February 28 – Lord of All (1 Peter 3:15-16)

“In your hearts set apart Christ as Lord.”(1 Peter 3:15)

IN WORD:
When we became Christians, we confessed Jesus as Lord. When we pray, we call Him Lord. But as we live, is He really Lord in our hearts? The words of our mouths do not tell the whole story. There is a depth in most of our hearts to which Jesus’ Lordship does not go. As much as we call Him Lord, most of us have held back a corner of our heart to ourselves. His Lordship extends only so far.
The work of the Holy Spirit in bringing us to maturity in Christ — i.e., sanctification — is this: to extend the Lordship of Jesus to every inch of our lives. It is a contentious process. We want the benefits of being a Christian — such as salvation, peace, joy and the like — but we want to retain a little autonomy as well. We have internal struggles that our friends and family do not see. There are places in our hearts that we guard, holding the Holy Spirit at a distance. We like to control the tempo of our discipleship.
To the extent that we do this, we base our lives on a false supposition — that we have the right to govern ourselves, even after we’ve supposedly laid our all on the altar. It is an unwise position to try to manage Jesus’ Lordship at all when we control even a portion of ourselves. It’s just an illusion.

IN DEED:
Is Jesus Lord of 100% of your heart? Your thoughts, your behaviors, your dreams — are they yours or His? What corners of your being have you retained for yourself? Whatever they are, they are footholds for the enemy and shelters for the sinful flesh. Jesus desires more of you than you have given Him to this point. He wants it all. This seems like painful surrender to us, but from His perspective, it is a happy day when one of His people lays it all on the altar. Blessing is the result. He is trustworthy with everything we give Him, and He will manage our lives better than we ever have. At no point resist Him; just set Him apart as Lord. You won’t regret it!

“Christ is either Lord of all or He is not Lord at all.”
–Hudson Taylor-

February 27 – Exalting Wisdom (Proverbs 4:1-9)

“Esteem her, and she will exalt you; embrace her, and she will honor you.”(Proverbs 4:8)

IN WORD:
We all long for glory & honor. It is a longing built into us by a Creator whose image we bear and who Himself is worthy of all glory & honor. And there is, in fact, a way in this world that we can live to receive a crown. But it is not the way most people think.
Human instinct tells us to seek a crown by exalting ourselves. It prompts us to climb to the top of the ladder — socially, professionally, emotionally, and even spiritually. It is all about attainment. Godly wisdom, on the other hand, tells us to seek a crown by embracing understanding. It prompts us to become humble and self-aware, submitting to a higher Authority and becoming like Him. It has little to do with achieving; it is all about character.
Human striving is an interesting dynamic. When we seek self, we lose self. When we seek God, we gain God and self. And with God, all of His blessings are included. Jesus said it well: “Whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it” (Mark 8:35).
A substantial part of seeking God is seeking His wisdom. Those who want to benefit from His blessings but do not care to build their lives on His truth are fooling themselves. They are asking for an impossibility, like the benefit of good health without the wisdom of a good diet and exercise, or the benefit of passing a course without doing the homework. God has not constructed life to work that way. There is blessing in building on His truth.

IN DEED:
Whose wisdom forms the foundation of your life? Is it your own? A family member or friend? The collective voice of our culture? If so, why? With all of God’s wisdom available to us, why build on lesser material? Seek God’s wisdom. Esteem it and embrace it, and you will be crowned with honor by the only One whose opinion matters.

“If I take care of my character, my reputation will take care of itself.” -D. L. Moody-

February 26 – Supreme Wisdom (Proverbs 4:1-9)

“Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding.”(Proverbs 4:7)

IN WORD:
Wisdom is a rare commodity in our world. We have plenty of smart people — geniuses, in fact — but few who are wise. And our culture hardly knows the difference. We value status, fame, wealth, a good reputation, companionship, and achievement — not all bad in themselves. But none of them satisfy unless handled with wisdom. We should seek true understanding first and foremost, or all of the rest become mere idols.
Wisdom is a right understanding of the world and our role in it. It knows who God is, it knows who we are, and it sees the relative importance of all things. It is a correct ordering of priorities, majoring on truth and character before superficial pleasures. It is the only way, in the long run, to be truly satisfied.
History is littered with kings and celebrities who seemingly had it all. But in the end they had nothing. They did not know God and built their lives on superficial things. There are abundant stories of people on their deathbeds, wishing they could do it all over again. They are often envied by everyone but themselves, because they know the emptiness and lies of worldly fulfillment. They learn that everything they thought would satisfy, eventually did not.

IN DEED :
Are you satisfied with life? Do you think that the next salary, the next achievement, the next job, the next relationship, the next “whatever” will finally make you content? Stop where you are and seek wisdom above all else. Make it your priority to learn who God is, what He is like, how He relates to us, and what He is doing in this world. Then invest your entire life in what you’ve learned. Even if it costs you all you have, it is well worth it. Only a life based on this kind of understanding will satisfy. Only godly wisdom can make everything else meaningful.

“He is truly wise who looks upon all earthly things as folly that he may gain Christ.” -Thomas A’ Kempis-

February 25 – Protective Wisdom (Proverbs 4:1-9)

“Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will watch over you.”(Proverbs 4:6)

IN WORD:
Godly wisdom protects. This verse is clear. But from what does it protect us? Disease? Calamity? Conflict? Perhaps not always, but sometimes these are the results of unwise choices. Most of all, godly wisdom protects us from the self-inflicted disaster of superficial decisions. It keeps us from sacrificing ourselves to the deity of self-will.
Samson is one of the Bible’s most tragic heroes (Judges 13-16). Dedicated from before his birth to the service of God and endowed with superhuman strength, the man was captive to his own fleeting impulses. This deliverer was bound because he developed an early pattern of satisfying his passing urges at the expense of long-term goals. Lack of wisdom held as a helpless captive the strongest man on earth.
So it is with us. We are called to make life-changing decisions — whom to marry, what career to pursue — at an early age, when we are barely, if at all, equipped to make them. Many have made mindless choices and devastated their future because of a simple lack of wisdom or good sense. With all the resources of the eternal God at our fingertips, we often decide things with our own finite minds. And as we age, we must make repeated choices that will affect our own lives and the lives of those around us profoundly. The sooner we learn godly wisdom, the safer we will be. Wisdom protects us from futility.

IN DEED:
We are given a very brief amount of time on this planet. But what we do here can have eternal impact on ourselves and others. We must invest our time. We must invest our resources. We must direct everything at our disposal toward an eternal Kingdom. Without God’s wisdom, years are wasted. We make self-defeating decisions. We squander opportunities to serve God and bear eternal fruit. Why should we never forsake wisdom? It’s a matter of self-defense. It protects us from a world of evil, and it protects us from ourselves.

“Time is short. Eternity is long. It is only reasonable that this short life be lived in the light of eternity.” -Charles Spurgeon-

February 24 – Your Account

“A man’s ways are in full view of the Lord, and he examines all his paths.”(Proverbs 5:21)

IN WORD:
Have you sought dramatic change in your life? Consider the fact of Proverbs 5:21. Nothing will so radically alter your perspective as the knowledge of this truth. It is an older version of Paul’s sobering observation: “Each of us will give an account of himself to God” (Romans 14:12).
Jesus illustrated the principle with several parables (Matthew 25:31-46; Luke 16:1-12; 19:11-27). We are not left on this planet as unobserved, unaccountable masters of our own selves. We are seen. We are accountable to our Creator. And one day we will stand before Him to explain what we have done and what we have left undone. We will have to own up to every thoughtless comment (Matthew 12:36). We will have to explain the discrepancy between the resources we’ve been given and the resources we’ve used.
This can be a frightening thought, but it is not meant to frighten us. Before our accounting, we have already been given assurance of forgiveness in Christ. Those who are not in Christ have reason to fear indeed, but we who believe have been covered by the sacrifice of Jesus. What meaning, then, does this verse have for us? It is sobering in spite of our salvation. One day at the end of our earthly lives, we will stand before God with a full understanding that we had the power of Jesus Himself working within us, and an acute awareness that we did so little with it.

IN DEED:
These words are not for judgement, they are for encouragement. God gives them to stir us up. They prompt us to live with an understanding of whose we are and why we were made. Let the truth of God’s ownership sink in. When it does, it changes everything. Your life will never be the same.

“As long as I see anything to be done for God, life is worth having.” -David Brainerd-

February 23 – A Discipline of Thanks (Psalm 100)

“Enter His gates with thanksgiving.”(Psalm 100:4)

IN WORD:
The distance of God is an all-too-common malady among believers. It isn’t that God is really distant, but we go through waves of feeling that He is. Sometimes the waves are prolonged — circumstances batter us, discouragement plagues us, and God seems far, far away.
God’s prescription for entering His presence is to give thanks. This verse doesn’t just tell us the right attitude with which we are to enter his gates; it also tells us the means by which we enter them. Thanksgiving, coupled with praise, will bring us to where He is; or it will bring Him to where we are. Either way, we find that worshipful gratitude is the right place to be. God lives where He is acknowledged.
If God does not seem to be living near you, perhaps there is something lacking in your acknowledgement. You rarely see gratitude in someone who thinks negatively about life. Why? Pessimistic thoughts remove the glory of His presence. Negative thinking is not faith; it is the antithesis of reality from God’s point of view. Reality, as He defines it, is all about who He is and what He does. Negativity isn’t. It assumes the worst. It feeds — and is fed by — the enemy of God.

IN DEED:
Paul told believers to give thanks in every circumstance (1 Thessalonians 5:18). He didn’t tell them to give thanks only when the clear evidence of God’s blessing is visible. He told them to give thanks always — in every situation. How can we do this? On the basis of who God is. If we always see the downside, we are doubting something about God — that He is good, or able, or wise. But if we know that He is good, and that He is sovereign, and that He is wise, we can give thanks that He is working out His plan even in the difficult circumstances of life.
Establish in your mind a discipline of thanks. Enumerate every aspect of your life, and thank god for it. In every circumstance, choose to see it from an angle that will cultivate gratitude. god will be honored. And His presence will be real.

“A life of thankfulness releases the glory of God.”
-Bengt Sundberg-

February 22 – The Promise of Warfare (Joshua 23:6-11)

“One of you routs a thousand, because the Lord your God fights for you, just as He promised.”(Joshua 23:10)

IN WORD:
Few of us knew that the day we became a Christian was the day we enlisted in the armed forces. We might have hoped for a serene, pastoral way of life, with the Lord as our Shepherd and a scarcity of wolves in the pasture. But we soon found that the Christian life was not like that at all. To be a citizen of the Kingdom of God is to be a soldier in its military. There is no area of our kingdom not targeted by the enemy. There is no peacetime service — not yet, anyway.
The battle is worth the cost, of course. There are great victories to be won and an eternity to celebrate them. And the warfare, though intense, is backed by an unlimited source of power on our side. Joshua’s observation in verse 10 does not just apply to Israel’s conquest of Canaan; it applies to the nature of God. He fights for His people. There are no odds great enough to overwhelm a true servant of God. Any one of us can rout a thousand of the enemy. Why? Because of a warrior God and a promise. Those who have forsaken sin and devoted themselves to Him will lack no strength for the battle.
Victory belongs to those whose heart is completely god’s. We may wonder, in this fallen world, why it often seems to elude us; but the problem is likely in our definition of victory. Yes, we will be wounded at times, and eventually death comes to all. But for the faithful, never at the wrong time, and never without a promise. God’s Kingdom purposes will be established through us. Victory is certain.

IN DEED:
A wise assessment of our struggles will always include this glorious fact: Almighty god fights on behalf of those whose hearts are His. When we look at a problem with a sense of defeat, we are not wise to the reality of God’s power or His promise. We must always know who holds victory in His hand, and we must never lose heart.

“Christianity is a warfare, and Christians are spiritual soldiers.”
-Robert Southwell-

February 21 – Waiting for Humility (Isaiah 30:15-18)

“The Lord longs to be gracious to you; He rises to show you compassion.”(Isaiah 30:18)

IN WORD:
We ask a common question in times of difficulty: “Where is God?” We don’t ask such questions when all is well. But there are times when all is not well, and we grow suspicious of our Creator. If the difficulty is prolonged, the question grows even more accusing. We wonder why answers to our cries for help are not immediate.
God’s answer is here in Isaiah: He longs to be gracious. That is His nature. Regardless of what our circumstances tell us, we must know beyond the shadow of a doubt that he is, at His very core, a gracious, compassionate God. Whatever other questions may come to mind, we must never doubt that compassion directs Him. Even when He is angry, as when Isaiah prophesied to His covenant people, it is an anger backed by redemption. There is a caring purpose in it.
Knowing this, we are stuck with one nagging question: Why does He have to “long” to be gracious? If He is so ready to show us His compassion, why does He wait? Two related reasons: (1) There is a purging purpose that only time can accomplish in our hearts; and (2) His compassion only becomes visible when we’re repentant (v. 15). Humility is the key. Most of God’s blessings are promised to the humble — those who acknowledge their bankrupt condition before Him. None are promised to the proud.

IN DEED:
Are you wondering where the presence of God is in your life? If He is waiting, there may be a lack of humility that, when corrected, will open the door for Him to act. You may be going through a purging process that will not be lifted until his work in your heart is complete. His compassion is too great to relieve your circumstances while leaving your heart in the same condition as before. He is too merciful to solve your problems without imparting His character to you. Let your waiting accomplish His work. Then you will see His compassion.

“The door of God is humility.” -John the Short-

February 20 – Handling Rebuke (Proverbs 1:20-33)

“If you had responded to my rebuke, I would have poured out my heart to you and made my thoughts known to you.”
(Proverbs 1:23)

IN WORD:
We don’t have to try long to apply God’s Word to our lives before we realize that we often violate it. When we come up against His Word, we have essentially two choices: We can seek change in ourselves; or we can try to change the Word. We can’t really change God’s Word, of course. Nevertheless, we try to do that, don’t we? We have a range of methods: “That verse doesn’t really mean what it says on the surface.” “That principle applied to the culture in which it was written, but not ours.” “That must mean something else in context, or in the original language, or . . .” You know the routines. We’ve all rationalized our behavior at one time or another.

But the better option — the only really rational one — is to adapt ourselves to God’s unchanging Word. When we do, God offers an amazing promise: His wisdom will pour out His heart to us and make his thoughts known to us. Responding begets wisdom, and greater responding begets greater wisdom. Ignoring God’s rebukes, however painful they may be at times, leads in the opposite direction — toward utter folly and disappointment.

IN DEED:
We often think that God’s rebuke will only carry negative consequences if we reject it. That’s true on some level, but in this particular verse, God promises a positive reward for a submissive response. It’s enough to blow our minds, if we think about it: The wisdom of the God of the universe — the Almighty’s innermost thoughts, the passionate heart of the Creator — rushes upon us like a rapidly flowing river.
People have sought true wisdom their whole lives and never found such a treasure. Why? They didn’t understand God’s rebuke. Listen for His call and receive the abundance of eternal wisdom. Let Him pour His heart out to you.

“The Bible is not meant merely to inform, but to transform.”
-Anonymous-

February 19 – Naked Faith (Psalm 40:1-5)

“Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust.”
(Psalm 40:4)

IN WORD:
Those of us who claim a relationship with God have placed our trust in Him. But when it comes to daily living, we tend to trust a lot of other sources of help as well. Few of us have learned to trust the Lord alone. We usually trust the Lord and: financial resources, medical research, counselor’s advice, popular opinion, or any number of other avenues of assistance. None of these in themselves are necessarily false helps. The issue is our heart attitude of trust. Do we know in our hearts where our help really comes from? It comes from God.

David claims that the person who makes the Lord his trust will be “blessed’ — utterly happy, spiritually prosperous, envied, and honored. God’s “shalom” — His peace and wellness — will be upon him. The picture is of someone who has forsaken all confidence in other things and cast himself without hesitation or reservation — even recklessly — on God. It is a naked faith, with no human props to fall back on. It is a spiritual placing of all eggs in one basket.
This kind of trust requires a certain amount of courage. It hangs everything on an invisible God. It does not hedge its bets but believes that God, as He is revealed in His Word, will act toward us as we have been told He will. But in the end, it is the safest trust there is. God has never failed anyone who has invested all hopes in Him.

IN DEED:
How pure is your trust? Are you using God to fill in the gaps around your other sources of help? Do you have a plan B if God doesn’t intervene the way you want Him to? If so, do not expect the blessedness of being abandoned to Him. That only comes with a pure, unbridled faith in God alone. No false idols, no confidence in the flesh, no backup plans, no pride. Make the Lord your exclusive trust, and expect to be blessed.

“A little faith will bring your soul to heaven, but a lot of faith will bring heaven to your soul.” -D. L. Moody-