilience. Often, it’s just a matter of looking back and evaluating past successes. Success in one area breeds confidence in other areas. It is often fear that holds us back from being either resilient or persistent; however, most situations aren’t as bad as we think they are. They are certainly not too hard for our omnipotent God.
The Lord said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.”
—Genesis 11:6-7
After the great flood of Noah’s day, God ordered the survivors to scatter across the earth and repopulate. But they had different plans. They decided to settle in one place and to build a tower that reached into the heavens—making a name for themselves. Because the project was being done in complete disobedience to God’s command, he confused their language and they had to abandon their efforts. Lesson learned: If you can’t communicate, you can’t build anything—a marriage, an organization, or a team.
Good leadership and good communication go hand in hand. Being communicative is being forthcoming in sharing or exchanging information. Communicating requires one to be skilled enough to clearly express ideas and information with a variety of people including superiors, subordinates, customers, or one’s peers.
One of the most critical elements of being communicative is authenticity. It’s important to just be yourself.
Another factor in being communicative is being visible. Don’t hide behind emails, notes, or instant messages. Show up in person as often as you can. Allow people to get to know you on a deeper level. You will find them more responsive to your plans and requests when they can connect them to a human being.
We often think of communicating as only speaking; however, listening is a vital part of the process. When you are a good listener, others learn to trust and respect you, for only by listening can you gain an understanding of someone else’s perspective.
Regardless of your role as a leader—whether you lead a team, run a company, are an author or influencer, or are an entrepreneur—communication skills are vital to your success. We should never stop sharpening our skills so that the message we send is the exact message that is received. Try these tips to take your communication to the next level:
• Be direct and simple. Don’t hide behind vague or complicated words. Simplify your message so that anyone who listens can easily grasp it. The apostle Paul was a highly educated man, but he wisely refrained from preaching above the heads of his audience. “My message and my preaching were very plain. Rather than using clever and persuasive speeches, I relied only on the power of the Holy Spirit. I did this so you would trust not in human wisdom but in the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 2:4-5)
• Communicate frequently. Communicate as often as you can and through as many different mediums as you can. People often learn and consume information in different ways, so it’s a good idea to give them options.
• Encourage feedback. Always be willing to hear another perspective. When you give a directive or offer an idea, pause and allow the other person to respond. Remember the 80/20 rule: Listen 80 percent of the time and speak 20 percent of the time.
• Walk your talk. If your words and actions are inconsistent, you will lose credibility. Always remember that even when you are not speaking, you are communicating. Nothing will cause people to mistrust you more than not being a person of your word or displaying a lack of integrity in some way.
• Be a storyteller. Stories serve as great visual illustrations, and they’re likely to be shared with others. They breathe life into your goals or vision, so learning how to be a good storyteller will enhance your communication. It helps others vividly grasp the message. Jesus knew the power of a story. We learn in Mark 4:33-34 that, “Jesus used many similar stories and illustrations to teach the people as much as they could understand. In fact, in his public ministry he never taught without using parables.”
Don't Quit In The Dip
Day 5
Serving Others
Proverbs 11:25 teaches us, “Those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.” We think it’s like young kids in line for the water fountain, where one kid is so thirsty that he’s fighting to get to the front to get a drink to refresh himself. That’s how we approach life a lot of the time. We think to ourselves, I’m thirsty! I’ve got to focus on me. I’ve got to get to the front of the line so I can get a drink. But Proverbs tells us God works differently. God says, if you refresh others, I will personally guarantee your own refreshment.
When I have felt seasons of depression try to creep in, my natural tendency was to stay home, close the blinds, and focus on me. But I found that depression broke off when I made up my mind to serve someone every day. I came alive when I got out of the selfie-syndrome dip and chose to prefer others.
On the night of the last supper. Jesus and his disciples had gathered together for one final meal. They were celebrating Passover. But this one would be different. Shortly after this meal, Jesus would go to the cross and die to pay for the sins of mankind. The disciples were oblivious. Usually, there would be someone there to wash everyone’s feet. But there wasn’t that night. All of the disciples walked in and made their way to the table. They all would have passed the water basin on the way to their seat at the table. But none of them volunteered to wash feet.
Jesus gives communion to them and explains how the bread represents his body that will be broken for them and the cup represents his blood that will be shed for them. Immediately, they ask Jesus, which of them is the greatest. Seriously? With all the emotion in Jesus telling them he must die, and they want to ask him which of them is the greatest. When you’re more concerned with your seat at the table, you will miss what Jesus is trying to teach you.
Jesus would get up from the table and wash the feet of each disciple. They couldn’t believe it. Jesus had a seat at the table, but he was willing to get up from the table to serve others. And then tells them, and us, to do the same. Let’s not focus on our seat at the table. Let’s focus on getting up from the table to serve others as Jesus has directed us to.
Maybe it’s time for you to get up from the table and get involved in serving at a church. Or for some of you, maybe it’s time to lead a small group for other people to be able to come to Jesus. What about signing up to serve in some capacity with your city or to go on a missions trip? See people the way Jesus sees them and find a way to serve them in your city. Jesus served us and was giving us a pattern. He said, “What I have done for you, I want you to do for others.” Serve others. Add value, period. And you watch as you begin to experience true fulfillment in loving people to Jesus.
Day 4
Don't Quit In The Dip
Uprooting Bitterness
The Bible describes bitterness as a bitter root. Have you ever looked at your backyard and seen some weeds growing? You think to yourself, I should deal with that, but you don’t. The weeds are so small anyway, but after you procrastinate for a week, it seems like they’ve grown to be six feet tall. What started off as something that could have been easily dealt with has now become Jack and the beanstalk in your backyard.
The longer you let a weed grow, the harder it is to get rid of. If you’ve ever tried to pull out a big root, you know it’s backbreaking work, and many times you end up breaking it off and you think you’re good. You think, Phew! Glad that’s over. I’m done with it! Outta sight, outta mind. But, if you don’t get the entire root, there’s a whole lot more going on beneath the surface that you can’t see—and when it grows back, you’ll have to dig up more than you were anticipating because now you have a jungle of overgrowth to tackle as its roots have spread.
If you don’t completely uproot bitterness now, those roots will go down so deep they will latch on and interweave their way into every relationship you have. Bitterness will affect your view of everything you see. And it will keep you from the destiny God has for you to walk in. Offended people never make it to their destiny.
It’s a trap! Why give somebody or a particular situation that much power over your life? It’s been three years. It’s messed with you for ten years. It’s kept you from enjoying life for twenty years. It’s stolen your joy for thirty-two years. It’s kept you from so much in life, and now you feel like you can’t move on. Why not determine today not to allow it to rob you of one more day of your life? Better yet, refuse to get offended ever again.
It’s not saying what they did was okay. It wasn’t. That’s why it hurt.
With God’s help, you can do this. Most of us have a hard time forgiving because we don’t want to give them anything. I want to share with you a picture God gave me to help me think differently about forgiveness.
I’m on top of a tall skyscraper in San Francisco. I have a long, thick rope tied around my waist. At the other end of the rope is a piano that has just been pushed off the side of the building. It’s only a matter of seconds before all the slack is gone and the piano pulls me over the edge. I really want to hold on to the piano, but I’ll die if I do. See, most of us have a hard time forgiving others because, in our minds, we don’t want to give them anything, but forgiveness is not about giving them something. It’s releasing something. It’s me, untying the rope from around my waist, choosing life over death, because if I don’t, that piano will pull me over the edge.
That might be where you are. That bitterness is pulling you over the edge. It’s killing you. It’s hindering you. It’s keeping you from living the life Jesus came to bring. You might say, “But they
don’t deserve it!” Well, neither did we, but I’m really grateful God didn’t wait till we deserved it. You can’t focus on living when you’re just trying not to be pulled over the edge. So, untie the rope and release it. Release the offense. Release your pain. Release feelings of revenge and experience the freedom that comes through complete forgiveness.
Hebrews 12:15 offers us this command: “See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.”
Overcoming Fear
There’s a lot that people are afraid of in life. Terrorism. Heights. Spiders. Confined spaces. Public speaking. Being alone. Fear is the unpleasant, powerful, and often debilitating emotion we feel when we sense or anticipate danger. When we are in a dip, fear is not a faithful friend; it’s a ferocious foe. And for some of us, fear is the name of the pit we live in. I know. I’ve been there. I was deep in the dip of fear for a long time, and I couldn’t see a way out. As a kid, I worried about everything. By second grade, I had developed a stomach ulcer.
You’d think I’d just grow out of it. But you don’t grow out of fear. Fear is a spirit. If anything, you just grow older and switch fears. For me it led to panic attacks. Chest pains. Emergency hospital visits. Stomach pains that got progressively worse, to the point where I’d be doubled over, on the ground, in the fetal position for hours. There was nothing that could bring relief. It led to something called Ulcerative Colitis dropping down to a hundred and twenty-five pounds.
When I say it dominated my life, I’m saying that it controlled me. It dictated the direction of my life...for my first twenty-five years.
I’m thankful to report that God healed me, and I haven’t had a pain in seventeen years. Let me tell you the key to breaking out of the dip of fear. I broke fear not by trying to get more bold. It was getting more of God’s love. Focusing on and experiencing more of God’s love. Fear cannot stay where God’s love resides. I began to focus on the love of God. Sing songs about His love. Read scriptures about His love. And after a while that spirit of fear broke off my life and it can break off of yours too.
Depression and fear do not have to be a life sentence. You can climb out of the dip of fear and walk in God’s freedom.
The Simplicity Of Prayer
What do you do when you don’t know what to do? What do you do when the dream inside of you is not matching the reality that’s in front of you? It’s going to sound cliché and elementary, but oftentimes we overcomplicate things. We’re willing to try the newest strategy, follow the latest teaching, hop on the trendiest spiritual bandwagon, but we roll our eyes at the basics. So, what do we do when the dream inside of us doesn’t match the reality in front of us? Pray.
So many people feel awkward praying. Most people, when asked to pray publicly, would rather die. They say, “I’m not good at praying.” What does that even mean? Can you talk? Great! That’s all prayer is: talking with God. Why are we so intimidated by prayer? I’ll tell you why. It’s performance anxiety. We get scared because either we are trying to impress people when we pray, or we attempt to sound like someone else when we pray. God is not impressed when we are trying to impress. But He is impressed with honesty, transparency and faith. Prayer is simply talking to God. If you are doing that, whether privately or publicly, you can never go wrong.
How’s your prayer life? What time could you set aside every day to talk with God?
DON'T QUIT IN THE DIP
What do you do when you don’t know what to do? The place where people give up is what I call, “The Dip.” When you’re in the dip, you can see where you want to be, but no matter how hard you try, it seems you can’t get there. You begin to lose hope and doubt you’ll ever reach it. The dip is where your dream is just out of reach and you feel stuck. We all have a dream, but there is always a dip before you get there. Sadly, most people give up in the dip. But successful people don’t quit in the dip and they’re the ones who see their dream fulfilled.
None of us have the perfectly filtered life we present on social media, right? Every person, even the ones who seem to have everything together, has at least one area in life that isn’t what they want it to be. It’s frustration. It’s hopelessness. It’s where anxiety and fear have crept in. It’s where giving up not only seems reasonable, it seems like your only option.
The dip can be your health. Maybe it’s your career. You know there’s more in you to express, but there seems to be some invisible ceiling keeping you from reaching your potential or landing that dream job. So, you lower your expectations and trade in your hi-def dream for a low-res version of reality.
What about your marriage? You’re giving your all, but things are not getting better and you’re even contemplating divorce. It could be that you’re single and looking for a spouse, but you just can’t find Mr. or Mrs. Right and you’re tempted to settle for Mr. or Mrs. Right Now instead.
The dip is also where you might stand, wondering, If God has a wonderful plan for my life, why is He so slow to reveal it? Does He even see me here in this place? It feels like you have one piece of a ten-thousand-piece puzzle and don’t know where to begin.
But let me encourage you. When we are ready to quit in the dip, we have a God who is just getting started!
God doesn’t see as we see!
We see impossible, but He sees possibility. We see financial ruin, but He sees a path to blessing. We see the diagnosis, but He sees the way to healing. God sees the end from the beginning, when all we see is our past and our present. We see a dip, but He sees another opportunity to show up and work through us and show us just how amazing He really is!
I’m praying we all begin to see from God’s perspective and use God’s strength to reawaken motivation when we’re tempted to throw in the towel.
Where have you given up? Where are you considering giving up?
COMPETITION
In the Gospels, it appears that Peter and John did a lot of competing with each other. Both came from families whose business was fishing. Both were part of the original twelve disciples, and along with James, both were members of the inner circle of three to whom Jesus would give special time, teachings, and experiences.
When people have this much in common, they regularly become competitors. John had already established that he was the fastest one. He might have taken issue with Jesus saying that Simon’s new name would be Peter, which means “rock,” and that the church would be built on his testimony. But Peter, too, may have been annoyed that John was “the beloved one.”
Jesus was aware of this “sibling” rivalry. When Peter pointed to John, wondering if he was going to be treated fairly and equally, Jesus said, “I’ll do whatever I want with him. Why do you care?!”
All of us have unique challenges and unique blessings in our life. Some of us have a knack for numbers, others with sales. Some of us have great parents, and others have great wives. Some of us are very wealthy, and others are very healthy. We need to accept these God-given differences and make the most of what we have.
Competing with other believers is as fruitless as a dog chasing his tail. We need to be satisfied with the life we have and run in the lane God has placed us in, not look at people in different lanes to tell us whether we are winning or not. They have their race and you have yours.
PRAYER
Lord, I’m thankful for the life You have given me. I’m sorry for allowing the lives of others to rob me of contentment. That won’t happen today. Amen.
GET MOVING
- Identify someone in your life who you tend to compete with or envy.
- Look for an opportunity today to encourage that person to their face.
STRONGER IN THE WAITING
These words from the apostle Paul took place later in his life, at a time when lesser men would have thrown in the towel, thinking their best days were behind them. But a man like Paul lives with hope, expecting and preparing for a great moment that could be right around the corner.
Paul was a force in the early movement of the church. But suddenly he found himself in chains, having lost the ability to travel and preach. Life had seemingly come to a screeching halt. But that didn’t stop him from influencing others toward faith. Spending years being transferred from jail to jail, he found himself as a sort of freak show for ruling Roman authorities. They paraded him in front of a large crowd of elites at the amphitheater that still stands in Caesarea.
After years of waiting, Paul was given an audience with King Agrippa, one of the most powerful men in that region of the world. Joining the king were an army of commanders and the most prominent citizens of the city. Paul had gone from a prison cell to standing before the elite of the elite while still sporting chains. He knew that if he could influence them for Christ, he could influence all of culture.
I’ve been to the amphitheater where this audience was given. Every time I set foot there, this scene floods my mind. It never fails to inspire me. After spending years wasting away in a prison cell, Paul was still ready for his moment. While in chains, he took the stage and boldly shared his experiences, gave proof for the resurrection of Jesus, and pleaded for everyone in attendance to be like him in faith (minus the chains wrapped around his hands and feet).
In his waiting, Paul could have become soft. He could have become timid. He could have given up hope. But that’s not what true men of God do. In his waiting, Paul became stronger, bolder, and more assured of the importance of his message. So when his moment came, Paul didn’t shrink back from it. He grabbed it confidently.
We never know when it will be our time to step up and step out. We never know what great moments are right around the corner. We never know how our difficulties now will afford us future opportunities to be a blessing. Paul endured an unjust arrest, abuse, and years spent in prisons, waiting for a moment like this. He got on stage and absolutely crushed it.
I’ve accomplished a lot in my life, but I firmly believe it means nothing compared to what lies ahead. The greats in the Bible are always looking and prepping for the future, not reflecting on and mourning over the present and past.
Your life isn’t over after exiting the C- suite. Your future doesn’t have to be crushed after bankruptcy. There is a lot of life still ahead after a divorce. The accomplishments from when you were younger are only things that set you up for opportunities when you are older.
Pain and difficulty are part of life. But you and I can choose to believe they are preparing us for the future. No matter how difficult today feels, cling to the hope that your best days and your best opportunities are yet to come. Keep your eyes open looking for them, your muscles strong and ready to move when any opportunity comes your way.
In your waiting, don’t grow weak. Strengthen yourself for the day that is coming.
PRAYER
Father, I am inspired by the boldness of Paul and how he became stronger in his waiting. I want to become stronger too. Even when it feels like You are not working, I trust that You are. Even when it feels like everything is going wrong, I trust You are preparing me for something better. You are good and I choose to trust You. Amen.
GET MOVING
1. Everyone is waiting for something— a new job offer, a child, reconciliation with a parent, a better marriage. Whatever it is, waiting alone is harder than waiting with others. Right now, text a trusted friend and ask them to pray for you in an area where you feel yourself growing weaker in your waiting. Bonus points if you ask them to write out the prayer as a text and send it back to you. Read their words and find strength.
- Getting older isn’t an excuse for growing weaker. Paul spent years in a prison cell but got stronger in his faith. Oftentimes, what we see and experience in the physical world is a reflection of spiritual truth. So drop down right now and do ten push-ups. Seriously. Feel your muscles get stronger from that exercise and let it propel you to keep your strength in all areas of your life.
HOW TO GET STUFF DONE
This passage isn’t implying that a man can’t do anything without Christ. Atheists do a lot of things without Christ. But without Him, we can’t do anything of significance that is beyond our own power.
No branch can support a piece of fruit unless it is tied to a trunk. Likewise, I cannot do things that are eternally significant if I am not tied to Jesus. Balancing a household budget and working 50 hours a week are things an atheist can do. But bringing life to parched souls, impacting future generations, or seeing someone be healed from a prayer you prayed is possible only through the power of Jesus.
I’ve heard people say, “God doesn’t call us to be fruitful; He calls us to be faithful.” I guess they haven’t gotten around to reading what Jesus actually said. If we aren’t bearing fruit, then we aren’t faithful because being faithful is being close to the vine of Christ. And being close to the vine of Christ will bring true change and impact.
Just as all trees experience winter, every branch will go through seasons of barrenness. The church I lead hasn’t always grown. My finances don’t always improve. My friendships have sometimes been listless. Our lives can’t always be up and to the right. But if our season of faithful barrenness is stretching on for long periods of time without appropriate fruit, let’s stop fooling ourselves. We likely aren’t operating close to Christ. We are doing our own thing on our own power and with our own religiosity, and as Scripture says, that will lead to nothing. But when we abide in Christ, opportunities for powerful impact are endless.
PRAYER
Jesus, I want Your power that eclipses mine. Today, help me to produce something luscious, juicy, and satisfying. Amen.
GET MOVING
1. Identify something fruitful that you want God to do through you.
2. Spend five minutes sometime today talking (and listening) to God about how He wants that fruitful thing to happen.
THE LOST ART OF FRIENDSHIP
When we are younger, friendships seem to just happen. My childhood friends were those who lived down the street. We bonded over building treehouses and playing pickup football games. In high school, I made friends through formal sports, building relationships with the guys on my team. In college, it was the guys I roomed with. For some reason, as we age, it becomes harder to develop and maintain friendships, but these relationships are actually more important than ever.
God, Himself lives in community as a triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. King David, likewise has strong friendships with the prophet Nathan, Jonathan, and his “mighty men” as he made his march to greatness. Jesus’ twelve disciples weren’t just underlings but actual life-giving friends who walked with Him for the whole of His ministry on earth.
We don’t have many models for friendships like these in the modern world because we live in a time of acquaintances. Acquaintances are easy to come by. They are the ones we meet at work but never keep up with after a job change. Acquaintances are our next-door neighbors we wave to but know very little about. But what about a friend who sticks closer than a brother? Do you have someone you could call to cover your mortgage for a month? Do you have someone you could confess an extramarital affair to? Do you have someone you would take a fun vacation with?
If there is one discipline I could magically bestow on you, it wouldn’t be the ability to read and comprehend the Bible daily. It wouldn’t be the yearning to spend time every day on your knees in prayer. It would be the ability to choose and develop the right friendships. The brothers close to us will bring us laughter, wisdom, support, and meaning.
We have to go back to the deep friendships of our childhoods. We may not have the pastimes we once had, and it’s doubtful that any of us will be building treehouses together anytime soon. But we have new things to build: honest relationships, bonds of accountability, commitments to encourage and occasionally admonish one another. If Jesus Himself needed brothers to live life with, then we do too, and what a blessing it is to live like Jesus in that way.
PRAYER
God, I feel lonely. Please bring men into my life with whom I can develop friendships. I also want to thank You for my friendship(s) with ________________________________. Please bless them as they have blessed me. Life is too important to live it alone. Amen.
GET MOVING
- Text a friend or a potential friend a simple message that says, “I was just thinking of you. I hope all is well with you. I appreciate you for _______________.”
- If you are friend-starved, identify a way to get around other men to have some fun, whether that means joining a Bible study or an intramural sports team. This is a key starting point for a friendship.
FIGHTER, FINISHER, FAITHFUL
To have a life of impact, I need to be three things: a fighter, a finisher, and faithful. This sound advice was written by Paul near the end of his life, in a letter to his young protégé. Paul elevated these three attributes as being honorable, achievable, and necessary.
Church people are okay with “keeping the faith,” but they scratch their heads at “fighting” and “finishing.” Fighting sounds too violent for the enlightened, soft American who has never been punched in the mouth. Finishing is a noble concept but not something we’re actually skilled at doing. We prefer the entrepreneurial buzz of starting something new to the labor of finishing strong— because finishing is a fight. A new relationship brings a buzz, but a long-term marriage is a bloody fight. Our new American morality is always easy, but the ancient ways of God are difficult, unpopular, and capable of resulting in a body blow.
“Keeping the faith” sounds serene and easy enough, but only because we don’t understand it. Most of us believe faith is a mental checklist of things we agree on. But faith is not just a doctrine or creed. It’s not just giving mental assent. It’s not choosing to believe stupid things that science says aren’t true. Faith is choosing to move. It means taking a step forward without a guarantee that it’s going to work out the way you want. It means doing the things you know your God would approve of, even if other people question you. Paul never stopped moving. He never stopped improving. He never stopped chasing his goal of becoming more like Christ and introducing as many people as possible to Him. In reality, “keeping the faith” is just as backbreaking as fighting or finishing.
It’s hard to fight, finish, and keep the faith. That’s why so few people do it. This time last year, a ministry hero of mine was publicly disgraced. I have no idea what his relationship with Christ is right now. What I do know is that he stopped fighting against his sinful urges. He didn’t finish strong for the thousands of people who looked up to him. He didn’t keep the faith of honestly admitting to his struggles and finding help. Decades in the same post and no warm farewell, no final words, no future contact with the next generation of leaders. So sad and so sobering. All because he stopped fighting, didn’t finish, and wasn’t faithful.
Some types of sharks have to keep swimming to stay alive. Once they stop moving, they begin to suffocate. That’s also true for followers of Jesus. We have to keep moving to stay alive. We have to want more in our relationship with Christ. We have to want more for our future. We have to want to be different, or we will be like everyone else who falters. Life is a fight, and only the faithful will finish strong.
PRAYER
Father, I want to fight for the things that You care about. I want to finish the race that You’ve set before me. I want to keep the faith, continuing to move and grow no matter my age or stage of life. Thank You for the call and the challenge of this. Amen.
Just as a cold glass of water after finishing summer yard work refreshes and revitalizes us, manna provides us with the strength to keep going.
This provides us with what we often refer to as a fresh wind.
Many people know about the 80/20 principle; 80% of the value of your work comes from 20% of your time and effort. Sometimes it’s 70/30 or 90/10, but the general point is that a majority of your results come from a small minority of your time.
Fewer people understand that 80/20 is iterative. The 20% breaks down into its own 80/20, and so on. The first iteration would predict that 4% of your time yields 64% of the results.
The challenge is to figure out where to use your time!
What is that 4%? Much leadership work is with people. Which people should you spend time with and why? How much energy should you allocate for strategic study and preparation?
You could go to 50 respected leaders and get 20 different answers. There’s no clear formula.
Christian leaders, however, are fortunate enough to have direction from the Holy Spirit. In this age of expanding choices and amplified noise, we need direction to make the highest value choices for our time, attention, and energy.
Make time today to listen for divine direction.
Get the big picture. You might find it helpful to step back and see how your role and current journey fits into the bigger picture of God’s plan.
Reset your expectations.
Set realistic timelines, and let God do what only He can do.
Don’t let the fresh wind escape your sails. Instead, utilize it to guide you, the vessel, towards a brighter future.
Remember, when God is on your side, who or what could possibly form against you?
The Loudest Voice in Your Life
Is it possible that what we perceive to be relational, emotional, and spiritual problems are actually hearing problems—ears that have been deafened to the voice of God? And it’s that inability to hear His voice that causes us to lose our voice and lose our way.
Let me make a bold statement: Learning how to hear the voice of God is the solution to a thousand problems! It’s also the key to discovering our destiny and fulfilling our potential.
His voice is love.
His voice is power.
His voice is healing.
His voice is wisdom.
His voice is joy.
If your life is off-key, maybe it’s because you’ve been deafened by the negative self-talk that doesn’t let God get a Word in edgewise! Maybe you’ve listened to the voice of criticism so long you can’t believe anything else about yourself. Or maybe it’s the Enemy’s voice of condemnation that speaks lies about who you really are. If you don’t silence those competing voices, they’ll eventually deafen you. You won’t be able to sing God’s song because you won’t be able to hear His voice.
Is God’s voice the loudest voice in your life?
That’s the question.
If the answer is no, that’s the problem.
We live in a culture where everyone wants to have his or her voice heard but has so little to say. And that’s because we do so little listening, especially to God. The best way to get people to listen to us is for us to listen to God. Why? Because we’ll have something to say that is worth hearing.
Ultimately, all of us need to find our voice. And by voice I mean the unique message God wants to speak through our lives. But finding our voice starts with hearing His voice.
Let me issue a warning, though. If you aren’t willing to listen to everything God has to say, you eventually won’t hear anything He has to say. If you want to hear His comforting voice, you have to listen to His convicting voice. And it’s often what we want to hear least that we need to hear most. Trust me, though, you want to hear what He has to say.
Are you ready?
When was the last time you heard God’s voice? What did He say or ask? How did you respond?
Come Closer
God has an outside voice, and He’s not afraid to use it. But when God wants to be heard, when what He has to say is too important to miss, He often speaks in a whisper just above the absolute threshold of hearing.
My dictionary defines whisper as “speaking very softly using one’s breath without one’s vocal cords.” The use of breath instead of vocal cords is significant. Isn’t that how God created Adam? He whispered into the dust and named it Adam.
Adam was once a whisper. So were you. So was everything else. Whispering is typically employed for the sake of secrecy. No form of communication is more intimate.
So why does God so often speak in whispers? When someone speaks in a whisper, you have to get very close to hear. In fact, you have to put your ear near the person’s mouth. We lean toward a whisper, and that’s what God wants. The goal of hearing the heavenly Father’s voice isn’t just hearing His voice; it’s intimacy with Him. He speaks in a whisper because He wants to be as close to us as is divinely possible! He loves us, likes us, that much.
When our children were young, I’d sometimes speak in a whisper so they would inch closer to me. That’s when I’d grab them and hug them. God plays the same trick on us. We want to hear what He has to say, but He wants us to know how much He loves us.
Aren’t you grateful for a gentle God? The Almighty could intimidate us with His outside voice, but He woos us with a whisper. And His whisper is the very breath of life.
There’s an old adage that those who dance are thought mad by those who hear not the music. That is certainly true of those who walk to the beat of God’s drum. When you take your cues from the Holy Spirit, you’ll do some things that will make people think you’re crazy. So be it. Obey the whisper and see what God does. Because nothing has the potential to change your life like the whisper of God. Nothing will determine your destiny more than your ability to hear His still small voice. That’s how God-sized dreams are birthed. That’s how miracles happen.
When was the last time you invited the Holy Spirit to speak to you? Are you actively inviting God to speak to you?
A Hiding Place
Have you ever tried to quiet a loud room? Attempting to yell above the crowd usually doesn’t work, does it? It’s far more effective to shush the crowd with a shhh. That’s the method God employs. His whisper quiets us, calms us, stills us.
That’s why chronic noise may be the greatest impediment to our spiritual growth. When our lives get loud, with noise filling every frequency, we lose our sense of being. We run the risk of turning into human doings rather than human beings. And when our schedules get busy, we lose our sense of balance, which is a function of the inner ear.
Can I go out on a limb?
Your life is too loud.
Your schedule is too busy.
That’s how and why and when we forget that God is God. And it takes very little to distract us. The solution? Stillness. Or more specifically, His still small voice.
Silence is anything but passive waiting. It’s proactive listening. And each day God’s voice gets a little louder in our lives until He’s all we can hear.
If you want to hear the heart of God, silence is key.
If you want the Spirit of God to fill you, be still.
The psalmists referred to God as their refuge, their fortress, and their ever-present help in time of need. But my favorite descriptor might be the “hiding place.” Did you know that God is singing songs of deliverance all around you all the time? You can’t hear them because they’re outside your range of hearing, but you’re surrounded by a sonic shield. Those songs of deliverance are powerful enough to break any bondage, overcome any addiction, and solve any problem.
I’m not sure what problem you need to solve or what issue you need to resolve, but my prayer is that you’ll learn to discern God’s voice. When you do, His songs of deliverance can set you free! Quit hiding from God. Hide yourself in Him.
What is one “noise” you could cut out from your day or your schedule this week so you might be able to hear God’s whispers to you more clearly?
When I first toured the Capitol more than two decades ago, our guide revealed a secret that wasn’t really a secret: the whispering spot. He stood on one side of Statuary Hall while our tour group stood on the other side. Then he spoke in a whisper, and sure enough, we could hear the echo of his voice all the way across the room as if he were mere inches away.
When I look through the Bible, I see whispering spots everywhere.
For Jacob, it was Bethel.
For Moses, it was a burning bush.
For Samuel, it was the tabernacle at Shiloh.
For David, it was the cave of Adullam.
For Elijah, it was Mount Carmel.
For Daniel, it was an upstairs window facing Jerusalem.
For Jonah, it was the belly of a whale.
When I survey Scripture, I see God showing up in strange places, at strange times, in strange ways. And I don’t think anything has changed. God still turns appointments into divine appointments. He still uploads desires, opens doors, and inspires dreams. He still speaks through promptings and people and pain. And just as he did for Moses, He can turn any patch of ground into holy ground.
Listening doesn’t happen by default; it happens by design. You have to seek solitude, seek silence. You have to ruthlessly eliminate distractions. And you have to turn some voices down or tune them out altogether. It might be as innocent as talk radio or as innocuous as social media. Why not turn off the radio and talk to God during your commute? Or fast from social media for a season? Or take a silent retreat?
I don’t want to overspiritualize the importance of a whispering spot, but I don’t want to underspiritualize it either. Even if you take spirituality out of the equation, you need a space or place to get some peace and quiet. If you live in a city, as I do, it’s not easy. And if you’re a parent of little children, it might be ten minutes during naptime.
Your whispering spot will be as unique as you are, but you need to find a time and place to hear the still, small voice of God.
Do you have a “whispering spot” in your life right now? If not, where might that spot be? If you do, how has God whispered to you there?
What God Wants Us to Hear the Most
You aren’t the mistakes you’ve made. You aren’t the labels that have been put on you. And you aren’t the lies the Enemy has tried to sell you. You are who God says you are.
You are a child of God.
You are the apple of God’s eye.
You are sought after.
You are more than a conqueror.
You are a new creation in Christ.
You are the righteousness of Christ.
All our identity issues are fundamental misunderstandings of who God is. Guilt issues are a misunderstanding of God’s grace. Control issues are a misunderstanding of God’s sovereignty. Anger issues are a misunderstanding of God’s mercy. Pride issues are a misunderstanding of God’s greatness. Trust issues are a misunderstanding of God’s goodness. If you struggle with any of those issues, it’s time to let God be the loudest voice in your life!
God doesn’t love us because of who we are. God loves us because of who He is.
When we succeed, God says, “I love you.”
When we fail, God says, “I love you.”
When we have faith, God says, “I love you.”
When we doubt, God says, “I love you.”
Love is His answer to everything. Why? Because He is love. There is nothing you can do to make Him love you any more or any less. God loves you perfectly. He loves you eternally.
God wants us to hear what He’s saying, and we must heed His voice. But much more than that, He wants us to hear His heart. So He whispers softer and softer so that we have to get closer and closer. And when we finally get close enough, He envelops us in His arms and tells us that He loves us.
We’ve been deafened by the voice of conformity, the voice of criticism, and the voice of condemnation, and the side effects include loneliness, shame, and anxiety.
The good news? You not only bear God’s image but you know His voice. It’s His voice that knit you together in your mother’s womb. It’s His voice that ordained all your days before one of them came to be. It’s His voice that began a good work and His voice that will carry it to completion.
Where is God leading you? How is God talking to you? If you can’t hear His voice, consider spending more time in His Word on a regular basis
Just as refreshing a fire requires the feeding of kindling to the flames, we too must feed ourselves in order to refresh and revitalize our minds, bodies, and spirits.
This requires fresh manna—fresh provision, new thoughts, new ideas, new business, and this can be found only within the Word of God.
Manna is daily.
God provided manna for the children of Israel during the forty years that they wandered in the wilderness. It appeared each morning alongside the morning dew, where the Israelites would gather it, and the manna nourished them for the day. Those who tried to hoard the manna for the next day woke up to a putrid, worm-infested mess, with exceptions to the sixth day, in which the Israelites gathered enough manna to last through the Sabbath. God provided manna to meet their physical needs but also to remind them that they needed more than bread for life.
They needed God.
Psalm 23 promises that because the Lord is my shepherd, I have everything I need. Just as Israel counted on the daily manna in order to survive and push on during their journey, God wants me to depend on Him daily.
His provisions show up when I need them and not before. When I try to secure today what I think I’ll need tomorrow, it doesn’t work. It doesn’t work because God wants me to trust Him each day for that day’s need. I was created to rely on Him.
Manna can be unusual. The word itself loosely translates to “what is it?”I’m not sure what the Hebrews expected when Moses told them that they would see God’s glory in the morning, but they didn’t expect what they found.
Sometimes we don’t recognize God’s provisions either. It doesn’t look like what we expected.
But it is always there, if we’re willing to look for it.
And it is always enough.
Once we have refreshed our vision for the road ahead, we must also rekindle or refresh our fire.
To refresh your fire is to strengthen what remains to ensure that your foundation remains sturdy and will be able to sustain you for the long haul.
Through the process of tempering, steel and other metals are put into intense heat where they are purified and strengthened. As the heat is applied, the impurities come to the surface and are removed leaving a pure metal. Interestingly, the hardness of the metal is reduced through the fire; however, its flexibility under pressure, or ductility, is increased. This causes the overall strength and versatility to rise.
It will bend in the face of adversity, but it will not break.
There are times in our lives when we go through fires and pressures that are anything but comfortable. Whether it is a physical ailment, financial hardship, relational challenge, or spiritual dryness, these times test the very core of our personhood. The fire brings the impurities to the surface, but each of us must choose to remove them from our life. The fire breaks down our own hardness, but there is strength in learning to be flexible. Although these “fires” are not desirable, when we submit our life to the will of the Holy Spirit, they begin to expose the impurities in our life, reduce our “hardness,” and give us strength and flexibility for the purpose that God has for our life.
We too will bend in the face of adversity, but we will not break.
Maybe your fire has been stoked or smothered. Maybe your coals are still red hot, or maybe they are starting to cool down. Wherever you are in your journey, it isn’t too late to add kindling, and revitalize the fire inside of you.
Don’t give up.
Instead, strengthen what remains, and watch your fire grow.
Just as we previously discussed, starting fresh doesn’t mean that you have to rid yourself of everything. It doesn’t mean that every aspect of your life is unusable.Sometimes refreshing starts with simply having a refreshed perspective on the world around you.Maybe you just need a fresh vision!A fresh vision can provide:
1. Clarity
2. Planning
3. Blueprints
4. Future Success
5. Wisdom
Too often we find ourselves stuck in a rut. We walk to one end searching for a way out only to find that we must turn around. We don’t have the vision of how we could climb out of this rut. We don’t have the vision needed to understand why we got stuck in the rut in the first place!Without a change, we are bound to repeat the process.It’s time to climb out of the rut that we’re in, and this starts with refreshing our vision and refocusing it on God.A rut can be representative of a repetitive lifestyle that doesn’t offer us a challenge, so it doesn’t interest us anymore. We become complacent. Usually this is a sign that it’s time to grow and expand your vision. If you are in a rut, it may be a sign that you are ready for a bigger challenge! That challenge could come from expanding or deepening your vision.Wipe off the windshield so that you can see where you were heading and why you were heading there.As you go through the journey that you’re currently on, it’s important to clear your vision of distraction, obstacles, and objections. We must be strategic with what we’re placing in our hearts and in our minds.And, once we’ve refreshed our minds and cleared our vision, then we will be better prepared for the rest of our journey.And, finally, we can climb out of our rut.I will take my stand at my watchpost and station myself on the tower, and look out to see what he will say to me, and what I will answer concerning my complaint. And the Lord answered me: “Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it. For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay.Habakkuk 2:1-3
Refresh – To give new strength or energy to; reinvigorate.
When was the last time that you started fresh, or felt the need to refresh yourself?We hear this concept a lot.
“It’s time to wipe the slate clean.”
“It’s time to start fresh.”
“Time to start over.”
Time for new beginnings, which sometimes means the closing of doors and opening of others.Having to refresh can be viewed as a positive or a negative, depending on the circumstances that lead to the fresh start. A fresh start can be indicative of a new home, a failed business, going back to school, dropping out of college, going broke, or becoming wealthy. It’s all a fresh start, but as people, we don’t always view fresh starts as inherently good.
Why?
Because starting fresh often means starting with nothing. It means changing and transforming into something new, and new can be scary sometimes.
But just because we’re starting fresh doesn’t mean that we have to give up everything. In fact, it is better to build a new home upon a solid foundation than it is to build on shaky grounds. The truth is that you and I can gain a fresh start without throwing everything away. In fact, often God utilizes our greatest strengths while we work on overcoming our weaknesses.
He did it with David.
He did it with Moses.
He did it with Paul.
He gave them the opportunity for a fresh start, but He did not strip them entirely of who they were. Their lives changed drastically, but they were still true to themselves. He knew the plans that He had for them would change their lives forever, and although I’m sure they were nervous, they chose the fresh start that God had laid before them. They chose to refresh, and they did great things as a result.
Sometimes God gives us opportunities to restart. Don’t be afraid to take advantage of it.
It could be the restart that leads to a happier, better you.
Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.Isaiah 43:18-19
Going Deeper In Prayer
To be successful at anything, there must be a burning desire. Whether your goal is to practice medicine or to dominate a certain sport, without love for what you want to do, the flame will go out and it will be just too challenging… and overall, draining.
You must also keep in mind that desire does not appear out of nowhere. You are initially intrigued by something. A mild curiosity, if you will. But it is strong enough that you want to know more. Let’s say, for example, you are somewhat interested in marketing like I was. You admire all the digital marketing strategies out there. But gradually your interest goes beyond just watching YouTube tutorials and browsing through books about marketing. Eventually, you want to be involved personally. So you move from a PC to a Mac and apply for a bunch of different courses. As you grow, your passion and curiosity continue to grow as well. After years of dedication to your craft, you learn the ropes and end up launching your own agency or becoming an executive at a high-profile company.
Frankly, developing a passion for God goes through the same steps. For many people, faith in God is more of an unexplored curiosity, a type of emotional safety net to help you get through difficult times, rather than a passion that consumes you.
But it’s time we change that. We were never meant to plateau with God. We are meant to go from glory to glory to glory to Heaven. We must begin diving deeper. Not only when we are at a conference or a retreat, on a mission trip, or in the middle of a hype sermon.
And the way to go have an intimate relationship with Him requires a whole lot of prayer.
Prayer is more than just a task to cross off your list. It's more than just a requirement. One of the greatest blessings and privileges we have as Christians is the ability to pray. God gives us the gift of his availability for communication at all hours of the day or night. His ability to hear what's on your heart and respond in ways you can't fathom.
The purpose of prayer is not to be a last-ditch effort when all else has failed. It's supposed to be your compass and the most significant talk you have all day.
God wants to be in your life every day, all day, not just on Sunday.
Do you know what happens if you incorporate prayer into your daily life rather than only on Sundays?Fire. Fire always comes after steadfast, diligent prayer! The apostles had been in prayer for several days before Pentecost when the fire was cast onto them. Every significant revival started with a core group of Christians praying.
To remain alive, your physical body needs to breathe. Your spiritual body is no different. It has to pray to stay alive. How long could you survive if you decided to stop breathing?
Jesus is looking for followers who pray.
You cannot stay on fire for God without prayer. At every level of the spiritual fire, prayer is crucial. Never forget that the door to your prayer room also serves as the entrance to God's throne. One of the main ways to maintain the fire is prayer.
Pray to Him. Fellowship with Him. And watch your soul get ignited once more.
Prayer
God, Purify me of all impurities and cleanse my heart from the inside out. May seeking first the Kingdom of God and all your righteousness be my top focus and greatest passion in life.
My deepest and most fervent wish is to spend my entire life in the Lord's house, where I can gaze upon your splendor and be in your company. Grant me a true, everlasting fire for you. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Fellowship
Some Christians today view fellowship as optional. Many don't consider belonging to a Christian community as essential to living a Christian life. So many people in the church view fellowship with other believers through a “take it or leave it” mentality. Even Sunday morning worship services are all too often looked at as a “nice to have” or something we “should do if time allows”.
This approach to fellowship and community is completely out of step with biblical Christian living. Across the New Testament, it is crystal clear how critical Christian community is to every aspect of our lives as Christians! We as Christians must work to surround ourselves with a community of believers which in turn helps us foster a genuine passion for God during our daily lives.
The idea of "power in numbers" has a certain reality to it. When we spend time with other believers, we feel more confident in our faith and more aware of God's presence in our lives. The act of believers coming together, holding one another responsible, and serving as a form of living testimony to one another has a special power.
Nothing is more lovely than how the gospel is portrayed in the positive relationships we have as a body of believers. We will undoubtedly experience hurt in this body, but we will also have the chance to forgive. We can experience what it was like for Jesus to be hurt by the people he loved yet continue to love them despite it. The hardest aspect of community is also the aspect that most resembles His life and ministry.
It’s time to recognize your God-ordained need for people, and then seek to build relationships with the people God has placed in your life. If you want a sustaining fire for Jesus, you need a network of believers that push you to the cross daily.
Who can you reach out to today? Who can you grab a cup of coffee with to fellowship? Who can you simply send a text over to?PrayerThank You, Father, for not referring to me as Your servant but rather as Your friend.
Lord, please help me to strengthen my friendships. I need an upgrade in terms of community because my life's season has shifted. I am grateful for the relationships I have had throughout the years, but I yearn to walk with a godly friend toward the life that Jesus has called us to.
Keep me away from disparaging remarks about others, dishonest statements, arrogance, and depravity. Please pardon me for these vices and help me to become more like You by daily practicing integrity. So that I can expand my circle of friends and become a draw for godly individuals and bring You glory and much joy, please grant me favor and make me a magnet for them.
In Jesus’ Name
Amen
Repentance
To return to God, we must turn away from competing lovers.
Just being real here - some days I have no time for prayer but amazingly find hours to scroll on a social app.
If you feel something has crowded into your private space with God, show it to the door this week. Turn it off. Once and for all.
One thing many Christians miss when trying to get their fire for God back is their need to repent. Get alone with God. Get quiet and wait for Him. Worship Him. Talk to Him. Bare your soul to Him.
Even though we might not have killed someone or held up a bank, what about those "small things" that are so simple to excuse?
Have we ever been in line at the grocery store and counted the calories in the basket of the overweight woman in front of us? Have we unintentionally indulged in gossip at work? Have we "innocently flirted" with someone that is not our spouse?
Repentance is so freeing. Being transformed into God’s image and sustaining a fire for Him involves turning away from the ties of this world and the sins that so readily corrupt us.
Many Christians in our generation don’t take sin nearly seriously enough. And that's a major factor in why the church resembles the outside world so much. True repentance is not something we value. The amount of sin you decide to allow into your life directly relates to how passionately you love God and follow Him.
If you are habitually sinning, you will not, and cannot, have a genuine passion for Jesus Christ because that sin is an area of darkness that will prevent you from basking in the full light of Christ.
A heart that is passionate for God is a heart that is open to the Holy Spirit’s prompting toward repentance because only a pure heart can cultivate a genuine passion for God.
Prayer
Thank you, Lord, for making me one of your friends and for revealing to me the facets of your kingdom. I want to get to know you better, so please rid me of any sin in my life.
To avoid giving in to my flesh's desires, please help me concentrate on the things of your Spirit.So that I can produce fruit for your kingdom, please help me to remain in your love.
I'll continue to worship you in spirit and in truth while keeping my heart near to you.
In Jesus’ name, I pray.
Amen.
His Word
When you initially trusted Jesus with your life, do you remember the fervor you felt for the Lord? Do you still recall the thrill and passion you experienced? But then reality crept in. School. Work. Relationships. Our devotion to God can become ordinary and less fervent simply because life happens. But more than anything, Satan adores apathy in Christians. It's time to change your faith if it's become mundane. God’s will is not for you to be on fire for Him sometimes. But always.
Side note: Being on fire doesn’t always mean we will feel on fire. A fire for God is not an emotional high. A fire for God is choosing to obey Him and follow Him, even when our feelings may not be in sync in the current moment.
As we focus on getting our fire back for God permanently, we need to commit to spending daily time with God.
The first step in developing a genuine fire for Him is making the choice to devote some of our day to learning more about God. And we learn about Him by spending time in the Bible.
So turn off all distractions. Use the Bible app to listen to scripture and follow awesome reading plans, journal and jot down your favorite scriptures, highlight verses in your paper bible… however you do it, whatever it looks like, in order to sustain your fire for God, you have to spend time with God in His word.
The Bible is not just an oversized book. It is a letter of love. It is addressed to the bride from the bridegroom! We don't have this business-like, transactional relationship with Christ! We have a close, loving relationship that is personal. So review His letter to you once more. 1 John is a good place to start. It serves as a reminder of the extent to which the Father personally loves you.
But let’s be real. You can’t hit a target if you don’t know where you’re aiming. Make a plan for what your quiet time with God will look like every day.
And remember, some days we will fall short, and that’s where the Gospel will come into play. We are able to mess up and get right back on track because of what Jesus did on the cross for us.
A fire for God is found in consistently learning about Him and reflecting on how much He loves us.
PrayerI thank you, Lord since you are my God and my Savior. You are my everlasting joy, and whenever I am in your presence, I am filled with happiness.I desire to constantly be in your presence so that I may benefit from the renewal that comes through your Spirit. Being in your presence brings about a life-changing shift.
Show me the way of life, and I'll walk it for the rest of my days. May I always follow your guidance as I spend time with you and never lose my way in life.
While I'm in your presence, feed my spirit and give me access to all of your knowledge and wisdom.
Give me the courage to seek you out every day and fill my heart with your loving words.In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.
The Gospel
Many of us wish we could constantly be fired up for God. We want a stronger desire to follow Him, we long to submit to Him, and we really do want to share Him with others. But life’s roadblocks can get in the way.
The question is... Despite all of those roadblocks, how can your devotion to God be stronger? How do you ensure that it endures regardless of external circumstances?
Perhaps you can recall when you first became a Christian and how eager you were to attend church and read your Bible. But somewhere along the way, it became all too easy to fall into a "groove" with schedules filled with Christian activities, leading us to just hit "cruise control" throughout our journey.
And as heartbreaking as it is to admit - that is exactly what a lukewarm believer is described as.
A lukewarm Christian is typically one who has retreated so gradually that they are unaware of their own complacency. Or a person who is still attempting to figure out how to have it all - the things of this world, and a relationship with Christ. We introduce a destructive level of misunderstanding in both situations. We start living for ourselves when we allow ourselves to become lukewarm. We also spread a false understanding of God's grace.
If you’re reading this, you’re probably pleading like David did, "Restore to me the joy of your salvation”. But despite your pleading, it feels impossible to see a clear path from where you are to those times of passion in God's presence.
Because friends… It really is possible to maintain a flame for God. Our devotion to God doesn't have to be limited to fleeting moments after attending a powerful sermon, gathering, or performance. When we start relying on external things to fuel us up rather than God himself… that’s where we find ourselves in trouble.
The first step is to take a fresh look at the Gospel.
Paul tells us in Romans that the Gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes… Meaning that the Gospel is just as much for believers as it is for unbelievers. The present tense describes the continual process of believing. The gospel saves us not just at the time of conversion, but it continues to save us throughout our entire lives.
If you've lost your enthusiasm for Jesus, you need to be in awe of the Gospel again.
To recap the Gospel in just a few words…God created us to be with Him. (Genesis 1-2)
Our sins separate us from God. (Genesis 3)Sins cannot be removed by good deeds. (Genesis 4 – Malachi 4)
Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. (Matthew – Luke)
Everyone who trusts in Him alone has eternal life. (John)
Life with Jesus starts now and lasts forever. (Acts – Revelation)
Sit with that message for a second.No run of good days will get us nearer to God, and no run of terrible days will condemn us. Because of the love that Jesus, the Father, and the Spirit have for us, he willingly offered his life for us.
Make every effort to embed this profoundly transformative Gospel message in your heart and thoughts.
Prayer
God, Today, I ask for passion. I ask for a greater desire to follow You and carry out Your will in my life. Please make the Gospel the forefront of my thoughts. I cherish you. Help me to love you more and more each day. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.
SUPERNATURAL HISTORY
“While they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.” LUKE 2:6-7 (ESV)
In the Gospel of Luke, no sooner has the author introduced himself as a detail-oriented historian (Luke 1:1-4) than we are immediately ushered into an environment filled with supernatural occurrences (v 11-17). The story of Jesus’ birth is filled with angels, predictions, and miracles (1:26 – 2:21)—and when Luke reports these events, he offers them not as imaginative stories or poetical speculations but as they are: real history.
When we read that Mary laid her firstborn son—the very Son of God—in a manger, it’s because she did. When we read that the child she gave birth to was conceived through the power of the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:31-35), it’s because He was. Rather than being superfluous, these supernatural elements are an intrinsic part of the Gospel’s account.
Some have concluded that Jesus’ birth narrative appears so dramatically supernatural as to be implausible. They don’t believe it themselves or teach it to anybody else. They have decided that the story would be more acceptable to everybody if we simply removed anything miraculous.
But that cannot be done. The story of the gospel is supernatural in its entirety, and not just at its beginning, because it is the story of the Creator of the universe entering into time, revealing Himself as Savior and King. Surely it would be more bizarre if the almighty God did not enter and exit the world in entirely supernatural ways that made mere mortals scratch their heads in amazement! Indeed, in each of the supernatural incidents Luke recorded, some faithful people had reflected on the Scriptures and were keenly anticipating that God would break into their environment in a way that had never happened before and would never happen again. When God came, these were the people who were ready for God to come and do what only He could do; these were the people who responded in faith.
Christianity is ultimately meaningless apart from the almighty, miraculous intervention of God in time. God has come to meet us, but not at the top of the towers we have created on the strength of our ideas and investigation into what is plausible. He came to meet us in a cattle shed in Bethlehem. He came to meet us on a Roman cross at Calvary. He works in ways that we cannot explain and cannot predict.
As you reflect on God’s word during this Advent season, consider His divine work, which has already been accomplished, and the ways He continues to move today. In doing so, your heart will once again be stirred by the wonder of the triune God’s supernatural love for you. Your eyes will be prepared to see surprising ways that God is at work in and around you—ways that you cannot explain and had not predicted but love to enjoy and praise Him for.
* How is God calling me to think differently?
* How is God reordering my heart’s affections—what I love?
* What is God calling me to do as I go about my day today?
REJOICE WITH THE ANGELS
“Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child.” LUKE 2:4-5 (ESV)
Jesus’ birthplace had a rich biblical history before it was ever visited by angels. It was Bethlehem that had once been stirred at the return of a woman who had left with her husband and two sons. Her name was Naomi. She and her family had gone in search of bread, from “the town of bread” (the meaning of “Bethlehem”), because of famine. While away, she’d lost her husband and both her sons. After this triple bereavement, she returned to the town with one of her daughters-in-law, Ruth, who gave her name to the Old Testament book that tells their story. This grieving foreigner would one day become a part of the lineage of the Messiah (Matthew 1:1-6).
It was also in the fields surrounding Bethlehem that a shepherd boy, David, looked after his father’s sheep. Bethlehem was the place where Samuel arrived in obedience to God’s word to find a replacement for King Saul. He asked Jesse to bring his sons out because one of them would be the king. They all came. None of them were chosen. The prophet then asked if there were any others, and the one who just looked after the sheep was brought in—and soon became the shepherd king of Israel (1 Samuel 16:1-12).
Then, 1,000 years later, a man named Joseph returned to his ancestral home of Bethlehem to be registered for a census with his betrothed, Mary. In this now-familiar and ordinary yet historically significant place, it was time for the arrival of the promised and long-anticipated Messiah. For some 600 years previously, the prophet Micah had recorded these words: But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days. (Micah 5:2, ESV)
Once again, in Bethlehem, presumably in those same surrounding fields where David had once watched over his father’s sheep, there would be a stirring as the skies filled up with angelic visitation and echoed salvation’s songs.
As you approach this familiar territory during the Christmas season, may your heart be stirred afresh in the presence of God’s Son, our Messiah. May His Spirit move you to consider with awe the centuries-long complexity of the preparation for that moment when your King lay in a manger. And may He cause you to rejoice with the angels in God’s great salvation, knowing that our great God uses the small and ordinary things in life—even a little town like Bethlehem—to accomplish His great and glorious purposes.
* How is God calling me to think differently?
* How is God reordering my heart’s affections—what I love?
* What is God calling me to do as I go about my day today?
KNOWING WITH CERTAINTY
“In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed who was with child.” LUKE 2:1-5 (ESV)
In our day and age, it is trendy to seek the truth but taboo to say we have found it. Our culture would have us believe that while it’s ok to have a concept or an idea, we shouldn’t say we have certainty. Luke was different. He wasn’t satisfied with anything less than knowing with certainty—for himself and others. Indeed, it was a key part of his very purpose in writing his Gospel (Luke 1:3-4).
In his account of Jesus’ birth, Luke provides us with political, social, geographical, and historical observations that may seem quite mundane. But they all matter. We are being shown that within the sociological context and in obedience to the political structures of his time, Joseph, along with Mary, made a geographical journey to his ancestral home. All of this took place in real, historical time.While people back then didn’t have Google or social media, someone easily could have gone to the record of public registration and looked up Joseph’s name. The Gospel writer was not providing a philosophy, an idea, or even a religion. He was delivering an honest account of actual events—events which centered upon the child who was in Mary’s womb and who would be born in the city of David, his great ancestor whose triumphs and reign were a mere shadow of the victories this baby would one day win for His people. Luke, with every word and every detail, made it very clear that Jesus’ story doesn’t exist in a vacuum.
First- and second-century historians were in no doubt concerning Jesus’ historicity. Tacitus, a Roman historian who was writing in the early second century, had no interest in supporting the claims of Christ but was absolutely convinced that Jesus was not mythological.[1] Josephus, a Jewish historian, writing in AD 93, affirmed the fact that the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus were proclaimed by His followers.[2]
The New Testament doesn’t call any of us into the realm of blind faith or to leap into the dark. No, it invites us to take a step into the light of absolute truth. In this supernatural space where God took on human flesh, you and I can be certain about the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus of Nazareth. And in that certainty of what took place in those days, you will discover hope, peace, joy, and purpose for your day today.
* How is God calling me to think differently?
* How is God reordering my heart’s affections—what I love?
* What is God calling me to do as I go about my day today?
WONDER AND MYSTERY“‘Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus …’ And Mary said to the angel, ‘How will this be, since I am a virgin?’ And the angel answered her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.’” LUKE 1:31, 34-35 (ESV)It is not Jesus’ birth that is so remarkable but His conception. When the angel announced that although she was a virgin, Mary would have a baby who would rule the entire universe, she simply asked the sensible question: “How?” And with that question, we arrive at the very heart of the Christian story.
How was this child to be conceived? God was going to make it happen. He would do it. The language of being “overshadowed” reminds us of God’s divine presence being symbolized to the Israelites by a great cloud (Exodus 40:34-38). The conception, in other words, would be supernatural, able to be accomplished by God alone.
As Paul worked through the theology of the incarnation, he wrote, “When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons” (Galatians 4:4-5). He emphasized that the Redeemer had to be human so that He would be of the same nature as those whom He came to save: a man dying for mankind. But it was equally imperative that the Redeemer should be perfectly holy because no sinful person could effect atonement for the sins of others. He had to be Immanuel—God with us—and He had to be man.
The early Christians hammered out the incarnation’s implications and came up with ways to describe the one who was conceived by the Spirit in Mary’s womb, coming to the convictions that have passed down to us in the early creeds. Our spiritual forefathers identified the wonder of the incarnation, bowed before the mystery of it, and affirmed that Jesus was, and remains, very God and very man.
The idea that God would supernaturally invade this world shouldn’t surprise or discomfort us. After all, it takes a supernatural invasion of God into individuals’ lives to bring them to living faith, just as God sovereignly worked a miracle in Mary’s womb to bring us the Redeemer. Jesus told Nicodemus that unless someone is born from above—a birth brought about by God through His Spirit—they would not see God’s kingdom (John 3:3). If we have been brought to salvation, it is only because God has done it. You did no more to save yourself than Mary did to become pregnant with your Savior. The “How?” of salvation is always answered only by “God did it.”So, bow today before the wonder and mystery of God taking on flesh. And bow today before the wonder and mystery of God redeeming you. For that, no less than the virgin birth of the Son of God is the supernatural work of God.
* How is God calling me to think differently?
* How is God reordering my heart’s affections—what I love?
* What is God calling me to do as I go about my day today?
THE PURPOSE OF CHRIST’S ADVENT
“Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him.” 1 JOHN 3:4-6 (ESV)
Why do we anticipate Christmas with such relish? For the believer, the answer must surely lie, above all, in the awareness that Jesus Christ appeared to take away our sins.
When we read the Gospel writers, we discover this truth at the very heart of their Christmas message. Matthew recorded the words of the angel to Joseph: “[Mary] will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). Ahead of what might be regarded as the first ever Christmas concert, the message the angel gave to the shepherds was similar: “I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:10-11). John began from a different vantage point. As he highlighted the commencement of Jesus’ earthly ministry, having raised our gaze to the eternal Word becoming flesh (John 1:14), he gave us the words of John the Baptist: “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (v 29). And Mark records nothing of Jesus’ birth or childhood, but in his Gospel, Jesus’ first words are an announcement that in Him the kingdom of God has come near to people like us (Mark 1:15), and in one of His first miracles, Jesus assures a paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven” (2:5).
If we say that God has shown His love for us in the incarnation, that is accurate but insufficient. God demonstrated His love for us not simply by sending Jesus as a baby in Bethlehem; rather, His own word tells us that “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8, emphasis added).
Of course, if we understand that Christ came to take away our sins, then it’s only logical to conclude that we have sins that need to be taken away. Rare is the man or woman who would say that he or she has never done wrong! We all have impure thoughts. We all speak bitter words. We all know what it is to live an unholy life. But the word of God comes to us and says, Here is the good news: Christ appeared in this world to take away your sins.
Today, lay hold of this message with renewed joy and gratitude. Let these eight words be the most precious part of your Christmas season: “He appeared in order to take away sins.” Your friends, coworkers, and neighbors may be more open to the gospel message during the holiday season; make it your aim, then, not to further the misguided perception that Christmas is nothing more than a sentimental emblem of God’s love, as though His Son lay gurgling in the manger but never hung in agony on the cross. God’s love can only be fully explained in the purpose of Christ’s coming: to take away our sins. This, and this above all, is what gives our hearts bountiful cause for celebration!
* How is God calling me to think differently?
* How is God reordering my heart’s affections—what I love?
* What is God calling me to do as I go about my day today?
Prayer That Changes History
Once James had been murdered, Herod’s religious Jewish contingent was thrilled with his initiative and applauded him. Suddenly he saw an easy way to gain favor with a party that had always given him such opposition. Acts 12:3 says, “When he [Herod] saw that it was pleasing to the Jews, he proceeded further and arrested Peter also” (AMP). This time things would be very different. Though Peter was ultimately set free through a miracle, the Scripture is careful to preface the story of his deliverance with the following statement, “prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him” (Acts 12:5 KJV).
This statement is very significant because the writer of Acts is trying to show us that the miraculous deliverance to follow would be a direct result of those fervent and persistent prayers that were offered up by the believers. The tragedy of James’ death had shaken believers to the core and there was nothing complacent about their response. It was time to fervently pray!Oh, my friends, if we had any idea of the incredible power that is available to us through prayer, I think we would find it so easy to heed Paul’s prompting to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Intercession is a privilege that belongs exclusively to man. No angel can intercede on our behalf nor can the angels intervene in earthy affairs according to their own will.
However, as long as the enemy can keep the people of God convinced that they are powerless against the circumstances that they face, their impact on the earth will be anemic and of little influence. But that is not what God has in mind for His people. There’s much, much more. Our prayers are one vehicle through which God has chosen to impact the world. God has given man not only the authority but also the responsibility to influence events on the earth for His glory. So let us shake off complacency and pray prayers that change history!
Powerful Prayer Begins Where Complacency Ends
Someone once said, “Complacency is a blight that saps energy, dulls attitudes, and causes a drain on the brain. The first symptom is satisfaction with things as they are. The second is rejection of things as they might be. ‘Good enough’ becomes today’s watchword and tomorrow’s standard. Complacency makes people fear the unknown, mistrust the untried, and abhor the new. Like water, complacent people follow the easiest course — downhill. They draw false strength from looking back” (Bits & Pieces, May 28, 1992, page 15).
In Amos 6:1 (AMP) the prophet declares, “Woe to those who are at ease in Zion, and to those on the mountain of Samaria who are careless and feel secure.” The children of Israel had grown apathetic in their prosperity and comfort. They had lost their sense of urgency and were not concerned about the things of God. But their perceived security was a myth. The mercy of God that held back disaster was stretched to the limit, and in Verse 7, God says the party is over! “Therefore, they will now go into exile at the head of the exiles, and the sprawlers’ banqueting will pass away” (NASB). Only after disaster had struck and the nation found itself in the chains of captivity did it turn to the Lord again.
God forbid that we should have to be shaken out of our complacency by tragedy or disaster. How much better it would be if we would remain vigilant in prayer, recognizing that even in the good times, “…your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8 KJV). Powerful prayer begins where complacency ends.
Disturb Us, Lord!
The Urgency of Revival
I am an evangelist who works on the front lines of the battle for souls in some of the most difficult, dangerous, and remote locations on earth. For us, prayer is not a luxury or an accessory – it is a matter of survival. The prophet Jeremiah spoke of a dreadful day that is fast approaching when multitudes of lost souls will declare with eternal regret, “The harvest is over, the summer has ended, and we are not saved.” As the clock counts down the final hours before the end of the age, it is the heart of God that none should perish, but all should come to repentance that motivates us to go into all the world and preach the gospel (see 2 Peter 3:9).
Everybody seems to want “revival,” thinking it is a pleasant and enjoyable experience. But to be revived is to be shaken out of a state of slumber, to be jolted out of apathetic complacency, to be alarmed, awakened, and startled. Too many churches that are praying for revival have a “Do Not Disturb” sign hanging on the door. However, a revival that fits neatly into a comfortable cradle is not revival at all. There is an increased urgency in my spirit and a growing awareness that God desires to raise up a mighty army of intercessors on the earth in these last days to spark a prayer revolution that will touch the world.
These will be those who pray as Jesus did, not out of religious duty, but out of a relationship with the Father. Let’s be like the disciples and cry out for Jesus to teach us how to pray, “Teach us to touch heaven and to impact the earth. Teach us to be fervent and effectual, to move mountains, to break chains, to cast out demons, to heal the sick, to raise the dead, to impact cities and nations, to change the course of history and bring heaven to earth. Teach us to really, really, really pray!”
Utter Dependence
I must have prayed for weeks before I preached my first sermon at 14 years of age. I pleaded for God’s help and blessing, knowing that without it I would be a miserable failure. Today, I often preach more than twelve times in a single week. I no longer feel nervous, even when preaching to crowds of hundreds of thousands, and therein lies the danger. Although I feel comfortable and confident behind the pulpit, I must continually remind myself that my sense of security is just an illusion. I could preach the most articulate sermon with the most extraordinary delivery, but I would still be a miserable failure without the blessing of the Lord.
We must not take God’s mercy and faithfulness for granted in the good times and confuse presumption for faith. In nations, individuals, families, and businesses, complacency has the same effect; it is the enemy of victory and the ally of defeat. In no other area is complacency so lethal as in the prayer life — especially when everything is going well. I find that the more secure we feel, the more danger we are in, because it is in comfort that we can so easily forget our utter need for God. That’s why, before I get up to preach, I pray the prayer that used to be said in the classrooms of America before prosperity made her apathetic towards the very One who had so blessed her: “Almighty God, I acknowledge my utter dependence upon You and beg for Your blessing.” It is this awareness of our complete dependence upon God that will make us diligent in prayer. If you lack this consciousness in your life, chances are you are sleepwalking through the perilous wilds of complacency.
Complacency: A Lethal Enemy
The pounding at the door rattled the entire house just before the foot of an impatient Roman soldier kicked it from its hinges. Peter was still in bed when the guards grabbed him and hauled him into the dusty Jerusalem streets where a prison wagon was waiting. The high priest had exercised his political power and commanded that the disciples of Jesus be rounded up like ordinary criminals to be incarcerated in a common prison. But with the evening would come to an extraordinary miracle. Acts 5:19 says, “But the angel of Lord by night opened the prison doors and brought them forth.” What a glorious deliverance and testimony! God had demonstrated His power once again, and these early followers of Jesus must have felt invincible.
I think what happened next is typical of human nature. It would appear that in the midst of great victories, a cloud of complacency had dulled some of the believers’ spiritual senses. In Acts 12 we read that the persecution against the church continued. But this time it was Herod who had initiated the arrest and instead of seizing all the apostles at once, he started with James, the brother of John. Everyone assumed that James would be fine. After all, God had delivered the apostles from prison once before, and surely, He would do it again… or would He? We read of no prayer meetings, no vigils, and no intercession. All was well and no one was concerned until the church was devastated by the dreadful news: James was executed at the hands of the wicked ruler. Complacency is among the most dangerous enemies of the believer because it is so easy to fall into and very difficult to detect in our own lives before we are rudely awakened.
What does love require of me?
This clarifying, but terrifying question should stand guard over our consciences. It should serve as guide, signpost, and compass as we navigate the unavoidable complexities inherent in every relationship. It should inform how we date, parent, boss, manage, and coach. It should form a perimeter around what we say and do in our roles as spouses, coworkers, and neighbors.
This question gives voice to God’s will for us on issues where the Bible, as well as all other religious literature, is silent. It fills the gaps with disquieting precision. It succeeds where concordances fail. It quashes the insipid justification, “But the Bible doesn’t say there’s anything wrong with ______.” It closes loopholes. It exposes hypocrisy. It stands as judge and jury. It’s so simple. But it’s so inescapably demanding.
Our final question, fueled and informed by Jesus’s “as I have loved you” command, intersects with every imaginable relational scenario. We are all tempted at times to ask or wonder how little we can get by with relationally—the very thing we don’t want the person on the other side of us to consider. This question calls us to account. When presenting this concept publicly, I often ask the audience to commit the following to memory:
When unsure of what to say or do, ask what love requires of you.
We don’t need chapter and verse. We have something better. Namely, Jesus’s new, all-encompassing, inescapably simple command. We are to do unto others as our heavenly Father, through Christ, has done unto us. He did what was best for us. We, in turn, are to do what’s best for others, even when less-than-what’s-best is embraced as acceptable by the others.
Love.
Love fills the gaps. Love reduces the friction created by our limited insight, knowledge, and judgment-inhibiting experiences. There is much I don’t know. There are things I’ll never understand. But my ignorance does not impede my capacity to put others first.
So while I’m not always sure what to believe, and while my views on a variety of things continue to mature and change, I almost always know what love requires of me.
I bet you do, too.
Sometimes . . . in fact, more times than we would like to admit, an option we’re considering creates a little tension inside of us. Something about it is just a bit uncomfortable. Something about it doesn’t seem exactly right. It gives us pause. It bothers us. It causes us to hesitate. And, oftentimes, we have no idea why.
Experts sometimes refer to this phenomenon as a red flag moment, an internal sense of “I’m not sure why, but something about this doesn’t feel right.” When that happens, you owe it to yourself to pause and pay attention to the tension.
Don’t ignore it.
Don’t brush it off.
Pause and ask yourself, “What about this bothers me?”
That internal hesitation, that red flag, is often God’s way of turning us in another direction. People yielded to God don’t attempt to play God. They don’t predict outcomes. Instead, they surrender. They obey. They follow. As much as they want anything, they want to be able to lie in bed at night knowing that things are good between them and their heavenly Father. And rightly so. As my dad is fond of saying: “God takes full responsibility for the life wholly yielded to him.”
So pay attention to the tension. If you don’t, you may wake up on the other side of a decision you wish you could go back and unmake.
If there’s something in you, something you can’t put your finger on, or perhaps something someone else has put a finger on that bothers you about an option you’re considering, pause and pay attention. That tension may very well be God’s way of protecting you. It may be his way of waving you off from a decision you’ll later regret. Every time you make a decision, especially a decision that takes you by surprise, ask yourself, “Is there a tension that deserves my attention?” Don’t ignore it. Don’t brush by it. Let it bother you until you know why it bothers you.
Someday you would like to be able to sit down or lie down with your kids or grandkids and tell ’em your story. Your entire story. And as they get older, you would like to be able to add layers and details rather than hoping they don’t ask.
If you’re single, you want to someday sit across the table from someone you hope to spend the rest of your life with and tell your story. All of it. We all want that. But it will require you to stop mid-decision and ask: “What story do I want to tell? When this crisis, this opportunity, this temptation is in the rearview mirror—when it’s reduced to a story I tell—what story do I want to tell?” Which of the available options do you want as part of your story?
Every decision you make becomes part of the story of your life. Every relational, financial, and professional decision and the outcomes of those decisions become permanent parts of your story. We’ve all lived long enough to have a few chapters we wish we could erase. No doubt you have a few stories you wish you could rewrite. We all do. We call it regret. But chances are, the decisions that led to your greatest regrets could have been avoided if you had paused to ask yourself, “What story do I want to tell?”
From here on out, write a story worth telling. Write a story you’re proud to tell. If you’re in the middle of making a decision right now, stop and ask yourself: Of the available options, which one do I want as a permanent part of the story of my life?
Our hearts are deceitful. They can be dangerous. It’s why we’re so convinced and at times so convincing. We don’t merely lie to ourselves; we deceive ourselves.
There is a way to keep our deceitful hearts in check. Here are three tips:
To begin with, admit it.
The sooner you embrace this uncomfortable, disquieting fact about yourself, the quicker you’ll be able to develop and maintain a healthy suspicion. The more open you’ll be to information and advice that conflicts with where your heart is taking you. The more cautious you will be when the salesman inside you starts selling you. The easier it will be to recognize what you are tempted to justify may be just a lie you’re telling yourself.
Second, ask it.
Ask the question: Am I being honest with myself, really?
Have a heart-to-heart with yourself. Have it in the mirror. Look yourself in the eye. Seriously, stand in front of the mirror and ask yourself out loud—and use your name. “Andy, are you being honest with yourself, really?” And then, tell yourself the truth even . . . even . . . if you don’t plan to act on it.
You owe it to yourself to know, even if knowing points you in a direction you don’t intend to go. It won’t hurt to know. You need to be honest with yourself . . . really.
Third, be curious . . .
When we push through our discomfort and get curious about why we’re feeling what we’re feeling—why we are determined to do what we are hell-bent on doing—we get to the truth.
But most people don’t do that.
Don’t be most people.
Be curious. Curiosity will keep you focused on the frontiers of your ignorance. That’s where we learn. That’s where we gain insight. It’s where we catch sight of our prejudice and our narrow-mindedness. When it’s uncomfortable . . . and it will get uncomfortable. When it gets uncomfortable and you are tempted to turn away, to turn back to what you’ve always known, know this . . . that is fear talking. That is insecurity talking. You’ll learn little from either. So turn back around and be curious. If you do, you will learn something. If nothing else, you will learn something about yourself.
Remember Your First Love
The beginning is always exciting, isn’t it? Even if taking a leap of faith also feels a little terrifying, there is still the anticipation of what’s to come that compels you forward with a little extra pep in your step. It can be tempting to reach for that new beginning feeling and abandon what you’re in the middle of because the middle just isn’t as exciting. Maybe it’s exhausting. Maybe it’s not going the way you imagined. Maybe you’ve gotten so caught up in the details of it that you have forgotten why you even started.
It’s not possible to return to the beginning, but it is possible to return to the One who was with you in it and is the source of that joy and hope. More often than not, we grow weary because we’ve lost sight of Jesus, our First Love. We waver in our faithfulness. We are overtaken by our emotions. We get distracted. But Jesus never does. We may need to circle back to our commitments and try again, but the incredible thing about turning to Jesus is that it’s just like the first time because His love is constant. When you focus your attention on Him, you have the opportunity to be filled with the passion and motivation you need to continue.
It might sound unproductive to stop and spend time in the presence of God, but Psalm 37:4 tells us that when we delight ourselves in the Lord, He will give us the desires of our hearts. This not only means that He will give us what we want, but He will give us the desire for what He wants. In other words, when we spend time with Him, we get the desire to keep going. He refreshes us. The Message version of Proverbs 16:9 says, “We plan the way we want to live, but only God makes us able to live it.” We can try outlining our own way to success, but He is the fuel that gets us there.
Take a moment right now to pause and sit in the presence of God. Acknowledge Him for His faithfulness in light of your wavering. Thank Him for His perfect love, and ask Him to revive your heart. Continue to sit in His presence for a moment longer and listen to what He might be saying to you.
Don’t Look To The Left Or The Right
In the process of continuing on and staying committed, it can be very tempting to look around and see what others are doing. It’s not wrong to be inspired by or adopt new ideas from people around you, but it is wrong to compare yourself to them or put yourself in competition with them. Remember, your race is specifically marked out for you. Their race is specifically marked out for them. The methods they use to run their race may not work for you in yours, and that’s OK!
In 1 Samuel 17, as David was about to fight Goliath, King Saul puts his armor on David because he thinks it will help. David, however, is wise enough to recognize that what works for Saul (and what may work for him at a different time) doesn’t work for him right now. Maybe you need to take a page from David’s book and take off something that another person has tried to put on you.
The truth is that David’s victory didn’t come from what he used to fight with. It wasn’t wearing or not wearing Saul’s armor that was the deciding factor. Psalm 75:7 says, “[God] brings one down, he exalts another.” It’s important to remember not only to run your own race but that God is the One who brings promotion and success. Another person’s win is not your loss because it’s not determined by physical factors, like a suit of armor or an algorithm or whatever you think you might need in order to get to the top.
The pressure is taken off when you aren’t looking around you for confirmation, approval, or success. When you aren’t measuring yourself up against anyone else or pitting yourself against anyone, you are free to run your own race at your own pace and experience the joy and freedom that is found right in the middle of your race.
Is there something you’ve picked up from someone else? Perhaps something was placed on you that you need to let go of. What would it look like to see the people around you as those you were running alongside rather than competing against? Take a moment to consider what success looks like to you, even if it might not look like success to anyone else around you.
Trust God With The Pace
Not only do we need to trust God with the plan for our lives, but we also need to trust Him with the pace of our lives. Even if it’s a little bit – or a lot – slower than we think it should be or would like it to be. It can be tempting to catch a glimpse of God’s plan, assume we understand the process, and run with it. But God is the only One who knows the plan, path and pace to take you exactly where you need to go, how you need to get there, and when you need to arrive in order for you to go the distance and bring the most glory to His name.
The goal is always to go the distance. Matthew 6 emphasizes the goal to store up treasures in heaven, stretching “the distance” much farther than what we can merely obtain on earth. Treasures on earth are able to be destroyed or stolen and fall short of the secure and everlasting treasure we can have in heaven. To go the greater distance and store up those treasures in heaven always requires something greater. It’s a sacrifice, it’s strategic, and it takes strict training.
Paul compares our race and how we ought to run to the work of an athlete in 1 Corinthians 9. Think of the athletes who compete on an Olympic level, for example. Their training is precise and intense and “they do it to get a crown that will not last” (v. 25). It looks different for all of us as we each run our own race, but we all must be intentional to move with purpose, develop a strong discipline, and submit to the way of Jesus to go the distance and receive our heavenly treasures – even if it means slowing down.
We love to quote Psalm 23, but rarely do we give enough space to verse 2: “He makes me lay down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters.” More often than not, we think we need to speed ahead or “keep up,” and we forget that God is a God of rest. Accomplishing more makes us feel like we’re moving forward and able to achieve more success, but God chooses to have us lay down. He leads us where it’s quiet. How we get where we’re going is not by rushing, but by resting.
Sometimes the strategic training we need in order to run our race with endurance looks exactly like we think it might, with practices and exercises, and sometimes it looks backwards, with laying down and with stillness. Either way, remember to follow Jesus’ lead and trust that He knows exactly how to get you where you’re going when you need to be there.
Are you trying to rush ahead in your race? What might you need to change in order to continue with endurance? Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you how you can implement different practices and incorporate more rest into your weekly rhythm.
There Is A Race Marked Out For You
Don’t quit. Whatever it is for you today, you have the power and the strength to carry on, even if it doesn’t look like dance parties and celebrations. It might look like you showing up in your pajama pants or with tears in your eyes, but you can do it. You can keep going. You can keep showing up – to the blank page, to the piano, to your prayer closet, to your marriage, for your kids, at your job, you fill in the blank.
It’s easy to think that the things we do don’t matter all that much, that our consistency doesn't make a difference, or that it’s okay to give up and sit down. The truth is that you’re here on purpose. You are not just one of many doing whatever feels right, you are the one that a specific race has been marked out for. Psalm 139 paints a beautiful picture of how God created you so specifically, so particularly, and had all your days marked down before even one of them came to be. You’re not just someone, you’re you – on purpose and for purpose!
What you’re doing matters. We don’t often get to see how or what will come of it while we’re still in the middle, but Galatians 6:9 tells us that we will reap a harvest if we don’t give up. It doesn’t say maybe or that there is a good chance it’ll work out. It’s confirmed: it will come to pass. But take heart, friend. You’re not alone. Philippians 1:6 says that He who began a good work in us will carry it on to completion. This not only confirms, again, what’s to come but clarifies that He will carry it on.
The power and the strength you have to endure comes from Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. Hebrews 12:2–3 instructs us to look to Jesus, fix our eyes on Him, and consider Him as we run this race. That is how we don’t grow weary. That is how we don’t give up. We turn, again, to the source of our faith.
Consider the area where you feel weary or where you feel like giving up. What if you are uniquely designed and equipped to do exactly that thing, and you are able to do it in a way that no one else can? How might that change the way you approach it each day?
Poetry of the Indescribable
As a teenager relegated to the back forty with the sheep, David probably had no idea that people would be reading his poetry thousands of years later. The future David envisioned for himself while hanging around sheep 24/7 was probably not that grandiose—certainly not a picture of the “you can be whatever you put your mind to” messages youth hear today.
David’s father did not see much value in him; he did not even include David in the sibling lineup for Samuel the prophet. In the end, his earthly father’s rejection did not matter because his heavenly Father had already marked him for future greatness. No one but God knew the training camp for this future psalmist king took place alone in the field with his sheep.
With no distractions except an occasional lost sheep to save, David’s senses could focus on the wonder around him day and night. He experienced the splendor of every sunrise, the fragrance of wildflowers, the feel of raindrops washing his face, the harvest moon bathing the sheep in light, and meteor showers displayed on the backdrop of the black dome of heaven. And even while David slept, his Creator visited him and shared His thoughts, sometimes in song. Those nighttime revelations might have become the lyrics to the songs David wrote. He lived as a prisoner of God’s creative exuberance. What a magnificent confinement.
David’s every waking moment would be a living synonym of awe. He had to release the wonderment even though his words could never describe such indescribable glory. The heavens did a better job than he ever could, but that did not stop him. He was willing to collaborate and allow the wonder to guide his pen.
Perhaps you have found your voice and started giving expression through writing, music or art. But if you are feeling stuck and wondering if you will ever get unstuck, the answer is yes. Or maybe you have not been able to start expressing yourself. The antidote to both situations is to overdose on beauty. Get so filled up by going for a walk in the woods or watching a sunset that you will burst if you do not express your feelings.
Questions to Ponder: What type of creative expression have you always wanted to pursue? How do you think you would find the awe of God in doing that?
Surprised by God
For Moses this was another ordinary, lonely day in the wilderness tending his sheep. But for God it was a historic day, marked by an ambush through angelic visitation and a burning bush. The scene was Sinai—God’s holy mountain. Did Moses know where he was? Was he trespassing on holy ground?
It was too late to check. Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared, igniting a bush. There was nothing unusual about the bush itself, but when God shows up, the smallest plant becomes significant—but not to everyone. God was watching Moses. Would this flaming bush get his attention enough to draw him closer?
God is always wooing us closer to Himself, whether with angelic visitation, a burning bush or a still, small voice. Moses noticed this was no ordinary burning bush because it continued burning. Amazing! And to his astonishment, a voice from within the bush called his name. Scary? Yes, and more so when the voice identified Himself as God. At that point Moses covered his face.
God had a greater purpose with the pyrotechnic display than to wow Moses out of boredom. He does not use His glory to entertain. His purpose is twofold: first, to get our attention; and second, to transform our thinking about ourselves to fulfill our destiny. Sometimes it is easier for God to lead a bush than a human being. The bush obeyed, bursting into flames. Moses hesitated to follow God’s command because he did not see himself as God did. It is through bush-burning encounters that we get a better perspective of ourselves in relation to God. When we obey, He brings the firepower to ignite us in the call.
You do not need a burning bush to have a conversation with God. Jesus said He was never alone because the Father was always with Him. And He is with you right now. Ask Him why He has confidence in you. His answer may change your view of yourself as well as of Him.
Questions to Ponder: What purpose or ability had God helped you fulfill in your life? How did this change your view about yourself?
Pregnant with Promise
We first meet Sarah and learn of her barrenness in Genesis 11. The conception of her son, Isaac, does not come until Genesis 21. The chapters in between represent 39 years of waiting. Today, a woman’s “success” is not measured by the fruitfulness of her womb, although infertility is painful for any couple longing for children. In Abraham’s day, an empty cradle was shameful. And then Sarah’s hopeful expectation became the silent cynical laugh heard by God. God hears the pain no one else does, including yours.
Because of famine in Canaan, Abraham fled to pagan Egypt. As a stranger in a land that did not honor God’s laws, his fear was understandable. He recognized that Sarah’s beauty would attract unwanted attention from the locals. His concern was not so much about her safety but more about his as her husband. If an Egyptian wanted her for his harem, he would have no problem killing Abraham. Posing as her brother made Abraham less of a threat.
Since Abraham had not had the benefit of marriage counseling that instructed him to love his wife as Christ loved the Church, even to the point of laying his life down, lying seemed logical. And over the years, the helpmeet wife of the Garden had become more of a slave wife, required to do as the master commanded. Many people today, men and women, would have a few unrepeatable words for Abraham.
Abraham devalued Sarah to save himself. But it would be hard for Sarah not to have thought less of herself anyway, living with the label of barren. Society’s expectation for her was fruitfulness. She had failed. After years of trying to get pregnant, what humiliation to offer her maid’s womb to Abraham. Only God could know the depth of her dissatisfaction, anger, rejection, loneliness and hopelessness.
And then Sarah was pregnant. She knew, Abraham knew and everyone knew that it was impossible for her to bear a child at her age. And yet it became evident as her abdomen protruded more and more. And then her mourning turned to joyful laughter as she cradled baby Isaac—her own sign and wonder, the promise of God.
Questions to Ponder: What longtime request has God granted in your life? What emotions did you experience when hoped-for became reality?
Breath of Wonder
What did that first breath feel like? Did Adam’s body shake and rattle like the bones coming together in the valley of dry bones? Did he cough and cry like a baby at birth? Was the oxygen so rich that he experienced a euphoric high? Did his eyes squint at the blinding glory of God’s presence face-to-face with him? Oh, so many questions.
No birth since then has been the same, and yet every breath we take comes from the same source—God. Polluted air may envelop us nowadays, but the breath inside that makes us a living soul is pure and holy. Our first breath is a gift of life from God Himself.
Adam not only had the wonder within but also lived in a garden of wonder. In the first seconds of his life, all five senses were on overload—seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting and feeling the amazing, overwhelming aspects of paradise. Perhaps it was so beautiful that it was almost too much for him to take in at once.
“So what went wrong?” we may wonder. “How could two people forfeit wonderland for a snack?” We should learn from their mistake instead of judging them for it.
Paul’s teaching in Romans 1 helps us understand the tragedy of Adam and Eve. He wrote of how they knew God but wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. Instead they thought up foolish ideas of what God was like, and so their minds became dark and confused. At some point Adam and Eve must have taken God for granted. Otherwise they would not have believed the foolish ideas presented to them by the serpent. Our worship and gratitude for the God of wonders greatly influences our thinking.
There is good news! You do not have to wait for reconciliation as Adam did. Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life. His death, burial and resurrection reopened the gates of paradise for you. He—the Wonder-worker—is your way back to paradise.
Questions to Ponder: What do you need to confess to God today to find reconciliation? How does your worship and gratitude for God affect how you think?
Ask for Wisdom
Throughout this Plan we’ve learned that wisdom ultimately comes from knowing Jesus Christ and following His ways. When He alone is our foundation, we can walk in freedom, victory, and hope.
But, maybe you don’t feel like you have wisdom. You see other people who appear to be so wise; people seem to hang on their every word. They’re the people that everyone wants a little bit of their time, and whose words are quotable. Whoever came to your mind, go through the list of what godly wisdom looks like from Day 1. Are they honorable, humble, selfless, pure, peace-loving, gentle, merciful, impartial, and sincere? They don’t have to possess every trait, but chances are, they possess many. Consider asking them what they did to get where they are today. There’s a strong chance that they not only sought God, but also learned from others along the way.
Maybe you're in a place where you truly don’t feel like you possess godly wisdom, and you have no idea what you’d do in any given situation that you face. So, what do you do when you don’t know what to do?
Ask God.
James 1:5 says, “But if any of you needs wisdom, you should ask God for it. He is generous to everyone and will give you wisdom without criticizing you.” Isn’t that amazing? If we need wisdom, we can literally just ask God. And you know what? He’ll give it—no questions asked. In fact, He’ll give His wisdom so generously to us and won’t even judge us for our past actions. He’s just pleased that we’re seeking Him and aiming to live wise lives filled with His truth.
Allow this Bible Plan to be a starting point for you on your journey to becoming a more wise person. Never stop learning and growing in this area. God always wants us to keep a posture of learning. And people with godly wisdom know this. So, seek God, walk in obedience, and ask Him for wisdom. Ask Him to bring you wisdom beyond your imagination.
The Right Foundation
In Matthew 7:24-29, Jesus is teaching about the foundation we build our lives on. He said that whoever listens to His teaching and follows it is wise. They’ve built their foundation on solid rock, that won’t shift or move when storms come. But whoever hears his teaching and doesn’t follow it is foolish. Their foundation is placed on sand, which is easily disturbed when winds and rain come.
Every single one of us has built our lives on a foundation. The question is, what type?
Is our life built on the hopes and dreams of others? If we seek to please people in our lives—even if it means that we don’t stay true to our beliefs—then our foundation is on them. This is dangerous, because people change, and when they do, our foundation crumbles.
Are we placing our confidence in things that are fleeting and pass away? If our hope is in material pleasures and physical appearance, then we will most assuredly be disappointed and our lives disrupted. On any given day, our money and our appearances can change.
Do we find our security and strength in the ways of the world? If we place our trust in what the world offers us, then our foundation will always be shifting. The belief system that many in our society hold fast to changes depending on people’s desires.
Or have we planted ourselves firmly in Jesus Christ? If our foundation isn’t steady and firm, our “house” won’t have a place to stand on. If our foundation is on the temporary, then it will fail the moment the “temporary” changes. But, if we are grounded in God’s truth and seek to make Jesus our entire life, then when hardship and heartbreak come, we have a foundation that won’t move. Sure, our lives or “house” may need some repairs and even break apart in places, but because our foundation is secure in Jesus, we can rebuild our lives on the hope we have in Him.
Spend some time analyzing where your foundation is built. One way to know is to ask yourself the following questions:
When someone I love fails or loses their dream, does my world crumble?
When my body changes because of aging, do I get depressed or upset?
When my retirement account isn’t flourishing, do I still feel secure?
If you’ve discovered that your foundation is built on anything other than Jesus Christ, it’s not too late to rebuild. As long as there is breath in our lungs, there’s always an opportunity to change our lives and live fully for His glory.
Wisdom from Proverbs
The Old Testament book of Proverbs has many writers, but the principal author was most likely King Solomon. While there are dozens of verses that mention wisdom in this book, we’ll focus on some and glean as much truth as we can about wisdom.
Proverbs 12:15 NLT
Fools think their own way is right, but the wise listen to others.
Listening to others brings wisdom. Sometimes we are too close to a situation or have already decided what to do, but we’re wise to listen to the thoughts, insights, and suggestions of godly people in our lives. Even if the advice is unsolicited, wisdom will consider it anyway and decide if it’s worth heeding.
Proverbs 13:10 NCV
Pride only leads to arguments; but those who take advice are wise.
Too often people think they truly have all the answers, but even the people we consider to be wise receive advice. That’s how they grew to be so wise! We all have room to grow, so let’s put aside a prideful mindset in order to become wise.
Proverbs 16:16 ESV
How much better to get wisdom than gold! To get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver!
Nothing this world has to offer can compare with the wisdom we can receive from God and others. We may enjoy temporary pleasures, including possessions and money, but employing wisdom in our decisions will bring a greater return. There’s no price tag we can put on God’s peace manifesting itself on a truly wise person.
Proverbs 19:20 NIV
Listen to advice and accept discipline, and at the end you will be counted among the wise.
The essence of this verse is that we should never stop seeking to grow in the area of gaining wisdom. We can never get to the place where we think, “Yep, I’ve got all the wisdom I need!” Life will continue to change, and we’ll have to learn to maneuver in new ways. The way we do this successfully is to never stop learning and growing in the area of becoming wise.
Proverbs 4:5-6 NASB
Acquire wisdom! Acquire understanding! Do not forget nor turn away from the words of my mouth. Do not forsake her, and she will guard you; love her, and she will watch over you.
One of the most vital aspects of walking in wisdom is that it actually protects and guards us. What an amazing thought! It’s not that our lives will be 100% problem free, but when we do seek to walk in wisdom, our wise choices will actually prevent a lot of unnecessary hardship.
Throughout our lives, seeking godly wisdom should be a top priority for us. Possessing it will help us navigate every aspect of our lives. Spend some time searching God’s Word for more insight on gaining wisdom and the importance of it.
The Wisest Man
One of the kings of Israel was a man named Solomon. He was the son of David, who is well known in the Bible. When King David died, 1 Kings 2:12 tells us, “Solomon became king and sat on the throne of David his father, and his kingdom was firmly established.”
King Solomon has quite a reputation—some of it good, and some of it not so good. The good is that he really did love God and worship Him. The not-so-good is that he still worshiped false gods and ended up having 700 wives and concubines. But, despite the imperfections of this king, he did something so memorable that it earned him the title of the wisest man.
In 1 Kings 3, there’s a story about King Solomon and a dream he had. In this dream, the LORD appeared to Him and asked, “What do you want? Ask, I will give it to you!” (1 Kings 3:5 NLT)
The God of the universe asked Solomon what he wanted, and clearly, he could’ve responded in many ways. But his response was anything but typical. He began by praising God and showing Him honor. After that, he made a surprising request in 1 Kings 3:7-9:
“Now, O Lord my God, you have made me king instead of my father, David, but I am like a little child who doesn’t know his way around. And here I am in the midst of your own chosen people, a nation so great and numerous they cannot be counted! Give me an understanding heart so that I can govern your people well and know the difference between right and wrong...”
Solomon’s heart was truly postured to lead the country, but he knew he needed wisdom from God to do it effectively. God was pleased with Solomon’s response because he could’ve requested a variety of things like power, money, and fame. But, he didn’t. Because of that, not only did God grant him wisdom beyond what anyone had ever had before, God also granted him riches and fame. Can you even imagine?
This story is a great example of how valuable and necessary wisdom is. A king who ruled an entire nation could have asked God for anything, and the one thing he chose was wisdom. He saw that wisdom would enrich not only his life, but the lives of the people he led. In a world where good and bad seem to be mixed up, walking in the wisdom of God will help us make decisions that will protect and sustain us.
Think about your life and what you consider important. Is it the treasures of this world, or is it having godly wisdom so that you can live a victorious life here on earth? Just be honest with God, and if you don’t see the value in having wisdom in your life, ask God to reveal His truth to you.
What is wisdom?
If you look up the definition for wisdom, you’ll find this: knowledge of what is true or right coupled with just judgment as to action. We can have all the knowledge in the world stored in our brains, but if we don’t know how to apply it and move that information to action, we don’t have wisdom. Basically, we can know more than the average person, but if we don’t apply what we know appropriately, we’re foolish.
The first and most important thing we need to know about wisdom is that it comes from God. Psalm 111:10 NLT tells us that the “beginning of true wisdom” is found when we fear the Lord, and then goes on to say that we’ll “grow in wisdom” when we obey God.
That makes a lot of sense, doesn’t it? Most parents expect their children to obey them. Why? Because they see the path ahead, while the child doesn’t. As children obey their parents, they grow in wisdom, and learn that what their parents advised them to do was ultimately for their good. The same is true with our Heavenly Father — He sees what’s ahead and knows what’s best.
In James 3:13–18 NLT, Godly wisdom is explained in detail:
If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you are bitterly jealous and there is selfish ambition in your heart, don’t cover up the truth with boasting and lying. For jealousy and selfishness are not God’s kind of wisdom. Such things are earthly, unspiritual, and demonic. For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind. But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere.
This passage is full of rich truths for us, so let’s really digest this passage. Exhibiting godly wisdom means we are:
Honorable — We show honor to everyone.
Humble — We don’t draw attention to ourselves.
Selfless — We think of others more than we think of ourselves.
Pure — We strive to have untarnished motives.
Peace-loving — We agree to respectfully disagree.
Gentle — We consider the feelings of others before acting.
Merciful — We give second chances because they’ve been given to us.
Impartial — We show fairness to all we encounter.
Sincere — We are authentic, honest, and full of integrity.
Learning and growing as followers of Jesus is what will transform our old self to the redeemed person God is calling us to become. Growing in wisdom with God won’t always make sense to people around us. But, as we learn insights from God, we can put them into practice and influence those around us.
One of the biggest signs of the ongoing presence of sin in our lives is prayerlessness. Prayerlessness says, “I don’t need to ask God to help me with my daily life.” Another way of talking about this sin of prayerlessness is in terms of pride. Pride doesn’t think it needs God’s help. Pride thinks that more will be accomplished today by skipping a time of prayer and starting to do the tasks for the day. Our prayer life, more than anything else, shows us how much pride is in control of our hearts.
One of the keys to a flourishing, daily prayer life is battling the pride that stands in the way of it. You have to fight to embrace your childlike identity by fighting pride with the words of Jesus, who said, “for apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). Daily prayer happens when we see through the delusions of pride that say we don’t need to ask God for help.
Others show that they struggle to embrace their childlike identity by believing that they need to use a sophisticated strategy to talk to God in prayer. But God doesn’t want us to look at prayer like that. No decent parent makes their kids speak to them perfectly for them to hear and help. When you think you must have a perfect presentation, or even a perfect “record” for the day, for your heavenly Father to hear your prayers, you show you don’t understand the greatness of his love and grace. Normal parents don’t stop taking care of their kids, wanting to do what’s best for their kids, when they aren’t asking or living perfectly. Why would we think God would do less than that?
We, of course, can overreact and think that our lives don’t matter at all. If a child is consciously rejecting the parents’ clear instructions, parents understand that if they don’t address the problem, they are enabling and training the child to do the wrong thing. That’s what Jesus’ half-brother James was talking about when he told Christians that they weren’t receiving answers to prayer, “You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions” (James 4:3). Part of embracing a childlike identity is taking seriously the command to do your heavenly Father’s will.
Will you be perfect? Nope. Jesus knows you’re not perfect, that’s why he came to save you. But his grace doesn’t just change your standing before him; when it is received by faith, it changes the direction of your life. While complete change won’t be likely today, genuine change will.
That’s why Jesus wants his listeners to embrace their childlike identity. If you want to learn to pray, you need to remember who you are. You’re God’s child, so this daily act that leads to daily prayer marked by boldness is for problems and plans that are big and small. When you truly see who God is as your heavenly Father and who you are as his child, no request is too small for him to hear and help.
If normal dads want to do what’s best for their kids, how much more should we expect the perfect, heavenly Father to always do what’s best for his kids? Jesus made this point to another audience filled with good folks like you and me. He said, “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:11).
Jesus starts his teaching on prayer by clarifying how he wants his listeners to view the God to whom they are speaking. Because your view of God will determine your practice of prayer. And your practice of prayer will reveal your view of God.
But Jesus doesn’t just tell us that we are talking to a God who is “Father,” so we know he is willing to help. He also tells us that we are talking to a God who is “in heaven,” so we know that he is able to help. “In heaven” isn’t meant to communicate distance; it’s meant to communicate competence. Because God is “in heaven,” he is unstoppable.
Jesus is connecting the identity of the one we are speaking to in prayer with the God who “is in heaven and does whatever he pleases” (Psalm 115:3 CSB); the one for whom “all things are possible” (Mark 10:27); the one who easily brought about every miracle we find in Scripture. His power is unmatched and unending. And he never needs a break when he does more in a moment than we can do in a lifetime.
Jesus wants us to know from the very beginning that we are speaking to a God who is endlessly capable and eagerly willing to do what’s best for his kids. He wants us to have so high a view of God’s power that we really believe he can make a difference in our inner thought life, health, relationships, finances, work life, and more, and a high enough view of God’s love that we really believe he is eagerly working to do what’s best in our lives.
Do you view God like this?
How do you know what your heart really thinks about God’s ability or willingness to help you with your problems and plans? Look at your prayer life. If you are daily asking God for help, you have a heart that believes in God’s ability and love. If you aren’t asking, you don’t.
When we say that we’re too busy to pray, our lives are saying, “It is more productive for me to get to work than to ask God to help me with my work.” That shows that we aren’t seeing who God is and what he can do rightly.
Jesus designed our prayer life to change our perspective. And at the heart of this change is a change about how we view God, from thinking he is unable or unwilling to help to knowing he is able and willing.
Relationships
Relationships are a part of all of our lives. Some of them may be healthy, while others aren’t. At times, we may feel closer to people that we’re not related to, and feel distant from those in our own families.
Within these relationships, we get to witness the good in the lives of people we love, but we also have to navigate the difficult—like hurt, betrayal, and frustration (to name a few). And the normal way many people respond when these things happen is to withhold forgiveness, seek revenge, and show no mercy.
When someone does something that hurts or offends us, we often take it as a personal attack. We assume they meant to hurt us, and at times, people do. But, for the most part, we’re just imperfect people who are just being...imperfect.
In addition to how people treat us, we need to examine how we handle relationships on our end. Do we build people up with our words, or do we tear them down? Are we kinder to people who can do something for us in return, or do we treat everyone with honor and respect? Do we typically give ourselves sexually to everyone we date, or are we saving ourselves for our future spouse?
The Apostle Paul shares very specific instructions in Romans 12:9-18 about how we should operate in our relationships. He says we’re called to love each other as brothers and sisters, honor one another beyond what we’d give ourselves, share with others who are in need, and possibly the hardest part...not repay with evil when someone wounds us.
When it comes to our relationships, let’s look at the contrasting ideas we find in what’s accepted as normal and what could be better than normal:
Normal abandons friendships when mistakes are made, but better than normal forgives.
Normal allows insignificant issues to create frustration, but better than normal is patient.
Normal gives in to temptation, but better than normal chooses purity.
Normal argues when there are differences, but better than normal builds bridges.
Normal looks out for self, but better than normal thinks of others.
Normal makes jokes at others’ expense, but better than normal speaks with respect.
Whether our relationships are struggling or not, we know that normal isn’t always a healthy place to be, but it’s more comfortable to us than the unknown. So, let’s choose to be better than normal in how we love and live with the people around us.
Do you have relationships in your life that are unhealthy? Think through the people in your life and how you interact with them. Decide what is healthy and what needs to change to ensure your relationships are honoring to God.
Work
Work is a good thing that God has given all of us. Children work at school and do chores at home. Teenagers train in sports, while others get their first job. Adults work at raising kids, serving others, and running companies. Some of us go to work away from our homes, and some of us don’t. Some of us get paid to work, and some of us don’t. And some of us love our work, and some of us don’t. No matter what we do or how we work, God has given us this gift to provide for our families as well as to make a difference in the world.
While our work is a gift from God, sometimes we can develop an unhealthy relationship with it (just like with money). For example, some people overwork themselves to the point of burnout, which may lead to serious health issues. Other times, we may struggle with underworking, whether by choice or due to circumstances out of our control. Working hard and resting well are both incredibly valuable, but ultimately, we must find a better than normal viewpoint and work ethic when it comes to how much we produce.
Let’s take a look at the difference between what normal and better than normal can look like in our work lives:
Normal finds its identity in a job, while better than normal knows who we are in Christ.
Normal chooses workaholism, while better than normal knows when to say “no.”
Normal accepts exhaustion, while better than normal values rest.
Normal looks for ways to avoid difficult work, while better than normal perseveres.
Normal sees what we do, while better than normal sees purpose in how we work.
Normal does the bare minimum, while better than normal works with integrity.
The people who live on this planet are unique and diverse. Regardless of how we work, the point is that we choose to work hard at whatever we do. The best way to do this is to see ourselves working for God.
In all the work you are doing, work the best you can. Work as if you were doing it for the Lord, not for people. (Colossians 3:23 NCV)
No matter what our work schedules and tasks look like, let’s consider Jesus to be our employer. Yes, we should work hard to do our jobs well and honor our earthly employers. But placing Jesus at the forefront of our minds is even better because we can then honor Him by working hard and resting well.
In what ways do you feel healthy, and in what ways should you make changes? Spend some time thinking through your work life.
Money
The world is full of things competing for our attention. Everywhere we look, we see things that seem to call out to us saying, “Buy me!” or, “You need me!” Material possessions can lure us in so strongly that we start purchasing things that may not have been on our financial radar. And before we know it, we’re in a toxic relationship with money and possessions, and we don’t know how to get out of it. This is “normal” living for many people.
This normal way of spending and managing our money doesn’t leave us in a good place. For example, it’s normal to spend every bit of our income and not save any money for emergencies. It’s also common to go into debt and never pay things off. It’s “normal” to think that as long as we can afford the payment, we’re good.
The Bible actually has a lot to say on the topic of money. In fact, it’s one of the most talked about subjects in the entire book! A couple of things the Bible tells us about money is that it won’t satisfy us (Ecclesiastes 5:10), and that when wealth is gained quickly, it’ll dwindle quickly (Proverbs 13:11).
In Matthew 6:19-24, Jesus teaches about money and warns us against accumulating worldly “treasures.” Instead, He challenges us to acquire “heavenly” treasures, because they never end and can never be destroyed. Jesus tells us that our heart will follow where we’ve placed our treasure. His final and most powerful exhortation to us is that we “can’t serve both God and money” (Matthew 6:24 NLT).
We can keep doing what we see displayed in most of the world, or we can make changes and live better than normal.
Normal focuses on accumulating, while better than normal gives to others.
Normal allows money to lead, while better than normal seeks to be led by God.
Normal keeps 100% of our income, while better than normal trusts God with 90%.
Normal doesn’t think ahead, while better than normal lives by a plan.
Normal is enslaved to debt, while better than normal saves to pay in full.
Normal thinks of today, while better than normal invests for the future.
Money isn’t a bad thing by itself, but when we allow it to be our god, it can wreak havoc in our lives. The money we earn should be something we use and not something that uses or controls us.
What if we adjusted our normal mindset to have a better than normal one? Spend some time thinking through your relationship with money and see what needs to be changed.
What is normal?
Normal means conforming to a standard, type, or regular pattern. The term normal usually refers to something that’s typical or natural and something that most people do, and abnormal appears to be the opposite. With that in mind, we’ll define normal in the following way: behavior that is typical, expected, and adjusts to a standard that society has put in place.
But with the amount of people who live on planet earth, is it even possible to say something is normal? What may be normal in one culture may not make any sense in another.
At times, our idea of normal gets hijacked, which causes us to panic and not know how to respond. “When will things go back to normal?” is a question we ask when things stop feeling normal or when we’re in a challenging season where the end date seems unattainable. But eventually, we get our feet steady and we say something like, “Well, I guess this is our new normal.”
What’s so appealing about normal after all? Well, we usually know what to expect, and we find comfort in it even if it’s not good or healthy. But, comfort doesn’t always equate to health. So, what if we chose to look for a life that is beyond that concept of normality? What if we pursued a life that is better than normal?
As followers of Jesus, we’re called to live differently. The world tells us to follow our hearts, but we know that our hearts can be deceitful. The world says to have the perfect body, but we know that godliness should be our goal. The world tells us to put ourselves first, but we know that living a life where we give to others is more rewarding and kind.
In this Plan, we’ll look at some of the ways that normal just doesn’t cut it. Instead, we’ll learn how to change the way we live and leave the status quo behind for a better than normal life.
What's Your Ambition?
Selfish ambition is a sneaky little beast; one that is easy to fall prey to, even for a sincere-hearted Kingdom driven entrepreneur. After all, the world of business looks favorably upon ambition and drive to be the best and achieve more. Shouldn't you want more for your business? Won't greater influence, profits, and prominence mean a greater impact for the Kingdom of God? According to the scriptures, not necessarily.
Being ambitious is not inherently a bad thing, but if it is selfish ambition rather than ambition that is honoring and surrendered to God, it can lead down a path of destruction.
Before I had a heart revelation that I could truly trust God and know that He had my best interests in mind, my ambition as an entrepreneur was not submitted to nor focused on Him. While I was still a generous giver and not treating others poorly, I was always looking to the future rather than appreciating what God was doing in the present. So much of my identity was wrapped up in how much I was achieving in my business or other areas of my life. That is part of the danger of selfish ambition. You can generally be operating with integrity, doing good work, making a difference in the lives of others, and not even realize that you're still missing the mark.
I discovered that once I was able to give up my selfish ambition in exchange for experiencing business in partnership with Him:
I found my value and security in Him, not how I performed
I was at peace with allowing God to be my promoter and elevate me and my business as He saw fit
I learned how to live in the daily sufficiency of God's grace
I became motivated by loving God and loving others well
I was no longer interested in good ideas and focused on ideas that were aligned with what God desired for me
It is certainly a process, and we all have to consistently look to Jesus Christ in those moments when we miss it. Every past, present, and future good thing in your business is a result of God, and apart from Him you can do nothing. Allowing the deeds you do in your business to be done in humility will ultimately lead to God's best for you and those you are called to impact in the marketplace.
Faith and Corresponding Action in Business
I rarely meet a Kingdom driven entrepreneur who is not an action taker. It's the nature of a business owner to work hard to see a vision come to fruition and grow in both profitability and impact.
Here is the problem.
Taking action and taking faith-filled, God-inspired action are two different things.
I am all too familiar with this from my own journey. Years ago when I left a thriving corporate career in obedience to God to become a full-time entrepreneur, I immediately entered what I like to call my six-months of faithless action. Here is what faithless action in business looks like:
1: Relying on your own wisdom and your own strength, working as hard as you can to make things happen in your business.
2: Failing to seek God concerning His heart, thoughts, and plans for your business and simply submitting your own plans and asking Him to bless them. This accompanies the behavior of #1 above.
3: Chasing after every new idea to make money any way you can. Looking to see what others have done and modeling your business activities based on what you see.
4: Ignoring the Holy Spirit's nudges to take action in an area that is uncomfortable or unfamiliar to you, and instead taking action based off of what is convenient and within your comfort zone.
I distinctly remember the day when I heard God say to me "Are you done yet?" That was the beginning of my adventure to be led by Him in my business.
Faith and corresponding action must work together in your life as a Kingdom driven entrepreneur. Seek God concerning your business plans, take steps in faith towards what He places on your heart (no matter how intimidating it may feel), and be willing to pivot when you receive a course correction. It's through your willingness to take action that your faith remains active and effective.
Lack Wisdom? Ask God.
One of the most significant assets you have as a Kingdom driven entrepreneur is divine wisdom. Not only does God give you wisdom, but He does so without finding fault in you for asking Him! That is not a small thing, and too many entrepreneurs fail to tap in to His wisdom when faced with a problem that requires a solution.
How many times have you failed to ask God for wisdom simply because you didn’t want to bother Him with such small details or what you consider to be minor matters? Or maybe you think you should already know the solution to your issue and feel shame for asking. Or perhaps you just asked God for wisdom 10 minutes ago about something else and now you don’t feel like you should ask Him for wisdom again on another matter so soon.
If you lack wisdom (anytime, anywhere, and on any business matter), ask God and He will reveal His wisdom by His Spirit and through His word. The Holy Spirit may lead you to a specific scripture, may speak an answer to your heart, may make your path clear by removing blocks, or may lead you to a specific resource or person. The key is to not only ask, but to also:
have a willing mind and heart to receive His wisdom
fully commit to submitting to the wisdom you receive
endure patiently and faithfully as you await His answer
Unlike man, God doesn’t grow tired of you. Like the good Father He is, He is right there with you both able and willing to help you in any area of your life and business.
The Power of Perseverance
The journey of Kingdom driven entrepreneurship is filled with hills and valleys; deep challenges and fulfilling triumphs. There are times you will experience a true test of your faith.
In my own journey, I’ve faced significant financial loss in business, not once but twice. I’ve experienced the unexpected loss of a business partner along with the feelings of confusion and depression that came with it. I know what it’s like to be diligent and faithful in my work, yet have $10 in my bank account that needs to cover both groceries for the family and gas for the car. On the other hand, I’ve experienced having more than enough to give generously and I’ve seen God move in miraculous ways both big and small in a variety of areas of my business life.
The beauty of the trials and challenges you experience is the fruit it produces within you as you place your trust in the Ultimate CEO of your business and the best business partner you can possibly have -- God Himself. Enduring through trials matures you (spiritually and naturally), reveals more of the nature of God, and increases your faith.
Are you experiencing challenges in your business? Don’t walk away; stay in it to win it by leaning into God through the trial. Be consistent in prayer, focus, and faith-filled action. Persevere because someone needs you and what you uniquely bring through your work in the marketplace.
There’s a sphere of influence you are designed to impact, and as you continue to mature and become more like Christ, the greater and deeper that impact will be. Your entrepreneurial journey may not be sweatless, but when it’s surrendered to God, you’ll experience peace and encounter the infinite power of His grace.
The Call to City Impact
Jesus Christ came to establish His Kingdom and sent the Holy Spirit so that His ministry could be continued through us in union with Him today. Through demonstration of the power, presence, and love of God, you are called as a Kingdom entrepreneur to make a difference wherever you are planted.
Your city is blessed not by simply having church buildings erected throughout it, but by having believers living and working within it. The talk of the wicked tears a city apart, yet you’re able to help lift it up—releasing hope, covering it in prayer, giving generously, offering divine strategies and solutions for the communities’ needs, and modeling “love your neighbor as yourself.”
Consider asking God what it looks like for your city to be exalted or lifted up by Him. What is His dream and heart for your city, and how might you get involved in what He is doing?
A Kingdom-driven View on Wealth
I remember the day I met Ken Eldred, a Kingdom entrepreneur who built and later sold a $400 million revenue business and has since provided funding for a number of Kingdom advancing businesses. He made a powerful statement to me about entrepreneurship:
“Profit is like oxygen. You absolutely need it to win the race. But that’s not the objective. The primary objective of business is serving others to the glory of God.”
Getting and maintaining the proper perspective - the mind of Christ - concerning wealth is key as a Kingdom entrepreneur. Certainly you have a desire to generate strong profits and create wealth through your business endeavors, but if you want to experience God’s best, those profits will be the result of first seeking the Kingdom in your business. Your profit growth will be one of the things added unto you. The beauty of it all is that it is the blessing, or the empowerment of God, that will bring you wealth without sorrow and without anxious laboring!
You don’t need to chase dollars. Serve faithfully and allow God to increase your business through godly knowledge, understanding, and wisdom. Profits are a tool. When you humbly recognize God as the one who enables you to create wealth and rightfully recognize your role as the steward of the wealth that God owns, it’s easy to honor Him with your finances and embrace intentional radical generosity.
Regardless of your current level of profitability, honoring God with your increase will make the economy of Heaven available to you.
Knowledge, wisdom, and understanding are three of Heaven’s greatest assets available to you as you grow a Kingdom-driven business. Although many people use these terms interchangeably, they are different. Knowledge is information and facts; understanding is the ability to give meaning to that knowledge; wisdom is knowing what to do with (how to properly apply) the knowledge.
In my own entrepreneurial journey, I have experienced the nuances of knowledge, understanding, and wisdom.
I’d heard and read the scripture Matthew 11:28-30 numerous times in my Christian life. I knew in my mind that Jesus’s yoke was easy and that his burden was light. It was a fact, but yet it had no true meaning to me. In my hunger to experience more of God in my work and truly live out the message of Kingdom-driven entrepreneurship that God called me to inspire, teach, and mentor others in, I experienced an illumination in my heart - a supernatural moment of insight - when hearing a different translation of the scripture in a sermon. It was The Message translation and it said:
“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”
Suddenly, the knowledge I had became understanding. The lights turned on! I knew in my heart that there was another way of doing business that was completely different from the world of “hustling and grinding” that I had grown so accustomed to, even as a believer who desired to impact lives for the Kingdom through the marketplace.
Once I had understanding, God gave me wisdom over the next few years. It was God who walked with me and showed me how to practically apply the knowledge and understanding to my business. It changed everything! It also led to the writing and release of my book, Grace Over Grind: How Grace Will Take Your Business Where Grinding Can’t.
It’s easy to fall into a trap of self-sufficiency due to your ability to thoroughly and independently perform research, and you may allow your own (or others’) experiences to shape your understanding. If you want to effectively do business in partnership with our awesome and limitless God and have a greater Kingdom impact in the marketplace, it begins with respect and adoration of who He is. It is acknowledging Him as the source of truth, the understanding of the truth, and the wisdom required to experience a godly kind of success in both the earthly and heavenly matters concerning your business.
Faith Matters with Brian and Andi Hale
The Book of Signs by Dr. David Jeremiah. This week we read Chapter 17 on worship.
Revelation 4 and 5 provide a glimpse into heaven and the great worship service that will occur around the throne of God as the time comes for the unleashing of the final events in world history leading to the return of Christ. These chapters literally take us up to heaven and let us see celestial worship as it unfolds before the throne of God.
One day, worshipper, you and I will be a part of that great multitude, that choir from all the nations. If that's where we are headed, we need to start rehearsing immediately, don't we? There's no guarantee how long we'll have to get ready. It's altogether possible that by the end of this day or by the end of this week, you or I will actually be part of the heavenly chorus.
Why Am I Irritable?
A short time into my new marriage, I found myself irritated by something my husband had done “incorrectly.” At least in my opinion. I may have even rolled my eyes. I was irritated. My husband responded “Wow! After 28 years, I am so glad that you finally told me that I was doing it wrong.” I was humiliated at my behavior. There is more than one way to cut the apple. I was easily irritated by behaviors of others that did not match up to my expectations. What small thinking that the world revolved around my opinion of what was “right” and how it SHOULD be done. What arrogance!
What do people do that makes you feel irritated? How about bad drivers or rude people? Does your response cause you to feel offended as well as irritated? How could you think differently to help you feel differently? Could you extend mercy wrapped in patience? Have you ever been rude? If I am offended or irritated, that is my chosen response, and that is on me. The behavior of others can’t be responsible for my reaction. What you feel and how you respond is based on what you think!!!!
After being completely irritated by the behavior of my teenagers, my husband asked, “If they are always irritating you then why are you so irritable?” I was stunned by this question. I felt so immature. They were sucking me into their issues and I was buying it. When we complain about the behavior of others, it reveals our offendable heart. If I had chosen to focus on all that was praiseworthy about my children, about the blessings that they are, then just maybe I would be able to navigate those years a bit differently. They were hormonal and certainly needed some grace. My constant irritation with them gave me pause to consider my behavior and responses. I double-timed my prayers for grace, patience and understanding.
An oyster takes what was at first an irritation and intrusion…a grain of sand, and uses it to enrich its value. With time, a beautiful pearl is formed. How can we reframe the irritants of life to allow growth, harvest beauty, and gain wisdom? We have to be willing to open our eyes and our hearts to see the opportunity for growth presented with every irritation. Can my irritant really be my blessing to a greater personal maturity and positivity?
Since testing produces strength and perseverance (James 1:2-4), let the transforming work begin. Ask God to give you new eyes to see and a new strength to become the great pearl resulting from life’s irritations. And remember, “your life is too short and your calling too great to spend time offended.” Forgive, let go and move on to the greater glory at hand.
Ponder:
Am I easily irritated by others? Am I quick to give grace and forgiveness? What does it say about me when I am so easily irritated?
Prayer:
Lord, forgive me for being quick to judge another. Help my love to be longsuffering, patience and kind and full of grace.
Final Note: Roxanne's passion is to speak life-giving truths into the hearts of others. She loves to speak at retreats and conventions. She hosts her own DEEPER Intensive and RISE UP coaching workshops and works with clients nationwide as a personal life coach. You can buy her new book and get more information at RoxanneParks.com
What Is Our Vantage Point?
If you remember the movie “Vantage Point” from 2008, you’ll be familiar with the concept that we can’t assume to know reasons for other people’s actions. In the movie, during an historic counter-terrorism summit in Spain, the President of the United States is struck down by an assassin’s bullet. Eight strangers have a perfect view of the kill, but what did they really see? This movie portrays the story from the “Vantage Point” of each eye witness. Although each story has similar components, they differ from their “point of view.” This movie depicts how life can easily be seen from many points of view.
There are many things out of our control. Such as who are our parents, what nation or decade we are born into, what our skin color is etc. We all have a mother and a father. We all have a story. We all have unique personal experiences, strengths, weaknesses, personalities, core values etc. So, our perspective can be wildly different from one another. In The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (by Stephen Covey), habit #5 is “Seek first to understand, then to be understood.” Empathetic listening to others compels them to reciprocate that listening model. This leads to greater understanding and communication. It is easier to give grace to others when we understand their point of view, whether we agree with it or not.
The other day I was standing behind a lady in the Walmart line that was so angry about not being able to find her credit card that she took it out on me as well as the cashier. Her cuss words made the cashier super responsive and angry (an easily offendable heart). Her cuss words to me made me wonder what her background story had been, what had been troubling her that day, what else was going on inside of her. I wanted to give her a big hug. I felt so sorry for her as I understood her frustration and embarrassment. I haven’t been able to locate my credit card before. But that was no reason for offense. I sought to understand her predicament. I was grateful for my journey with an unoffendable heart.
God is the only one with a pure and true vantage point. His is an eternal purpose-filled vantage point! We cannot know the heart of another. We probably don’t know their story or the pains that drive their behaviors. But we can be slow to anger and quick to forgive even when we don’t understand. We can live from a heart of compassion versus a heart that simply chooses offense.
May we all consider the vantage point that we are all a work in progress, that we all need love, grace and mercy from others. Let it start with me.
Ponder:
Consider the fact that an irritating person might be so because of something in their background that you don’t understand. Consider that others are a work-in-progress just like you.
Prayer:
Lord, help me seek first to understand before being understood. Help me to see through Your eyes of mercy, grace and a patient love.
Why We Need to Give Grace
Years ago, I made a decision to give others the benefit of the doubt, to believe the best in them before assuming the worst. That decision brings a lot of freedom to relationships. It was a choice to wrap my heart around the child-like faith that people aren’t trying to behave poorly, trying to get it wrong or making stupid mistakes on purpose. Here are some definitions for “benefit of the doubt”:
1) The state of accepting something/someone as honest or deserving of trust even though there are doubts
2) To default to a belief that another person’s intentions are honest, and not assume malice when there is uncertainty or doubt surrounding the circumstances.
3) To decide that you will believe someone, even though you are not sure that what the person is saying is true.:
4) The withholding of judgment so as to retain a favorable or at least neutral opinion of someone or something when the full information about the subject is not yet available.
5) A favorable judgment granted in the absence of full evidence.
I choose to believe that people can be fragile and that they are trying their best as I know that I try my best. I never intentionally choose poor behavior. Why would I assume that others were? When you give people the benefit of the doubt over and over again it allows you to see the best in others and it brings out the best in yourself. It is living life with a grace and a hope for things to be better. When we live from grace, we make allowances for any of us to have bad days that can lead to bad moments. Life is not perfect, and none of us are either.
Giving people the benefit of the doubt can help offset our offendable hearts. It takes us out of the center of our small story and everything being about us. It is a way that we can honor others, even when they may not deserve it. I am simply giving away the gift of grace that God has given to me. And we cannot out-give the Gift-Giver. Do I really think that a friend running late, someone cancelling plans, my husband not emptying the dishwasher, another spouting a short hurtful comment or having a bad mood or a host of many other things, is really some plan against me? Come on. That is completely irrational thinking. The truth is that all of their behaviors are for reasons other than me. It really isn’t a plot against me to irritate my heart. None of us are perfect and we want others to give us the benefit of the doubt as well.
If we are to obey the Lord and love the way that scripture tells us to, then we are to never give up hope that we are all learning and becoming better. We can always give the benefit of the doubt. The Lord loves us unconditionally and is so patient with us. He sees our sinful nature and still chooses to extend us grace and new mercies every morning. Don’t you think it’s time we gave each other a break and cut some slack? Imagine the peace if we all started extending the benefit of the doubt? Our offendable heart is a tool of the enemy to rob us of better, more fulfilling relationships. Let go of the offense!
Ponder:
Do I allow the poor behavior of others to produce an offensive poor response from me? I should consider if they are having a bad day and quickly extend grace.
Prayer:
Lord, help me to honor others with the same patience and love that You have so generously given to me. Help me extend grace and give others the benefit of the doubt as I am not to judge their behavior because I have been known to behave poorly myself.
Why Do We Take Offense? – Part 2
Taking offense starts with my response to others; and my response is my choice! Last I knew, I will be a human being until I die. I will live with humans, marry them, birth them, work with them and have them as bosses and as neighbors. I call this our common ground: the human condition. Just as our human bodies hunger and thirst, so do our souls. But our soul requires spiritual food and water. Upon accepting Christ as Lord, we are given a new nature through the indwelling Holy Spirit. But, unfortunately, we remain living in the “human condition” often described spiritually as living in the “flesh”. Since our enemy wants to kill, steal and destroy all relationships, it is easy to understand struggles with offense caused by people we love. It is a completely different ball game when dealing with the guy that flipped you off driving down the road. But I am now more aware whenever I take offense as this is not how we want to live.
If we are on a continuous search to be offended, then we will always find reasons for such. Being easily offended or irritated leads to poor responses stemming from our self-nature. We all want love, acceptance, worth and security but those things can only be truly fulfilled by Christ within. We live fully when we live from our new identity in Christ.
The main reason people live offended is unfulfilled expectations whether they are unspoken, unmet or even unrealistic. We are often offended when others don't behave like we want them to. Each human is intentionally designed to be different. We have different personalities, viewpoints, and experiences all leading to different rationale and behaviors. Even my children, growing up in the same home, live with completely different personalities and viewpoints.
It is easy to see another person acting like a brat, but it is not easy to see it when we behave like a brat. It is easy to see when others are irritable, easily offended or even blamers. Yet so often we don’t see that we have it within ourselves to behave the exact same way. We can see the splinter in another person’s eye, yet we cannot see the log in ours. With an unoffendable heart, one chooses to quickly forgive and release the offense. God doesn’t ask you to forgive to heal the other person. God asks you to forgive to heal you. This quick forgiveness sets you free from the burden that comes with an easily offendable heart. It is a shame for one sinner to throw a stone at another sinner. We all live from an inborn sin nature, which is a bit messy. We all need grace and mercy for those days that we are not our best. We don’t need to be provoked by offenses that can bind any of us. We don’t need to live defensively either. Life is full of adventure with other humans. Let’s extend lots of grace as we are all navigating the human condition.
Ponder:
How are you responding to other humans when they act differently than you think they should? Are there scenarios where you easily take offense?
Prayer:
Lord, I want to forgive quickly even when people “know not what they are doing.” I need you to be my refuge and strength in times when I want to have an offendable heart.
Why Do We Take Offense? – Part 1
Years ago, I asked the Lord to show me all the places that I had an “offendable heart”. I thought this would be an exercise in Christian maturity. Little did I know. Never could I have realized the extent to which there are opportunities to take offense until I opened my eyes to see such. Today, I can recognize an “offendable heart” so quickly. In myself. In others. Taking an offense is rampant on the news, in social media and in our homes. An easily offendable heart can destroy relationships.
Offense can be defined as something that outrages the moral or physical senses, the act of displeasing or affronting.Everyone is certain to feel offended at one point or another. The problem with living offended is that it doesn't hurt someone else… it hurts you. Like unforgiveness and bitterness, offense is a poison that we choose to drink only hoping that the other person, our offender, will be affected. Just because we have the right to be offended doesn’t mean that we should be offended. I desperately want a life that is truly free and “floats above” an offense. At peace with all men.
Generally, we experience offense in two stages. Stage one is actually feeling the offense. This happens when someone presents you with an opportunity to be offended. Maybe your pulse starts to rise, your emotions may rise, you may even get angry. Stage two is the resulting choice whether or not to live offended. The latter is a choice for a healthy soul and a peaceful mind that leads to a more blessed life. The resulting life impact of an offensive situation is my choice. It may sting but the continuing pain of the sting is my choice.
Typically, when people find themselves tired, stressed, hungry/hangry, or lonely they may be more easily offended. I love the way that Lysa Terkeurst says, “A depleted girl can quickly become a defeated girl when she lets her emotions dictate her reactions.” Whenever I am living in my self-centered nature, I tend to be more easily offended which is the ultimate display of me living in the center of my smaller story. When I am walking in the “Bigger Story” of God’s greater purposes, then I am not as easily offended.
The Word of God tells us that love COVERS a multitude of sin, and it is to a man’s glory to overlook an offense. Scripture also reminds us that a fool is easily annoyed and that the prudent man overlooks an insult. We must not forget that each of us can inadvertently offend others as well. It goes both ways. Do I want to be the victim of the offense? Do I want to stay a victim of the offense? We choose if we want to drink the poison. Are you easily annoyed? Being unoffendable is a pathway to our own peace of mind. My pastor reminds us that “our lives are too short, and our callings are too great to be offended about something small.”
Ponder:
Consider how you respond to the offensive actions of others. Do you easily forgive and overlook the offense? Or do you choose to wallow around in being easily offended?
Prayer:
Lord, I want you to be my defender. I need You to help me quickly release any offense so that I may live a more peaceful life.
Faith Matters with Brian and Andi Hale
The Book of Signs by Dr, David Jeremiah. Last week it was the Judgement Seat, and now this week we're talking about Rewards? You gotta listen in to this one!
All the honors, awards and trophies of this world have little lasting value. While we're grateful when others recognize something we have done, our chief concern shouldn't be the approval of others but the approval of God. At the Judgement Seat of Christ we as believers shall receive our rewards for the work we have done while living as Christians on earth.
After we receive our rewards humbly with gratitude, we're going to see Jesus. We're going to take the only thing we have in heaven, which is the crown He gave us, and we'll fall down at His feet and give it back to Him.
“Yeah, right!”
That’s often my inner reaction when someone casually glances at my situation and glibly tells me that it’s all going to work out.
It’s a cynical response. Maybe birthed out of hoping—and having hope crushed. Or, dreaming—and having dreams deferred. Or praying—and having prayers unanswered.
Maybe you’ve been there too. Where uncertainty about the future has given way to cynicism and where hope has dwindled into skepticism.
In Scripture, we meet with Sarah, Abraham’s wife.
Her husband had been given a promise that he would be the father of nations. But after decades of hopes being dashed, Sarah was cynical.
Perhaps, initially, she had been uncertain about the details—when would this promised child be born? How would it happen? Would she and Abraham have the energy to take care of a newborn?
Maybe those were the questions that raced through her mind. But as months gave way to years and years to decades, Sarah’s uncertainty seems to have morphed into cynicism.
When a group of three men (angels from God) visit Abraham and tell him that he will be a dad in the span of a year, the eavesdropping Sarah laughs (Genesis 18: 12). It’s not a joyful laugh. But a laugh that’s disbelieving. A “yeah, right” reaction.
But God, in His mercy, fulfills His promise to Abraham and Sarah.
Genesis 21: 1 reveals God’s faithfulness and kindness as it says: “Now the Lord was gracious to Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah what he had promised.”
Sarah’s cynicism turns to bubbling-over joy at the birth of her son, Isaac. And she says: “God has brought me laughter…” (Genesis 21: 6).
This time her laughter didn’t stem from doubting—but from seeing the goodness of God in her life.
God can take the uncertain situations, the problems that have no solutions, the disbelief, the anxiety, even the cynicism, and He can turn every situation for our good and His glory.
Let’s pray:
Father God, You are the One who specializes in making the impossible, possible. Father, even as I face an uncertain situation, while I have more questions than answers, while I tend to be cynical and disbelieving sometimes, Father, would you help me put my trust in a faithful God who always keeps His Word? When a deluge of uncertainty and doubt threaten to sweep over me, may I look up to the One who holds the waters in the hollow of His hand, who rebukes the waves, who tells waves how far they can go. Thank You for being a perfectly faithful, magnificently powerful, infinitely wise, all-knowing, always-loving God. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
We’ve all been in the waiting room of life.
We’ve waited for the medical report, sometimes for weeks on end as doctors figured out diagnoses.
We’ve waited for jobs and financial breakthroughs, wondering how we’ll pay the next mortgage or make it through the next month.
We’ve waited for admissions to colleges, asking ourselves if we have what it takes.
We’ve waited for relationships to be reconciled, wondering if broken fences will ever be mended.
We’ve waited for a child, perhaps as fertility treatments failed, wondering if we can go through the emotional agony of hope and disappointment again.
There’s an uncertainty that weaves itself through the waiting.
In our reading today we saw Jacob waiting to meet his estranged brother, Esau. They had parted on hostile terms, with Esau vowing to kill Jacob for his deceptive actions that robbed him of his inheritance and his birthright.
But twenty years on, Jacob wants to make amends with his brother.
Would his once-angry brother still be vengeful?
Jacob’s uncertainty gives way to full-fledged fear. He starts concocting imaginary “What if” scenarios in his mind. Genesis 32: 7 says that
“In great fear and distress Jacob divided the people who were with him into two groups, and the flocks and herds and camels as well. He thought, “If Esau comes and attacks one group, the group that is left may escape.””
But in the midst of his “great fear and distress,” he does a marvelous thing—Jacob turns to God in prayer. He proclaims who God is, he acknowledges what God has done for him, he confesses his fears to God, and he remembers God’s promises to him.
Later that night, there unfolds a powerful yet poignant scene as God meets with Jacob in a wrestling contest. In that intimate encounter with God, Jacob, although injured, receives a new name and a blessing. The next morning, Jacob walks with a limp into the embrace of his brother Esau.
In the face of your uncertain situation, when you feel the ground underneath you shift, turn to God in prayer as Jacob did. Humble yourself under His mighty hand and He will lift you up in due time. Stay locked into Jesus. Don’t let go of Him. Persevere in prayer. Your circumstances may not always change. But God will arm you with the courage to walk with a dependence on Him and a boldness that comes from Him.
Let’s pray:
Father God, The fear of the unknown can leave me paralyzed. Often, I tend to create stories in my mind of what lies ahead. I tend to magnify my problems and my circumstances. Lord, I pray that, instead, I would magnify You as You are sovereign over all my circumstances. You are the all-powerful God who engages with me, who strengthens me, who gives me the courage to walk with boldness into uncertain and fearful situations. The ground may be shaky, but I know I can trust my God, the Rock who was cleft for me. On Christ the Solid Rock I stand. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
Have you ever found yourself on the brink of a tough decision? You know the right thing to do, but if you do it, the consequences could potentially be unpleasant, if not disastrous. While you have no way of predicting how things could turn out, you believe that it is incumbent on you to act.
That’s probably how Queen Esther felt as she heard the news about the imminent annihilation of her people, the Israelites. She had to act—and act soon. But doing the right thing didn’t ensure that her future was secure.
Put yourself in Esther’s place for a second. She was about the approach her husband, the King of Persia with an audacious request—to save the Israelites from an edict that the king himself had unwittingly endorsed.
But there was the snag in her plan. By law, the queen had no right to approach the throne. By Persian custom, the king always summoned the queen. If anyone went to the throne without an invitation, there was a very likely chance they could be beheaded for their flagrant flouting of the law.
The “what if’s?” in Esther’s situation are staggering – what if the king was in a surly mood and didn’t want to see her? What if he decided she was not worth the trouble? What if he decided to depose her or, worse still, have her killed?
But here was Esther risking her life because she knew what had to be done. Instead of dwelling on the what if’s of the situation, she boldly proclaimed: “If I perish, I perish.”
That’s startling faith. A faith that says, I will trust my God no matter what. A faith that says I will not let the uncertainty of what may happen, stop me from doing the thing God has called me to do. A faith that says I will not let fear dictate to me.
Today, is God calling you to step out in faith even though the “what if’s?” press in?
Let’s pray:
Father God, You know exactly the situation I’m in. I feel like I know what to do—but it’s exhausting to think that things may not go as I’ve planned. Father, even as my mind gives in to questions and fears and doubts, would you hold me in Your perfect peace? Would you give me the confidence that even though I don’t know what lies ahead, You do—You have it all figured out. Father, help me not to fixate on my fears but to focus on the faith You’ve given me, and the unending supply of grace that will get me through this. In Jesus’ name. Amen
Have you ever felt stuck? Like you were meant to move forward, grab life by the horns, and crush your goals—but your circumstances close in on you and you just can’t get ahead?
Maybe you’ve wondered, “God, is there a plan?” Maybe day after day, week after week, month after month, your dreams get deferred—and you decide to bury the dream because there is no clear answer and no clear timeline.
If you’re trapped in a state of limbo, you’re in good company.
In Scripture, we read about Joseph. He was a young guy, full of promise, blessed with skills, and intellect, and integrity. But he finds himself thrown into prison for no fault of his own.
For more than a decade, Joseph, who had been deftly climbing the leadership ladder, was held prisoner for a crime he didn’t commit. More than ten years of not knowing when his time would come to be released from prison into all God had in store for him.
But God had a unique plan and purpose for Joseph's life which He unfolded according to His timetable.
At the perfect time, the pieces fell into place. Joseph left prison to become Pharaoh’s right-hand man.
Today, as you face dead-end circumstances, know that God has not forgotten you. Maybe you don’t have the blueprint—but God does. He will fulfill His plan for your life.
Your pit, your prison, your seemingly dead-end circumstances can become the training ground that readies you for what’s ahead.
Let’s pray:
Father God, Whether I’m in the pit or in the prison, I’m not alone. You are with me. In those valley situations, Your rod and Your staff comfort me. Father, my way is not hidden from you. You are El Roi—the God who sees. So, Lord, even though I don’t know when You’ll lead me out of this valley, I trust that You have the perfect timetable and that Your plan cannot be thwarted. Father, even when things feel like they are in limbo and answers feel up in the air, would you enable me to live with purpose and integrity, glorifying You exactly where You’ve placed me for now. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
When we think of Bible heroes and heroines who faced uncertain situations, one person who may immediately spring to mind is Ruth.
Ruth, a Moabitess, had lost her husband and had decided to leave her hometown and follow her mother-in-law Naomi to Bethlehem. As a young widow, Ruth’s situation was incredibly difficult, especially given the cultural and historical context where women, particularly widows, were looked down on. Her safer bet would have been to bid her mother-in-law goodbye and head back to the familiar setting of her hometown. But Ruth decisively chooses to stay with Naomi, saying: Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. (Ruth 1: 16)
Sometimes, we grow so accustomed to Bible stories that we forget that there were real people behind them with real feelings. I wonder what Ruth was going through as she made her way to Bethlehem. Was her mind riddled with questions? Questions and concerns like: Will we have enough to eat? Will they accept a foreigner like me? What if they ridicule and reject me there? What if I’m unable to support Naomi? Will I ever get to be a mother?
Taking a brave decision didn’t automatically shield Ruth from wondering. Uncertainty still loomed up ahead. But Ruth didn’t stay stuck in self-pity or in fear. She put one foot in front of the other. She walked in the light she'd been given.
The Bible says that God’s Word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our paths. When you face a mountain of questions and don’t know what lies ahead, pray for His Word to illuminate the path so you can take one step at a time.
We don’t know the next chapter, or even the next page, in our lives. But we do know the Author who is crafting incredible storylines that our minds cannot grasp.
Ruth went on to live a blessed life, marrying Boaz and later giving birth to a son who would be an ancestor to David. Ruth was included in the family line of Jesus—something she never would have foreseen or even understood when she decided to go along with Naomi, pledging her allegiance to the one true God.
Just like for Ruth, all the days ordained for us are written in His book. We are called to trust and obey, to put our hands in His, and walk on the paths that He has planned for us.
Let’s pray:
Father God, You are sovereign and You are good and You are wise and You are all-knowing. I trust You to write every chapter and every page and every word of my life. Those who look to You will never be put to shame. You will work all things out for the good of those who love You, who have been called according to Your purpose. So, Father, would You teach me to put my hand in Yours and trust You to write an incredible story through my life for Your glory and Your honor. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Faith Matters with Brian and Andi Hale
The Book of Signs by Dr. David Jeremiah. This is the Judgement Set of Christ, Chapter 15
There is a lot of pretending going on. Many people love to pretend they are Christians when deep down in their hearts they know better. They have never truly had a life-changing experience of salvation. But one day, all this make-believe will be unmasked.
The judgment seat of Christ is a sobering reminder to every Christian that a day of testing is coming and the day of pretending will be over. Right now, God is giving us opportunities, and He is saying to us that at the coming of His Son we will be both glad and sorry - glad we used the opportunities that we did and sorry we did not use more.
Heaven on Earth (Part 2)
Revelation 21 and 22 are packed with details about the new heaven and the new earth, but one striking feature is the repeated notation of things that are not present. The absence of things with which we are familiar in this world helps us better understand the wonder of existence in the renewed creation.
One of the first things that is mentioned as missing is the sea (21:1). In Hebrew poetry, the sea is consistently used as a metaphor for trouble and distress. Whether or not there will be oceans and beaches in the new earth is unclear, but there is no doubt that all dangers and trials will be banished. Also missing will be tears, death, sorrow, crying, and pain. God will soothe away our heartaches, comfort us in our sorrows, gently dry our tears, and ease away our hurts. The joy of dwelling in His presence will far outweigh the distant memories of hard circumstances. There will be no temple there either (21:22); none will be needed, for the ancient temple symbolized the presence of God with His people, and now God actually will be with them, and He and the Lamb will be the temple.
John also tells us “the city had no need of the sun or the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it” (21:23), a fulfillment of Isaiah 60:19–20. Indeed, even if the sun and moon still exist, the glory of God will outshine them. With the refulgence of God glowing everlastingly, there will be no night (21:25). And there will be nothing there “that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie” (21:27). This will be a place of truth, beauty, and goodness. Finally, there will be no curse (22:3). With spirits and bodies renewed and at last made unable to sin and provoke God’s wrath, His people will exist in a state of perpetual blessedness.
What will be there? These rich chapters list far more features than can be discussed in this limited space, but one thing bears mentioning: the tree of life (22:2). It originally grew in the midst of Eden, but following the fall God expelled man from the garden and placed cherubim there to prevent him from eating its fruit. Now the tree stands beside the river of water of life and “in the middle of [the city’s] street,” where it is easily accessible to all the inhabitants. The abundant life experienced by Adam and Eve before their fall will be known for all eternity by all of God’s people.
CORAM DEO Living before the face of God
Has today’s study whetted your appetite for heaven? What are you looking forward to leaving behind in this life? Looking to God for help, make use of all His means of grace to resist temptation to sin and to experience the abundant life to the fullest extent possible even now. Ask God to make you increasingly fit for your heavenly home.
Heaven on Earth (Part 1)
At the conclusion of the book of Revelation, John relates an awesome vision. He gazes upon “a new heaven and a new earth,” which, he says, replace the original of each, which have passed away. Other passages in Scripture indicate that this heaven and earth are not entirely new but are renovations of the originals (Isa. 65:17–25; Rom. 8:21–23), renewed much as believers’ bodies will be transformed.
Coming down from the new heaven into this new earth, John sees “the holy city, New Jerusalem.” It is, he tells us, “prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” Later in this chapter John mentions this city again, telling of an angel who refers to it as “ ‘the bride, the Lamb’s wife’ ” (21:9–10). Scripture elsewhere makes clear that the bride of Christ (the Lamb) is the church, the people of God (Isa. 54:5–8; Eph. 5:25–27; Rev. 19:7). Thus, John is seeing the entire body of believers from every time and place, made new in the consummation of all things, being placed back on the physical earth to live for eternity in their physical bodies.
There are many features to this new earth to elicit our wonder and praise, and we will look at a number of them in tomorrow’s study. Today, however, we will focus on one, the most wonderful feature of all. John tells us that he hears a voice declaring, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.”
During the time of Israel’s desert wandering, the sign of God’s presence with His people was the tabernacle pitched in the center of the camp. There, in the holy of holies, the presence of God was said to reside. Much later, the apostle John began his gospel by noting that Christ “dwelt [literally “tabernacled”] among us” (John 1:14). Those, however, were essentially “temporary stays.” What John sees is the establishment of God’s permanent residence among His people. In fulfillment of His covenant with Abraham and his descendants (Gen. 17:7–8), as well as the new covenant prophesied by Jeremiah (Jer. 31:33), God settles with His people, to be God to them. As in Eden of old, men and women walk with God in the cool of the day. Here we find the highest blessing man can know—intimate fellowship between creature and Creator. This is truly heaven on earth.
CORAM DEO Living before the face of God
The hints in Genesis about life in the Garden of Eden before the fall are heartbreakingly poignant, especially compared with Scripture’s accounts of the terror that fallen man experiences when he encounters God. By God’s renewing work, we shall be able to live as Adam and Eve did. Praise God for the beauty of His unfolding redemptive plan.
The Final State of Man
Christians sometimes imagine themselves spending eternity in an ethereal, spiritual place where they will exist as disembodied souls. Heaven may indeed be like this, but we will not be spending eternity there. Rather, we will live in a place that resembles the earth in bodies that will have significant identification with those we possess now.
The Bible makes clear that a separation occurs at death. The body dies, is placed in the grave, and decays. However, the spirit of the person continues to exist. The spirit of a believer goes immediately to the presence of God in heaven: to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord (2 Cor. 5:8). However, the spirit of an unbeliever is immediately cast into hell (Luke 16:22–23). But this is not the final state; instead, it is what theologians call “the intermediate state.” For a believer, being present in spirit in heaven is simply an advancement in the new life he or she began to live at the time of regeneration (John 5:24). In a very real sense, a Christian begins to live the life of heaven even before dying (Eph. 2:5–6). When death does come, his soul is made perfect in holiness, fitting him for the presence of God. Later in time, however, when Christ returns to earth, He will cause the bodies of all those who have died to be raised and reunited with their souls. Then will come the final judgment, when the unrighteous will be cast, soul and body, back into hell (John 5:28–29; Acts 24:15), while the righteous will be placed in the new earth, their souls reunited to their now-perfected bodies (Phil. 3:21).
It is the resurrection of the righteous that Paul is addressing in 1 Corinthians 15. To explain it, he uses the analogy of a seed. In order to produce a plant, we place a seed in the ground and apply water to make it rot. In effect, we kill the seed that a new life might come forth. So it is with our bodies, which go into the ground and decay. When they are renewed by God, they will become like the plant that sprouts from the seed. They will be the same bodies we once inhabited, similar in many ways. But they will be incorruptible. They will be like the body of Christ following His resurrection; perfected and glorified, fitting us for existence in the new earth.
What will that existence be like? We will examine that question in our next two studies.
CORAM DEO Living before the face of God
Is the idea that you will spend eternity in a physical world in a physical body strange to you? If this seems undesirable, remember that it will differ from your present existence in one monumental way—your spirit and body will be perfect and sin will be gone. As you finish this study, ask God to give you understanding of these things.
Good Versus Far Better
Jonathan Edwards once commented that no pilgrim en route to a glorious and exotic place will take up permanent residence at an inn along the way. Yes, the pilgrim is glad to have a resting place during his journey, but as soon as possible he is on his way again, drawn by eager anticipation of the joys that await him at his destination. Edwards’ point, of course, is that Christians are to emulate this pilgrim. Sadly, however, believers tend to take too much pleasure in their temporary accommodations and allow themselves to be distracted from pressing on toward their final destination (heaven). The solution, as Edwards suggests, is for Christians to keep in mind that while the accommodations may be good, the destination is far better.
Paul displays this outlook. Writing to the Philippians from prison, he confides that he is unsure of what is going to happen to him. It very well may be, he says, that he will be put to death. On the other hand, he might be set free. But this uncertainty really means nothing, he says, because either outcome will represent a “deliverance” and will magnify Christ. Thus, he is absolutely serene about his future. For Paul, to live on “is Christ.” In other words, Christ is his one consuming idea, his one passion in life. He is focused on Christ and on serving Him to the full. But he has no fear that death will spell the end of that passionate pursuit. Indeed, his fellowship with Christ will be enhanced by death. “To die is gain,” he proclaims. His only ambivalence has to do with the Philippians. It is “needful” that he continue ministering among them; he truly wants to be there for them. But death would be “far better” for him, for it would usher him into the presence of Christ, where he most wants to be.
Obviously it was a good thing for Paul to live and minister among the Philippians. But going on to heaven, he said, would be “far better.” By comparison, there was no comparison. Nothing in the world could entice him to stay if heaven beckoned. This is the attitude that every Christian should have. Instead of seeing death as a loss, as the loss, we should understand that it would be boundlessly better to exchange the temporal, limited glories of this world for the ageless, boundless glories of heaven, where dwells the lover of our souls, the Triune God. The inn is just an inn; the Celestial City lies ahead.
CORAM DEO Living before the face of God
If you were told that you would die without pain tonight, would you be excited? Obviously you would have pangs at the thought of leaving your loved ones and of the sorrow your death would bring them. But you would be about to see heaven! As we study the joys that await believers, pray that God will help you see heaven as “far better.”
A Needful Reality
In his magnificent summary of God’s faithfulness in Joshua 21:43–45, the unknown author of the book lists three indications of God’s favor toward Israel. First, He has given the Israelites the land He promised them. Second, He has brought a cessation of their long labors. And third, He has caused them to triumph over their enemies. In short, God has given them a home, rest, and victory. And in His benevolence to Israel, we see a picture of God’s kind intention toward His people in all times and places. The Bible tells us that we, too, will have a home, sweet rest, and ultimate victory. But it is clear that these things will not be ours in this life; we will experience them in full only in heaven.
Through the centuries, Christians have drawn great encouragement from knowing that these things awaited them beyond the grave. Not so today. Many contemporary believers, especially Westerners, being blessed with freedom of religion, good health, and abundant material goods, are at ease in Zion. Thus, we tend to fix our eyes on the here and now, not the prize that awaits us. But in doing so, we deny ourselves the kind of hope that sustained the Israelites. To combat this tendency, we will spend the next few days looking at what awaits believers after death.
Jesus clearly asserts the existence of heaven, and promises that believers will have a place there. In John 14, speaking to His disciples in the Upper Room on the night before His crucifixion, HeJesus urges them not to let their hearts be troubled. This is a call to faith, to trust. He notes that they believe in God; therefore, they ought to have faith in Jesus, too, because God has declared who He is by speaking from heaven and empowering Him to do wonders. Then, having called them to faith in Him, He gives the disciples some of His most magnificent promises about heaven. It truly exists, He says, and He is about to go there to prepare a place for them. In time, He will come back to take them there. They can and should believe these things, He says, for He, their God-attested Lord and Savior, would not mislead them.
CORAM DEO Living before the face of God
Do you think much about heaven? Why or why not? If your answer is no, is it because your life here is so comfortable that you have little desire to experience the riches of glory? Give thanks for God’s blessings to you in the here and now, but begin today to ask Him to help you look forward to dwelling in His heavenly courts.
Faith Matters with Brian and Andi Hale
The Book of Signs by Dr. David Jeremiah, Ch. 14 Heaven
God created us for heaven. That's our true home, our country, our destination. When we set our minds on things above, we can experience a supernatural peace even when the world around us is falling apart.
Jesus has gone to prepare a place for you in heaven. Everything that is near and dear to you and me, everything that is important to Christ followers, is in heaven. Almighty God is inviting you to the banquet in heaven, but you need to reserve your place.
Write a Decree
We have been commissioned by God to bring His heavenly purposes to the earth. Through humanity’s fall into sin, we lost our place of dominion, but Christ restored that severed authority to whomever receives Him as Savior and Lord. We have permission to speak and act “in His name” (see Matthew 28:18–20). In other words, we have Christ’s power of attorney—we represent Him throughout the earth.
Jesus promised that heaven would back His people up in whatever they would bind or loose on earth based on His new covenant (see Matthew 16:19). In other words, we have power to settle on earth anything that has been accomplished through His finished work on the cross––with heaven’s backup.
When you face situations that need God’s help, go into His presence to receive the applicable Word of promise. You will receive when you seek the Lord for His insight, wisdom and perspective (see Matthew 7:7). This is much better than figuring things out in your own mind.
Comb through the Scriptures for God’s purpose, writing down specific promises that reveal His will. Search key words with a Bible tool such as a concordance or Bible dictionary. Discovering promises is a treasure hunt! As you receive many consistent promises for your area of desired breakthrough, you will understand God’s perspective regarding that area.
Next, speak them out. Pray back to God what He has given you. Decree the Word into the need. The more you speak out the Word and the insights He has given you, the more confident you will become. Your words will hit their mark.
It helps to write them down. Which promises excite your spirit? Which ones activate your faith? Those are the ones to decree.
The Kingdom of God is voice-activated, so decrees need to be spoken. Just as God spoke the world into existence, so we can be His voice today, for He is still creating. He needs your voice. None of the promises in the Word will be activated unless they are given voice.
Decree of Love:
Absolutely nothing can separate me from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus my Lord. Because I am so loved by God, I love others well. I love them as He has loved me. I am marked by love and for love.
Decrees in Action
We wanted to minister in the city jail and prison in the city of Tijuana, Mexico, bringing them food and aid and sharing the gospel with them. When we approached the authorities, they firmly denied us entrance. The Lord seemed to be encouraging us to press in, and during prayer, He highlighted Isaiah 45:1–3 to my heart.
These verses made a powerful impact on me, and I wrote out a decree based on that Scripture and gave a copy to everyone on our team to use during our prayer time. In agreement, we declared:
In Jesus’ Name, we decree that the Lord opens doors before us in the city jail and in the federal prison so that their gates will not be shut.
He goes before us and makes the rough places smooth, shattering all resistance.
He gives us the treasures of darkness (souls, healings, deliverances) and hidden wealth of secret places (favor, grace, anointing) so that we know it is the Lord our God who calls us by name to fulfill this assignment.
We prayed it every day for a week in our prayer time and then went back to the jail and prison. In faith, we took blankets, food, toiletries, and Bibles to give to the prisoners. They welcomed us in and did not even make us go through security—this was supernatural favor! We spent hours in that dark place, reaching out to those who were bound and oppressed. Jesus’ hope and love filled the place. Many were saved, healed, and delivered. We were welcomed back over and over. We never faced resistance in the jail or prison after that. The decree went to work on our behalf.
Jesus often used this principle in His ministry. For example, we read in Luke 5:13 about a leper who had come to Jesus. He was full of devastating leprosy, but Jesus decreed, “be cleansed.” Immediately the leper was cleansed; his leprosy was gone. The decree of Jesus’ word brought forth cleansing, healing, and restoration that had not existed previously.
Decree Freedom in Christ:
The law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set me free from the law of sin and death. In Christ, I live and move and have my being. He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.
That Settles It!
I was in a very broken place prior to receiving the Lord as my personal Savior. The night I invited Him into my heart was a transformational turning point for me. I knew I was a different person, a new creation, and yet so much remained in upheaval.
Then my life was forever changed when I heard Dr. Oral Roberts preach a powerful sermon in which he emphatically declared, “God said it. I believe it. That settles it!” Those faith-infused declarations entered my heart that day and produced a fiery passion for the life-giving Word of God that continues to burn in me today.
Following this significant revelation, it became my practice to daily seek the Lord for insight concerning the life situations that I was facing. In prayer, I searched the Scriptures. I found that, consistently and faithfully, the Holy Spirit would reveal God’s will, perspective, and promises through His Word.
Once I understood His will concerning something, I learned to commit myself to the truth of His Word and “settle it.” No matter what happened, I allowed the Word to be my plumb line. By faith, I commanded everything to come into alignment with the Word. And continuously, I began to witness answers to prayer, breakthroughs, and empowerments that yielded success in God-appointed endeavors. Faith grew in me as I determined to settle any issue in life according to His Word and its power to transform and create.
Over the many years since, I have exercised scriptural decrees for life issues both large and small, watching God move faithfully in response to the command of His own Word. Decreeing His Word has brought peace, love, wisdom, healing, freedom, and prosperity.
God’s Word is always true whether people believe it or not, but without faith, the Word will not be activated. Every blessing and promise in the Word belongs to every believer but many do not see these promises manifest in their lives because they fail to access them by faith.
God desires all His people to live in His divine order and blessings. Decreeing His Word establishes His will and purpose in and through our lives. You and I were created to decree His Word.
Remember the simple statement: God said it. I believe it. That settles it!
Decree Divine Character:
Through Jesus, God’s divine power has granted me everything that pertains to life and to godliness.
God’s Word, Firm Foundation
God’s Word, the Bible, gives believers the most reliable foundation for prayer. When you declare prayers of a decree that come from the written Word of God, those prayers go forth to carry out the purpose for which the Word was sent.
Regardless of how bad the circumstances may appear, God’s Word will produce a shift when decreed and declared in faith. Decreeing the Word releases life and power.
The Gulf War was the first televised war in history. People could see computer-directed missiles being sent successfully to destroy their targets, which were hit with precision. Imagine the Word being sent like a “smart bomb” to target an area of concern that is in need of breakthrough and release. That is what happens when you decree something as directed by the Word of God. Your prayer hits its target perfectly.
God’s Word is not only designed to blast enemies; it is also creative. Just think of the beginning of Genesis, where we read about the life-giving, creative Spirit of God speaking everything into being. The same light is in His Word, and as you proclaim His Word, you are releasing God’s Spirit to create. When you decree, you are not just communicating some concepts or action points through the words you speak; you are decreeing the infusion of divine life into the situations you are targeting. Decrees are so powerful!
The elderly patriarch Abraham did not have any children when God first called him. Yet God spoke to him, changing his name from Abram to Abraham, which means “father of a multitude.” God was decreeing that Abraham was the father of a multitude when he had not yet produced even one child. He was decreeing it into being, in the same way, He called light into being in Genesis. In addition, every time Abraham spoke his own name, he was making a decree, calling himself a father of a multitude. And it came to pass.
When you decree, you call things that are not as though they are.
Decree Spiritual Strength:
When I am weary, the Lord gives me strength, and when I lack vigor, He rejuvenates me. By waiting on the Lord, I renew my strength. I can then soar like an eagle and keep moving forward powerfully, without stopping. He sustains me always.
Faith Matters with Brian and Andi Hale
The Book of Signs, Ch. 13 Resurrection
Technology can never give us a truly indestructible of imperishable body or enable us to live forever. For that, we need resurrection.
Life on earth is fragile and uncertain, but we have a savior who died for our sins according to the Scriptures and was buried and raised on the third day according to Scriptures. And by the grace of God we await that wonderful day when we'll be raised incorruptible and given our new supernatural bodies, made by Christ.
“Taking Your Desires to God”
Scripture: James 4:1-3
Each of the enemies of the heart is energized by the idea that somebody owes something. Guilt says, “I owe you.” Anger is fueled by the notion that you owe me. Greed is kept alive by the assumption that I owe me. This fourth heart issue is no differently. Jealousy. Jealousy says, “God owes me.”
When we think about jealousy or envy, we immediately think of the things others have that we lack—looks, skills, opportunities, health, height, inheritance, etc. We assume our problem is with the person who possesses what we lack. But let’s face it; God could have fixed all of that for us. Whatever he gave your neighbor, he could have given you too. That’s why you may feel inside that he owes you.
Jealousy can terrorize your life and wreak havoc in your relationships. The good news is, this behemoth, like the other three, has a vulnerability. And it’s something you might not expect: stop coveting what others have and start asking God for what he knows is best for you.
As James says, our external conflicts are the direct result of an internal conflict that has worked its way to the surface. We want something but we don’t have it, so we get in fights with others. The desires James is referring to in this passage represent unquenchable thirsts—our thirsts for stuff, money, recognition, success, progress, intimacy, sex, fun, relationship, partnership.
So what do we do with desires and appetites that can never be fully and finally satisfied? James says we take them to the one who created them in the first place. In other words, James is giving us permission to pour out our hearts in an unfiltered conversation with our Creator.
Every concern you have, great and small, matters to the Father because you matter to the Father. Whether it pertains to your love life, your career, your marriage, your parents, your children, your finances, your education, or your appearance, bring it to him. And keep bringing it to him until you find the peace to get up off your knees and face the day, confident in the knowledge that he cares for you.
Let me assure you, your heart will always be dear to his heart.
What is your heart aching for? Spend some time in absolutely free, uninhibited conversation with God about what you feel you lack. Ask him to bless you in the way he knows is best—and to reveal his love to you along the way
We hope you enjoyed Andy's 5-day YouVersion devo on "Enemies of the Heart." Dig deeper and find long-term healing and restoration by picking up a copy of Andy's book, Enemies of the Heart, from a retailer near you.
“Watching Out for Greed”
Scripture: Luke 12:13-21
The third enemy of the heart? Greed. It’s when we feel that we deserve more and more worldly wealth and goods. Greed says, “I owe me.”
Jesus said, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed.” Why? Because of the four heart conditions we’re considering, greed is the most subtle of all. Greed can take up residence in the heart and live there for years undetected. The unguarded heart is highly susceptible to this debilitating disease. It’s difficult to diagnose—especially to self-diagnose.
Jesus went on to uncover the lie that fuels all greed: “Life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” But doesn’t everybody know that? Do people really believe that their lives are equivalent to what they own? The answer is no and yes. No, not everybody knows that. And yes, there are people who believe that your life is pretty much the sum total of what you own. And many of us today are more prone to this belief than we might imagine.
After telling a parable, Jesus gave his definition of a greedy person: someone who stores up things for himself or herself but isn’t rich toward God. Being “rich toward God” is Jesus-talk for being generous toward those in need. A greedy person is the man or woman who saves carefully but gives sparingly.
Generous giving will break the grip of greed on your life. So whether or not you think you have extra, give and give generously. You’ve got to give to the point that it forces you to adjust your lifestyle. If you’re not willing to give to the point that it impacts your lifestyle, then according to Jesus, you’re greedy. If you’re consuming to the point of having little or nothing left to give, you’re greedy. If you’re consuming and saving to the point that there’s little or nothing left to give, you’re greedy.
I know that’s strong. Actually, it’s harsh.
But it’s true.
Break the power of greed through the habit of generous giving. It’s a habit that changes everything.
Assess your generosity in giving over the last twelve months. What does your charitable giving say about your heart? Pray about what it would look like for you to launch into a new level of generosity in the next twelve months.
“Letting Go of Hurt and Anger”
Scripture: Ephesians 4:25-32
The second enemy of the heart is anger. We get angry when we don’t get what we want.
Show me an angry person and I’ll show you a hurt person. And I guarantee you that person is hurt because something has been taken. Somebody owes them something.
We all know people whose anger could be verbalized in one of the following ways: “You took my reputation.” “You stole my family.” “You took the best years of my life.” “You stole my first marriage.” “You robbed me of my teenage years.” “You robbed me of my purity.” “You owe me a raise.” “You owe me an opportunity to try.” “You owe me a second chance.” “You owe me affection.”
The root of anger is the perception that something has been taken. Something is owed you. And now a debt-to-debtor relationship has been established.
How about you? What debt is causing the anger you feel?
How long are you going to allow the people who have hurt you to control your life? Another month? Another year? Another season of your life? How long?
I’d like to propose that today should be the day when you quit holding on to the hurt!
While it’s true that you can’t undo what’s been done, it’s equally true that you don’t have to let the past control your future. In Ephesians 4, we’re commanded to “get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger.” We do that by “forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”
The remedy for anger is forgiveness. If we hold out waiting to be paid back for the wrongs done to us, we will be the ones who pay. If, on the other hand, we cancel the debts owed to us, we will be set free.
Of the four monstrous forces we’re discussing in these devotionals, I believe this one—unresolved anger from intentional and unintentional hurt—is the most devastating. Yet in some ways it’s the easiest to overcome. You simply make up your mind to cancel the debt. You decide and declare, “You don’t owe me anymore.”
Follow this four-step process today: (1) Identify who you’re angry with. (2) Determine what they owe you. (3) Cancel the debt by forgiving them. (4) Don’t let the anger build up again.
“The Simmering Volcano”
Scripture: Matthew 15:1-20
Our tendency is to monitor our behavior while pretty much ignoring our hearts. After all, how do you monitor your heart? I can’t get too far off base in my behavior without somebody drawing it to my attention. But my heart? That seems a bit more complicated.
Jesus said something that still has huge implications today: “The things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart,” and then, “Out of the heart come evil thoughts.”
The heart is such a mystery. In fact, one prophet asked of the heart, “Who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). Good question. The implication is that nobody can. With which I readily concur. And even if we do begin to understand it, we certainly can’t control it—which is all the more reason we need to learn to monitor it. Like the seismic activity of a dormant volcano, what you don’t know can hurt you.
Suddenly someone files for divorce.
Suddenly a kid’s grades drop and his attitude changes.
Suddenly a harmless pastime becomes a destructive habit.
Out of nowhere devastating words pierce the soul of an unsuspecting loved one.
We’ve all seen it, felt it, even caused it. Just as Jesus predicted, what originates in the secrecy of our hearts won’t always remain a secret. Eventually it finds its way into our homes, offices, and neighborhoods.
The heart seeps into every conversation. It dictates every relationship. Our very lives emanate from the heart. We live, parent, lead, relate, romance, confront, react, respond, instruct, manage, problem solve, and love from the heart. Our hearts impact the intensity of our communication. Our hearts have the potential to exaggerate our sensitivities and insensitivities. Every arena of life intersects with what’s going on in our hearts. Everything passes through on its way to wherever it’s going. Everything.
We need the courage to ask the heavenly Father for help to watch over, understand, and purify our hearts. He is eager to respond and to show us how to replace old bad habits of the heart with new and better ones that will in time make us more like his Son.
In the next four days of these devotionals, we’ll be looking at four enemies of the heart that everyone faces.
What do your recent thoughts, words, and actions reveal about what’s going on in your heart? Ask someone close to you for his or her opinion about this as well.
Faith Matters with Brian and Andi Hale
Dr. David Jeremiah's book, The Book of Signs, lays out the scriptural basis for the signs of the end times. Chapter 12 is a stunner, and we're just gettin' goin.
With act three, we reach the middle of the story and a glimmer of hope arrives. This is the first of six heavenly signs designed to give us confidence in a chaotic world.
Imagine a person who missed the call to evacuate, waking up after everyone else was gone and stumbling through empty streets, confused and amazed, wondering why he had been left behind. The Rapture is God's evacuation call, but you have to be on the list to receive it when the time comes.
God has sounded the warnings loudly and clearly. A firestorm is coming in the form of the seven years of tribulation, when no Christian influence will temper the evil that will plunge the earth into a cauldron of misery and devastation. But you can avoid the destruction and be evacuated. Enter your name on the list of those who will hear the trumpet call of the Rapture by turning to Christ and beginning to live the pure and holy life that characterizes those who will enter heaven.
“I can’t get no . . . satisfaction.”
More than 50 years ago Mick Jagger and the Stones made this line famous . . . and more than 50 years later, we’re still singing right along with them. Not because it’s catchy, but because it’s true. Satisfaction is one of the most elusive things in life. How do we find it?
While the Bible doesn’t have much to say about satisfaction, it does have a great deal to say about joy. Joy is like satisfaction, only better. When you finish a good meal, you feel satisfied. When you watch a good movie or listen to a favorite song, you are satisfied. Sounds great, right? Except for the fact that a few hours later you are hungry again. Or the novelty of the new movie has worn off, or you’re tired of that song that’s been overplayed on the radio. The problem with satisfaction is that it is usually fleeting.
Not so with joy. Joy is built around something more permanent, more lasting, something that can’t be overplayed or consumed. It is built to last.
So what exactly is it? Over the next few days, we’ll talk more about what joy is and what it is not. More importantly, we’ll talk about how to have joy in your life so that, even when you can’t “get no satisfaction”, you can still have something deeper and more meaningful. If this sounds like something you’re interested in, keep reading. But before you do, check out the attached verses – they’ll lay the foundation for all that we’ll be talking about over the next few days.
A Prayer for Joy
Lord, in a world that provides only fleeting happiness and satisfaction, help me to look to you to find true lasting joy. Help me to understand what this looks like and how to have joy in my life. Thank you for being a God who brings joy, even amid life's challenging circumstances. Amen.
Faith Matters with Brian and Andi Hale
The Book of Signs by Dr. David Jeremiah, Ch 11 - Apathy
Christians, rather than being distinct from the world around them and living in expectation of their Lord's return, have become so much like the world that sometimes you can scarcely tell the difference between the two.
People stubbornly refuse to listen to the truth, because their minds become filled with other things. don't be one of those people.
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The Way of the Warrior
The Way of the Warrior
Day 5 • 1 of 5
Devotional
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THE WARRIOR STANDS IN THE PAIN
The warrior stands in their pain. Their wounds are their badge of honor. Every battle is first fought within. Every victory secured for your future is first fought for in your struggle for faith. To live in the light, you must first face your inner darkness. Your external battles are won or lost in your inner world. You cannot separate world peace from inner peace.
The battles we fight become inescapably both internal and external. Victory in one battle does not secure us victory in another. You may be winning the battle within to live your most heroic and courageous life and yet still lose your job and find yourself in financial peril. You can in the same moment that you achieved the pinnacle of success in your career come home to face the end of your marriage.
The prophet Elijah called down fire from heaven and proved to the prophets of Baal that the Lord was the one true God. After this defining moment in Elijah’s life, in which the presence and power of God was undeniable, Jezebel sent a message to Elijah promising his death and Elijah fled. He sat down under a bush and, instead of praying to see God’s power again, he prayed that God would take his life. Life carries great weight, and if you find the courage to take on great battles, you will feel an even greater weight that will sometimes seem more than you can bear.
Even Jesus did not want to face his darkest moment alone. When Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane the night before he was to die on the cross, he chose to take three of his closest friends with him. When you need to run, don’t run from God; run to him. Don’t run from the people you need in your life; run to them.
Hidden in your fears is the faith that you’re searching for. If you want to meet God, stand in your fears. Stand in your pain. Stand when everything inside you tells you to withdraw. I want you to know that God will give you the strength you need not simply to face the challenges that are right in front of you but to continue the journey that awaits. This is the profound nature of God – that when we are weak, he is strong. When we have lost our strength, he replenishes it. You are a warrior of peace. Do not fear the battle within.
GUIDING QUESTIONS
When you are in pain, do you run to God or from him? Do you run toward community or away from your friends and family? Do you wear your wounds with honor? Do you celebrate each victory in your life to prepare yourself for the bigger battle that is coming? When you need your strength replenished, do you pray to God that he would give you strength?
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The Way of the Warrior
The Way of the Warrior
Day 4 • 1 of 5
Devotional
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THE WARRIOR HARNESSES STRENGTH
The warrior knows their power. Even in defeat, the warrior is never powerless. Even when they are weak, the warrior knows their true strength. The warrior has learned how to harness their strength, focus their power, and replenish their energy. You must be mindful of what makes you feel most fully alive.
Nothing will steal our strength like living lives we do not love. The way we store energy is through our desires, values, passions, hopes, dreams, and aspirations, and ultimately our greatest capacity for energy storage is through what we love.
If getting up in the morning is a struggle and you find yourself lacking the energy to engage life fully, you can be certain that you are not living the life you were created to live. The warrior knows their energy flows out of their passions, that their passion must flow out of love, that it is love that gives them ultimate joy, and that it is joy in which they find their strength.
Negative emotions pose as fuel or passion. And although they do cause you do burn, they do not lead you to create but rather to destroy. There is a default mode we can surrender to where we simply just exist, paralyzed by apathy or despair or discouragement. Worry consumes your energy without productivity. It may seem as if fear is a fuel to the fire that burns within you, but in the end, all it does is diminish. Fear consumes our energy, while faith restores it.
You must find the why in the battle you are fighting. Choose the right people to fight next to. Remember that your tribe will shape your identity and your identity will shape your future.
Those fueled by greed and hatred will always prevail if their only opposition is those living in apathy and indifference. The future will be created by those with the courage to create it. A better world will happen only if we find the strength and energy to give our lives to it. The warrior knows they were created by God who is Spirit. All our energy comes from God. What we do with our energy is up to us.
GUIDING QUESTIONS
What is it that ignites your passions? What are the moments in which you feel most energized? Have you been letting negative emotions fuel you? What is the ‘why’ you are fighting for? Imagine the warrior you want to be – do you see that warrior in the people you surround yourself with?
THE WARRIOR OWNS DEFEAT
The warrior knows that honor is not found in the victory. Honor is found in the nobility of the battle. If the battle is not worthy of the warrior’s life, there is no honor in its victory. In the same way, the warrior knows there is no dishonor in defeat. Failure and defeat are not the same.
The warrior never claims victory for themselves but only for others. In the same way, the warrior never gives blame for defeat but owns it for themselves. The warrior owns defeat, therefore defeat never owns the warrior.
The warrior takes complete responsibility while never holding tightly to anything. Because the warrior lives with open hands, nothing can be taken from them. The warrior is free from all things and therefore is free to enjoy all things.
Ownership is not about possession; it is about responsibility. What you own matters far less than what you take ownership for. We are responsible for far more than what we have been given; we are responsible for what could have been done with all that we have been entrusted with.
At the beginning of humanity, God gave Adam and Eve ownership – not possession but responsibility – over all creation. Yet when Adam and Eve both ate from the one forbidden tree in the garden, neither took responsibility for their actions and instead blamed someone else.
You cannot change what you do not take responsibility for. When you blame someone else, you become dependent on that individual to solve your problem and change your circumstance. After all, if it is that person’s fault, then he or she is the only one who has the power to change your condition.
There is an unexpected relationship between blame and fear. When you blame others for your failure, you become powerless to change the world around you. You begin to live your life filled with fear, paralyzed by uncertainty and embittered by a sense of victimization. Fear may cause you to abdicate responsibility, but the abdication of responsibility will most certainly cause you to live in fear.
GUIDING QUESTIONS
Do you take responsibility for things in your life that you don’t own? How can you transition into a mindset of ownership? How have you abdicated the power to change a failure in your life by placing blame on others? How can you relinquish fear by reclaiming responsibility for your life?
THE WARRIOR SEEKS TO BECOME INVISIBLE
The warrior does not need to be seen. They are most powerful when they are invisible. The warrior knows that lesser opponents depend on swords and bows and arrows, but the weapon of the warrior is their wisdom. While there are many expressions of wisdom, for our purpose it will be defined as the ability to bring peace. The warrior wields a weapon only to defend, protect, and liberate. When the warrior is wise, they fight only for peace.
Where there is wisdom, there is always hope. Wisdom simplifies. Wisdom clarifies. Wisdom untangles. Wisdom unshackles. Wisdom illuminates.
This is the highest expression of wisdom – to live our lives for others rather than ourselves. The fool lives to consume all they can take from the world. The wise live to create a better world. Wisdom is revealed by what a person fights for. If you fight for yourself, you have given yourself to too small a thing. The warrior fights against injustice, against poverty, against despair, against depression.
In the book of Ecclesiastes, King Solomon discovered that wisdom is better than strength. Wealth cannot secure your victory, and poverty cannot prevent it. Never let your lack of resources justify your lack of ambition. Never allow the measure of your wealth to be the measure of your life. Solomon was a man with both great wealth and great wisdom, but he could see clearly that only great wisdom ensures the best future.
The path toward wisdom is not taken by steps but by choices. We do not become fools because we lack the right information; we become fools because we love the wrong things. There is no more spiritual act than to choose. Before you swing your ax, choose your tree. Decide what your life is about; decide what is worth living for; find your intention. And no matter what may come, never relinquish your intention.
In the end, most of us will wonder if what we’ve given ourselves to has been worth the fight, especially if no one remembers our names. And that’s why we must never forget that what is done for ourselves will one day be forgotten, but that what we have done for others will be remembered for eternity.
GUIDING QUESTIONS
What are you fighting for in your life? Are you fighting just for your future, or the future of others? Are you letting a lack of resources serve as an excuse not to fight for your future? Are you giving your love away to foolish people or places? How can you recalibrate your intention for your life toward health, wisdom, and peace?
Does Faith Matter?
Isn't 'god' just another imaginary character like Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny?
We don't believe that, and neither does one of the most grounded, creative and listened to youtube independent musicians on the planet.
LISTEN IN to hear WHY FAITH MATTERS according to Tom MacDonald.
Faith Matters with Brian and Andi Hale
Listen in as we review Chapter 10 in Dr. Jeremiah's Book of Signs. Tonight, it's Spiritual Warfare. Are you ready? LISTEN IN on www.diggingdeeper.us
If you are a disciple of Jesus, then you are in a spiritual war. And if the idea of knowing one's enemy makes sense in a conventional battle, it makes even more sense in our spiritual battle because our enemy is stronger and the stakes are higher.
We don't have to live in fear of Satan, our enemy. Nor do we have to live i n fear of the demons at his command. All we must do as soldiers in God's army is take our place in the spiritual battle to which we have been called - and stand.
We Love Because He First Loved Us
1 John 4:19
We love because he first loved us.
The most perplexing thing about God is not that He is omniscient, omnipresent or omnipotent. Since He is God, these virtues are somehow given or expected. Otherwise, He wouldn’t be known as God.
The thing that is the hardest to comprehend is that though He is so powerful and almighty, He is also love! Through the tainted lenses of how we see our world, power and love don’t seem to jive.
You cannot be powerful and loving at the same time. You must be either one. But our God is both. The extent of His love is fully expressed in the father’s unconditional love.
Therefore, as children of God, we love because love comes from God. And we can love because He first loved us. Knowing this helps us understand that this love does not originate from us.
It is not something birthed out of a desire within us, rather it is a new revelation of where this love comes from.
Now that we know where this love comes from, we have a new responsibility. Because no one has seen God, loving people can become a way for people to see God, through us.
So when we choose to love, others will see and experience God through us, knowing that God is living in us, and His love is made complete in us.
Loving others is not an emotional decision. Rather, it is a spiritually convicted decision. It is now our duty of care as followers of Christ to show others this dimension of love.
Remember, we love because He first loved us!
Reflection:
This love that we now have is one birthed out of the revelation of who God is. Armed with this truth, who do you want to love and how do you plan on doing that?
Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because he first loved us. Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.
1 John 4:7-21 NIV
Madly In Love
Think of the times when you get mad; when your toddler’s food is all over the floor; when someone stubbornly makes his mind up and refuses to hear you out; or when you have to hold your anger because you know whatever comes out from your mouth will not be pleasant.
That’s us. But God’s anger is different from our anger. He is slow to anger. In other words, He is patient with us. However, He does get mad. There was a moment when he walked out from silence and stopped the slavery of his own people.
God sent Moses to confront Pharaoh, but Pharaoh refused to listen. In the end, Pharaoh rode out with his chariots to destroy the Israelites, only for God to destroy him in the water. God’s love is displayed in his anger towards Pharaoh. I am sure we do not want to get on the wrong side of God.
His wrath is directed towards sin and how sin hurts his people. His anger flows out of His love. It is like your parents getting mad when you run out into the street with oncoming traffic. The opposite of love is not anger, but indifference. The love of the father is seen in his strong emotion.
Instead of lashing out in anger, the father ran towards the prodigal son and embraced him. He waited patiently for his son to come home even though his son was a mess.
If you think you’re a letdown, always remember – He is slow to anger. He is slow to be mad at you. You only have to choose to go home.
Romans 2:4 (NLT)
Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can’t you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?
Reflection:
How has God been patient with you?
Hero To Zero
Have you had someone cut into your traffic lane before? I have. And it was a motorcyclist. He rode into my side mirror and just took off. I’ve been done dirty.
That experience changed my whole perception towards motorcyclists. After that day, I behaved like the poles of magnets – when they move near me, it repels me away from them.
Until I met a guy on a motorcycle who was different from others. He did not try to cut corners.
It’s fascinating how one person can ruin our experience with others, while another person redeems our experience with them.
That’s what God has done for us. It took one man - Adam - to ruin humanity through sin and it took one man - Jesus - to redeem that experience for us.
There is no greater love than to put your life on the line. Jesus shows us how it’s like to seek the best of others by putting Himself underneath. He humbled Himself to death and allowed the selfishness of His own people to kill Him.
That’s how much He loves us. He let sin do the worst to him so that He could bring the best out of us. He shows us a new way to be human and opens up a whole new experience for us.
The old way to be human is now gone. Don’t identify yourself with the past. Embrace your new self and allow His love to capture you!
Reflection:
With Jesus as our example, have you lived in a way that displays sacrificial love? If not, what is one small step that you can take to start doing so?
Radical, by David Platt - A five day devotional from youversion. Read by Andi and Brian Hale.
Dealing with Uncertainty on YouVersion read by Brian and Andi Hale Day 1 of 5
Finding Courage in the Face of Uncertainty
Be strong and courageous, for you are the one who will lead these people to possess all the land I swore to their ancestors I would give them.
Joshua 1:6
Think of Joshua as he prepared to lead the Israelites into Canaan—a place overrun by their enemies. Although God promised them this land, the journey to obtain the promise was long, hard, and filled with uncertainty.
Perhaps that’s why God reminds Joshua: “Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. Be strong and courageous…” God knew Joshua’s secret concerns, and so He spoke to the fear in Joshua’s heart.
The same God who encouraged Joshua also wants to encourage you. He understands how easily fear and anxiety can paralyze anyone forced out of their comfort zones and into circumstances beyond their control.
Thankfully, no matter how uncertain you may feel, the outcome of every situation is known to God. And God promises to never leave or forsake those who draw near to Him. His children are never alone. You are not alone. And your future is held in His hands.
So, how do you deal with uncertainty?
You acknowledge your limitations, lay down your expectations, and pick up God’s declarations. Over the next 4 days, we’ll take a closer look at these steps and discover how to incorporate them into our daily lives.
A Prayer for Facing Uncertainty:
God, I know that You can work all things together for good. But right now, I’m overwhelmed by what’s going on around me. The future feels uncertain and I want to panic. Please help me. Remind me of Your promises. Fill me with courage and give me strength for today and hope for tomorrow. Over the next few days, use this Plan to speak to my heart and encourage my soul. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
Joshua 1:5-9
Practice Being Still
“The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”
Exodus 14:14
Just after they escaped from Egypt, Moses encouraged the Israelites with those words. Perhaps he understood that our natural reaction in moments of uncertainty is to restlessly bounce between anxiety and despair.
Feelings of uncertainty can result in the prefrontal cortex in your brain “shutting down”: impairing your ability to solve problems, pay attention, and stay flexible. This increases your chances of engaging in irrational behavior and makes you more prone to anxiety, depression, and stress.
That’s why it’s important to fix your mind on what matters by centering your heart on God’s truths. Stillness is a discipline that takes continual, conscious practice, but the act of stillness sharpens our senses and makes us more aware of God’s presence in our present circumstances.
So, how do you practice being still? One practical way is by walking through the 3 action steps discussed this week:
Acknowledge your limitations: Spend a couple of minutes paying attention to what you’re feeling, and name those emotions. Give yourself permission to not feel okay. This process helps break the cycle of intrusive, anxious thoughts, and helps your brain start to think through new ways to handle uncertain situations.
Lay down your expectations: What’s currently causing you to feel anxious or afraid? Visualize putting those concerns into a box, and then give that box over to God. Ask Him to replace your worries with reminders of His promises. (You may have to repeat this process several times before you feel ready to move on.)
Pick up God’s declarations: Spend at least 5 minutes pouring over God’s promises. Imagine putting them on like clothing, and ask God to show you which ones He wants you to focus on that day. (Some days, it may seem like God has a lot to say, and other days, it may feel like God is quiet. Both are normal, natural fluctuations in healthy relationships.)
Whatever you face in the weeks ahead, remember that nothing you experience is uncertain to God. He was at work in your past, He’s here in your present, and He holds your future. Hold fast to His promises and trust that He is good.
Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.
James 4:13-14
He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
he breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
he burns the chariots with fire.
“Be still, and know that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!
”The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Psalm 46:9-11
The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”
Exodus 14:14
Practice Being Still
“The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”
Exodus 14:14
Just after they escaped from Egypt, Moses encouraged the Israelites with those words. Perhaps he understood that our natural reaction in moments of uncertainty is to restlessly bounce between anxiety and despair.
Feelings of uncertainty can result in the prefrontal cortex in your brain “shutting down”: impairing your ability to solve problems, pay attention, and stay flexible. This increases your chances of engaging in irrational behavior and makes you more prone to anxiety, depression, and stress.
That’s why it’s important to fix your mind on what matters by centering your heart on God’s truths. Stillness is a discipline that takes continual, conscious practice, but the act of stillness sharpens our senses and makes us more aware of God’s presence in our present circumstances.
So, how do you practice being still? One practical way is by walking through the 3 action steps discussed this week:
Acknowledge your limitations: Spend a couple of minutes paying attention to what you’re feeling, and name those emotions. Give yourself permission to not feel okay. This process helps break the cycle of intrusive, anxious thoughts, and helps your brain start to think through new ways to handle uncertain situations.
Lay down your expectations: What’s currently causing you to feel anxious or afraid? Visualize putting those concerns into a box, and then give that box over to God. Ask Him to replace your worries with reminders of His promises. (You may have to repeat this process several times before you feel ready to move on.)
Pick up God’s declarations: Spend at least 5 minutes pouring over God’s promises. Imagine putting them on like clothing, and ask God to show you which ones He wants you to focus on that day. (Some days, it may seem like God has a lot to say, and other days, it may feel like God is quiet. Both are normal, natural fluctuations in healthy relationships.)
Whatever you face in the weeks ahead, remember that nothing you experience is uncertain to God. He was at work in your past, He’s here in your present, and He holds your future. Hold fast to His promises and trust that He is good.
Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.
James 4:13-14
He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
he breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
he burns the chariots with fire.
“Be still, and know that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!
”The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Psalm 46:9-11
The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”
Exodus 14:14
Living on purpose is the only way to really live. Everything else is just existing. When God's at the center of your life, you worship. When He's not, you worry. You can start living on purpose today!
Blessed are the balanced; they shall outlast everyone. You owe it to future generations to preserve the testimony of how God helped you fulfill His purposes on earth. "Live life with a due sense of responsibility, not as those who do not know the meaning of life but as those who do." Ephesians 5:15
The Great Commission is your commission. You will either be a world class Christian or a worldly Christian. People may refuse our live or reject our message, but they are defenseless against our prayers. "Send us around the world with the news of your saving power and your eternal plan for all mankind." Psalm 67:2
God has given you a Life Message to share. Shared stories build a relational bridge that Jesus can walk across from your heart to others. While it is wise to learn from experience, it is wiser to learn from the experiences of others. "Be ready at all times to answer anyone who asks you to explain the hope you have in you, but do it with gentleness and respect.: 1 Peter 3:15-16
You are made for a mission. Jesus calls us not only to come to him, but to go for him. But it's easy to get distracted, because Satan would rather have you do anything besides sharing your faith. "Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Matthew 28:19-20
God loves to use weak people. If God only used perfect people, nothing would ever get done. He is never limited by our limitations. God works best when I admit my weakness. "My grace is sufficient for you, my power is made perfect in weakness." 2 Corinthians 12:9
Service starts in your mind. Real servants don't try to use God for their purposes. They let God use them for His purposes. To be a servant, I must think like a servant. "Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus." Philippians 2:5
We serve God by serving others. Your servant's heart will reveal your maturity. Great opportunities often disguise themselves in small tasks. Even the smallest service is noticed by God and will be rewarded. "If you give even a cup of cold water to one of the least of my followers, you will surely be rewarded." Matthew 10:42
God deserves your best. If you don't exercise our muscles, they weaken and atrophy. In the same way, if you don't utilize the abilities and skills God has given you, you will lose them. "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth." 2 Timothy 2:15
Only you can be you and it feels good to do what God made you to do. For God to use your painful experiences, you must be willing to share them. "God has given each of you some special abilities; be sure to use them to help each other, passing on to others God's many kinds of blessings." 1 Peter 4:10
You were shaped to serve God. When you are doing what you love to do, no one has to motivate you. "God works through different men in different ways, but it is the same God who achieves his purposes through them all." 1 Corinthians 12:6
You were put on earth to make a contribution. You were created, saved, called and commanded to serve God. Service is the pathway to real significance. Service is not optional. "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." Ephesians 2:10
There are no shortcuts to maturity. While we worry about how fast we grow, God is concerned about how strong we grow. "God began doing a good work in you, and I am sure He will continue it until it is finished when Jesus Christ comes again." Philippians 1:6
There is always a way out. The battle for sin is won or lost in your mind. Whatever gets your attention will get you. "God is faithful. He will keep the temptation from becoming so strong that you can't stand up against it. When you are tempted, He will show you a way out so that you will not give in to it." 1 Corinthians 10:13
Every temptation is an opportunity to do good. God develops the fruit of the Spirit by allowing you to experience circumstances in which you're tempted to express the exact opposite quality. "God blesses the people who patiently endure testing. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him." James 1:12
God has a purpose behind every problem. Everything that happens to you has spiritual significance. Remember that God's plan is good, rejoice and give thanks and refuse to give up. "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Romans 8;28
God wants you to grow up. His goal for you is to mature and develop the characteristics of Jesus. Discipleship always begins with a decision. We become whatever we are committed to. "Let God transform you inwardly by a complete change of your mind. Then you will be able to know the will of God - what is good and pleasing to him and is perfect." Romans 12:2
The truth transforms us. The Spirit of God uses the Word of God to make us like the Son of God. We must abide in God's word, accept its authority, assimilate it's truth and apply it's principles. "If you continue in my word, then are you my disciples indeed; and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." John 8:31-32
You were created to become like Christ. God's ultimate goal for your life on earth is not comfort, but character development. God is far more interested in what you are than in what you do. "As the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like him and reflect his glory even more." 2 Corinthians 3:18
It is your job to protect the unity of your church. Unity is the soul of fellowship. The church is made up of imperfect humans. We must passionately love the church in spite of its imperfections. "Let us concentrate on the things which make for harmony and the growth of our fellowship together." Romans 14:19
Relationships are always worth restoring. In repairing broken relationships, talk to God before talking to the person. Always take the initiative. God expects you to make the first move. Sympathize, confess and cooperate. "Do everything possible on your part to live in peace with everybody." Romans 12:18
Community requires commitment to fellowship with honesty, humility, courtesy and confidentiality. Cultivating community takes frequency, an investment of time. "We understand what love is when we realize that Christ gave his life for us. That means we must give our lives for other believers." 1 John 3:16
Life is meant to be shared. We need others in our lives. In real fellowship, people experience authenticity, mutuality, sympathy and mercy. "Share each other's troubles and problems, and in this way obey the law of Christ." Galatians 6:2
You are called to belong, not just believe. We are created for community, fashioned for fellowship, and formed for a family. None of us can fulfill God's purposes by ourselves. "In Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others." Romans 12:15
What matters most? Life is all about love. Life without love is really worthless. Love leaves a legacy. Relationships are what life is all about and the best expression of love is time. Your time is the greatest gift you can give.
You were formed for God's family. Because God is love, He treasures relationships. Being included in God's family is the highest honor and the greatest privilege you will ever receive.
God is real, no matter how you feel. God admits that sometimes He hides His face from us. When you feel abandoned by God yet continue to trust Him, you worship Him in the deepest way.
God wants all of you. God-pleasing worship is deeply emotional and deeply doctrinal. We use both our hearts and our heads. The best style of worship is the one that most authentically represents your love for God.
You are as close to God as you choose to be. God doesn't expect you to be perfect, but He does insist on complete honesty and bitterness is the greatest barrier to friendship with God. "Draw close to God, and God will draw close to you." James 4:8a
God wants to be your best friend. Friendship with God is possible only because of the grade of God and the sacrifice of Jesus. "Friendship with God is reserved for those who reverence Him." Psalm 25:14a
The heard of worship is surrender and surrender is best demonstrated in obedience and trust. "Surrender your whole being to him to be used for righteous purposes." - Romans 6:13b
If pleasing God is the first purpose of your life, how do you do that? You make God smile! God smiles when we love Him supremely, when we trust Him completely, when we obey Him wholeheartedly, when we praise and thank Him continually and when we use our abilities. God enjoys every detail of your life!
Before the moment you were conceived, you were planned for God's pleasure. Anything you do that brings pleasure to God is an act of worship. Worship is far more than music, but is is not for your benefit. Real worship is about falling in love with Jesus.
The ultimate goal of the universe is to show the glory of God. Everything created by God reflects his glory in some way. It's all for Him.
To make the best use of your life, you must never forget two truths: First, compared with eternity, life is extremely brief. Second, earth is only a temporary residence. When you are faced with difficulties, just remember, as followers of Jesus Christ, this world is not our home.
The way you see your life shapes your life. What is your view of life? You may be basing your life on a faulty life metaphor. This chapter covers two metaphors that teach us God's view of life: Life is a test and a trust.
Life on earth is just the dress rehearsal before the real production. This chapter emphasizes that God has a purpose for your life on earth, but it doesn't end here. There is more to life than just the here and now.
Everyone's life is driven by something, weather it be guilt, anger, fear, materialism or the need for approval. In this episode we discover how living on purpose can be the path to peace.
This episode will remind you that you are no accident. God had a plan for you before you were conceived. Listen in!
It's not about you. That's what you'll find out in this book by Pastor Rick Warren. Stick with this series and you'll be glad you did.
Every Christian has been given the assignment to take the gospel to the lost. When we have a real burden and passion for that mission, it is certain that we will see results. It is our responsibility to sow the precious seed with a burdened and compassionate heart, then trust in God’s promise that we will see an abundant harvest.
“Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy.” - Psalms 126:5
There are works that God has planned for you to accomplish today—witnessing, giving, encouraging, loving—and it is vitally important that you are busy doing God’s work while there is still time. If you are faithful to share the gospel with those you meet, God will use you to bring in the harvest.
“For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago." - Ephesians 2:10
We are chosen by God to share our story on how our relationship with Jesus has changed us. This is what we are called to do.
Every believer is ordained—especially appointed by God—not for a church office, but to be a fruitful Christian. God has no backup plan for reaching the world—He has entrusted that task to each of us as His children.
You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. - John 15:16
Do not be discouraged if you don’t see any response when you share the Gospel. God will bring the harvest in His time.
When we work for the Lord, we will not always see quick results. But just as a farmer remains diligent throughout the spring and summer in hopes of the harvest in the fall, we also "shall reap, if we faint not" (Galatians 6:9).
So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. - 1 Corinthians 3:7
You may not always find exactly the right words, but God has given to you and every Christian the task of representing Him to a lost and dying world. For thousands of people, today is their last day before they enter eternity.
Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. ~ 2 Corinthians 5:20
Many times we lose our focus in the busyness of life. There are a thousand things—good things—that can keep us from doing the main thing. And though those things are not bad in and of themselves, they can be used to keep us from doing what matters most.
For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. - 1 Corinthians 1:17
Knowing that God wants people to be saved should motivate and encourage us to faithfully give the plain and simple truth of the gospel to everyone we can.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” - 2 Corinthians 5:17
Jesus said that in the day of judgment, "Many will say to me" that they are His children only to hear the awful words, "I never knew you: depart from me" (Matthew 7:22-23). I don’t want that to happen to anyone, so I never assume that anyone—even if he has had exposure to the gospel—has made the personal choice to believe in Christ as his personal Savior.
“But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, He gave the right to become children of God” - John 1:12
Do you want to have a testimony of fruitfulness? We were chosen and called to share the Good News of the Gospel. Invite someone today to join you on the road to Heaven.
“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.” - John 15:16
God’s plan is for every follower of Jesus Christ to be a witness of faith. Tell someone today that Jesus is the only way to Heaven, and share with them how they can know Him and be saved.
“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” - John 14:6
Every believer is called to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with others. Are you regularly sharing the Good News of salvation with others?
“preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.” - 2 Timothy 4:2
People are looking for someone who can explain what’s coming next. There is so much confusion and false doctrine regarding prophecy. The future does not trouble those whose eyes are looking for the return of Jesus Christ.
“For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray.” - Matthew 24:5
God alone can save, but those faithful to His leading can share in the joy of seeing others saved. God, give me a discerning, willing, obedient and loving heart.
“The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul.” - Acts 16:14b
Satan wants to keep people locked in the prison of sin, but we as Christians hold the key—the gospel of Jesus Christ—which will set them free forever. Let’s boldly proclaim the truth to everyone we meet today.
“So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”” - John 8:31-32
As a Christ follower, you are blessed, chosen, adopted and forgiven. You are sealed, saved by Grace, and a masterpiece. You belong, you are God’s reflection and you are powerful through Jesus. Make your identity as Christ's representative clear with consistent, godly living.
“In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” - Matthew 5:16
As Christians, we can take part in fulfilling God's will by sharing the gospel with everyone. Refresh your passion for souls by focusing on God's desire for all to be saved.
“The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” - 2 Peter 3:9
Your job is not to make him drink. Your job is to make him thirsty. Make others thirsty for the gospel by living in a way that is consistent with your message.
The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price. - Revelation 22:17
If we accomplish great temporal things but do nothing which impacts eternity, the world may praise us, but eternity will not. There is no more important task for any of us than sharing the Good News of salvation in Jesus Christ.
For when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, since I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! - 1 Corinthians 9:16
The way we treat other people should be a reflection of the grace that God extended to us in allowing us to become part of His family. We have a responsibility as His children to not bring dishonor on the family name.
For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. - 2 Corinthians 4:6
There has been a raging sin virus spreading throughout the world since the Garden of Eden. It is 100 percent deadly, and there is only one hope of a cure.
"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." - Acts 1:8
Salvation is literally a matter of life and death—eternal life and eternal death—and our presentation of the gospel to others should reflect that.
"Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed." - Romans 13:11
The Word of God has a power to transform the lives of people that nothing else does. Never give up the powerful weapon of the gospel as your tool to win the world to Christ.
"For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek." Romans 1:16
The Gospel isn't something to be SOLD. Soulwinning is a matter of faithfully delivering the message of the gospel in the power of the Holy Spirit.
"But there were some of them, ... preaching the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord." - Acts 11:21
Hide it under a bushel? NO! I'm gonna let it shine! When we fail to share the gospel, we are hiding its glorious offer from those who need it most.
"And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing." 2 Corinthians 4:3
Every sinner, whether his sins are small or great in our eyes, stands condemned to death and eternity in Hell apart from God’s grace. Let us never fail to witness to anyone because of fear or prejudice.
"... they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness." - Acts 4:31b
How is strong is your character? Is it helpful or hurtful to your testimony?
There is no substitute for a gospel witness that is matched by a gospel life. When we fail to live as we should, we forfeit what is meant to be a mainstay of our witness. Live in such a way that your conduct matches and strengthens your witness to others.
"Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ" - Philippians 1:27a
You have life-changing, culture-shaping, heaven-touching-earth type of influence. You have a commission to fulfill.
"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” - Joshua 1:9
When Jesus came to earth, He redefined how culture understood every woman’s potential, and He modeled it in His community. Two thousand years later, Jesus is still moving. He transforms the most broken and bloodied parts of our stories with His resurrective power.
"God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth." - John 4:24
Jesus doesn’t need us to keep it all together, to pretend life and loss haven’t happened to us. He’s the kind of leader who tends to His leaders—even laying down His life so that they might live.
"The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit." - Psalm 34:18
https://rumble.com/ve5gux-02.24.21-our-weary-wounded-feet.html
Are you ready to use the gifts God gave you? Our Creator, our heavenly Father, the ultimate parent, has lavished on us a generous wide range of incredible gifts, talents, skills, and abilities.
"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change." - James 1:7
The God who created each of us in His image gives us a two-fold purpose: (1) to have a living and active relationship with Him and (2) to boldly represent Him in the world. That kind of purpose makes it worth it to push past our fears, because if there was ever a time to uncover our potential and voices—it’s now.
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated you;
I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” - Jeremiah 1:5
How can we be cheerleaders to our fellow runners? We can cheer them on by offering a timely word of encouragement and running alongside them shouting, “Come on, friend! Don’t give up! Don’t slow down! Keep going!”
“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand" (Isaiah 41:10 NIV)
Timing is everything. Sometimes the most powerful words are the ones we withhold and wait for God's timing.
Ecclesiastes 3:1,7 says, “There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under the heavens…a time to be silent and a time to speak.”
Knowledge is power but gossip is not. On the contrary, it shows a lack of power . . . a lack of self-control. But it takes two to tango the gossip dance.
"The words of a whisperer are like delicious morsels; they go down into the inner parts of the body." - Proverbs 18:8
We mentioned that loose lips sink relationships. Gossip is costly not only to the ones gossiped about, but also to the one whispering the words. So, here’s the lesson . . . let’s don’t do it! Take our concerns to the throne and not the phone.
"Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand." - Romans 14:4
Loose lips sink relationships. I’m not saying that we shouldn’t speak, but that we should be quick to listen and slow to speak. Some of the most poignant moments of Jesus’s arrest were the silent ones.
"When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent." - Proverbs 10:19
God doesn’t convict us of our sin to condemn us. He reveals our sin to clean us. While it is the Holy Spirit that gives us the power to change the words we speak, the desire to change begins in the heart.
"You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks." - Matthew 12:34
Each of us is given a bucket of encouragement that we are to pour onto those around us. As we dip out of our bucket and pour onto others, God miraculously fills it back up.
"give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.” - Luke 6:38
Have you ever said something you wished you could take back? Opening our mouth with the wrong words at the wrong time can ruin everything.
“Those who control their tongue will have a long life; opening your mouth can ruin everything.” - Proverbs 13:3
Reflexes are strong, especially when it comes to the words we speak. The only way to replace those reflexes is to form new reflexes—renewing our minds with God’s truth and our practice.
"And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns." - Philippians 1:6
Words start wars and bring peace—globally, and right in our own homes. God has given us incredible power in our sphere of influence, and it begins with the words we speak.
“With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be.” - James 3:9-10
God’s people are always called to keep the Lord first and serve no other gods. When the divine order is reversed, we forget to be on mission right where we are.
"I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need." Philippians 4:12
How we worship is simply a reflection of our inner state. But what we worship is an indicator of our heart orientation and a sign of what is important to us.
“Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” Luke 22:42
Sometimes we must choose between good and evil, but more often we must choose between good, better, and best. No matter where you are and what you’re going through, be like Mary—focused on nothing but God.
"but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” - Luke 10:42
Productivity is not merely the measure of what got done, but of who was loved. Martha desperately wanted to do the right thing, but she got distracted. She let her actions override her affections.
Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. - Matthew 24:45-46
As the Creator of the universe, He deserves to be first and foremost in our lives. Our priorities are a reflection of our hearts and what we deem to be important. Our priorities reflect what we worship.
But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Some manuscripts few things are necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” - Luke 10:41-42
Have you ever thought about how God is continually observing your life—noticing your wanderings and sleeping, waking and dreaming?
"O Lord, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways." Psalm 139:1-3
He made us, He watches us, He knows us better than anyone else in this world.
Imagine how the Master Potter treasures us, His masterpieces, because He’s skillfully and purposefully shaped us into His vessels.
"Thus says the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, and the one who formed him:
“Ask me of things to come; will you command me concerning my children and the work of my hands? I made the earth and created man on it;
it was my hands that stretched out the heavens, and commanded all their host." Isaiah 45:11-12
A lack of spiritual fruit in your life may actually be a root problem. So what’s keeping those roots from growing down deep?
"But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience." - Luke 8:15
God takes a stony, stubborn heart and turns it to tender, loving flesh.
"And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh."- Ezekiel 36:26
God’s love for us is not based on our performance, but it is reserved for those of us who have been adopted into His family through faith in Jesus Christ.
even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us, having predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, Ephesians 1:4-5
If we long to face each day prepared and equipped, we need to start each day inspired and steeped in the Word.
"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly." John 10:10
Life is hard and confusing and filled with doubts about the goodness of God and promises found in His Word. Remember, when trouble abounds, God is still on the throne.
"We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;"
2 Corinthians 4:8-9
Choose to let the old ways, thoughts and desires go. Let Christ’s Way of doing things rule your heart.
“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17 KJV
Cast your cares onto God and don’t pick them back up. Don’t let your cares grow into idols or lord over you. Don’t let them taint and contaminate the ground of your heart.
“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."
Matthew 6:34
Cast every burden, every weight, every worry to God and He will sustain you. God is bigger than your problem.
"Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you;
he will never permit the righteous to be moved."
Psalm 55:22
David found a place for himself where he could know and enjoy God. Where is that space for you? Find your tabernacle today. Passionately pursue that dwelling.
"One thing have I asked of the Lord,
that will I seek after:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord
and to meditate in his temple."
Psalm 27:4
We can’t sustain ourselves with our world’s media, music, and empty promises. Today’s verse reminds us that we aren’t the vine; Jesus is. We are the branches. We have to be connected to the vine—Jesus—so we can bear fruit, be fulfilled, and live abundantly.
"I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing."
John 15:5
God’s greatness, wisdom, and ways are far above our own. There is no greater wisdom or knowledge than that of the Lord, and everything on earth shows us this truth.
"Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord, who has been his counselor? Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid? For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen."
Romans 11:33-36
Even when everything around you is going great, do you know His live is better? Do you believe His love is better than life?
Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands. I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you.
Psalms 63:3-5 NIV
It's hard to forgive a first offense, but what if a person keeps doing that same thing over and over again?
Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.
Matthew 18:21-22 NIV
This is what I say to all who will listen to me: Love your enemies, and be good to everyone who hates you. Ask God to bless anyone who curses you, and pray for everyone who is cruel to you.
Luke 6:27-28 CEV
Notice the 3 verbs: be good, bless and pray for. How do we do that? Only through the power of Jesus Christ!
Life isn't fair, but grace isn't either. Was it fair for Jesus to take our punishment and forgive us? our human hearts want justice for everyone else and grace for us.
"Make sure no one misses out on God's wonderful kindness. Don't let anyone become bitter and cause trouble for the rest of you."
Hebrews 12:15 CEV
"Love isn't selfish or quick tempered. It doesn't keep a record of wrongs that others do."
1 Corinthians 13:5
God will lead us to prosperity and hope.
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord , plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.
Jeremiah 29:11-13 ESV
God has prepared eternity for us!
We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;
2 Corinthians 4:8-9
You are worth more than the sparrow or the lily!
“For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?"
Matthew 6:25-26
No matter what we have done, God will forgive us if we are repentant. He is faithful.
"And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose."
Romans 8:28
And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.
2 Corinthians 12:9
God is for us! "for God gave us a spirit NOT OF FEAR but of power and love and self-control." 2 Timothy 1:7
For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
Jeremiah 29:11-13