February 18 – Count Yourself

“Count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.”(Romans 6:11)

IN WORD:
Nowhere is there a clearer connection between wisdom — the renewed mind that God gives us in Christ — and our life in the Spirit than in this verse. Our encounter with life in Christ, according to Paul, stems from what we know to be true. The truth of our life is a matter of what Jesus did for us on the Cross and the third day; our experience of it is a matter of our mental grasp of this truth. We are to count ourselves dead but also alive. Other translations also make it an issue of our thought life. We are to consider, to reckon, to count on the truth: We died with Jesus and we are raised with Him.
Many Christians miss out on experiencing the victorious, joy-filled life, not because they aren’t in fact crucified and raised in Jesus, but because they don’t know it. Perhaps it is only a theological belief or a matter of creed. Perhaps it is misunderstood as something to strive for rather than to accept. Perhaps it is seen as a future possibility rather than an established position. None of that is enough. A Christian will really experience the joy & power & victory of the Christian life when he or she believes its foundation: We were crucified with Jesus, and now we are raised in His life. And it must be more than belief; we must know it, count on it, cling to it as a rock-solid event as certain as the day we graduated, got married, or signed a contract.

IN DEED:
Too many Christians are trying to make the Christian experience true for them. They have put the cart before the horse. Experience doesn’t lead to truth; truth leads to experience. Instead of praying for the resurrected life, accept it and live it. Instead of hoping you will die to sin, count on the fact that you already have. Our struggles are often only a product of how we see ourselves. If we see ourselves as sinners trying to be better Christians, that is how we will live. If we see ourselves as sinners who were buried with Christ and raised to new life, that too is how we will live. Romans 6:11 tells us what to see. Count on it, and watch your experience line up with the truth.

“You do not need to wait . . . Before beginning to live eternally.”
-James S. Stewart-

February 17 – A Life of Belief (Romans 6:1-14)

“If we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with Him.” (Romans 6:8)

IN WORD:
It is strange to our ears: “We died with Christ.” It doesn’t seem much like we died. Most days, we seem all too alive — we have responsibilities that clamor for our attention, people who get on our very sensitive nerves, battles to fight, and habits to lose. If this is life, we’re not sure we want it to be like this. And if we’ve died with Christ and been raised with Him, we’re more than a little confused. This doesn’t seem much like resurrection.
One of our problems is a matter of timing. We live between the Cross and the final Resurrection. While the death and resurrection of Jesus are actual legal facts for us, they are both growing experiences. In a sense we died, but in another sense, we are dying. Jesus told His disciples so; their cross would be a daily fact of their walk. And in a sense we’ve been raised, but in another sense, we will be raised. We’re just learning what it means to live in Christ and for Him to live in us. This new life comes on the heels of a very persistent old one, and sometimes the boundaries between the two are not all that clear to us. They’re very real; they just aren’t that clear.

IN DEED:
Many Christians are disenchanted with the Christian life. It isn’t the experience of spiritual power and holy discipleship they felt it would be. the joy of following Jesus seems to be lacking.
Don’t despair. That life is available. It can be experienced in glimpses and even long seasons for now. And it will be experienced ultimately and finally, forever and ever.
Meanwhile, though our status with God is complete and incorruptible, in practice we linger somewhere between corruption and holiness, between the old and new, between death and life, and between Spirit and flesh. God is calling us ever forward, while sin & Satan grab the heels of their lost possession. Keep fleeing from them, right into the arms of God. Paul’s prescription is belief. Don’t lose heart. We must know whose we are and where we belong. We must believe in the life we’ve been given.

“Christ has turned all our sunsets into dawns.”
-Clement of Alexandria-

February 16 – Resurrection Life (Romans 6:1-14)

“Just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.”(Romans 6:4)

IN WORD:
If new life is ours in Christ, why does life often seem so old? Why do we struggle with sin & death when we’re united with the One who overcame both? Perhaps the answer lies with in us. Perhaps it’s all a matter of perspective. Perhaps when the Bible says we’ve died and been raised up again, we haven’t really believed it. We’re reminded of our old nature often, and we let it speak louder than the promise of God.
Effective discipleship, the fruitful Christian walk, begins with death and resurrection. This is foundational. If we see ourselves as people in a process of reform, trying to make the bad habits good and sinful tendencies weak, we will fail. But if we see ourselves as dead and then raised, then we have the basis for a new way of life, and, in fact, a new life that really isn’t ours. It’s His, and only He knows how to live it.
It’s critical for us to understand: Jesus doesn’t offer to improve us. He offers to let us die and then to inhabit our personalities with His presence. That’s why discipleship can hurt; there’s a cross. But that cross is the key to the glory that follows.

IN DEED:
Are you living the resurrected life? Many Christians are striving in the flesh to do the works of the Spirit, and they are frustrated and tired. Wouldn’t you rather rest in the Resurrection than try to overhaul the old nature that was — and should continually be — crucified with Jesus? New life is an eternal blessing, but it has no short-term benefit if we refuse to live in it.
How do you get there? Not by straining for it, not by reading about it, and not even by frantically immersing yourself in church life. No, just by asking. Ask often, trust deeply, let yourself be convinced of the promise, think about it often, and most of all, give Jesus free reign in your heart. The power of His resurrection is available when the power of your self is exhausted. Live in His power. Or better yet, let His power live in you!

“The characteristic of the new birth is that I yield myself so completely to God that Christ is formed in me.”
-Oswald Chambers-

February 15 – The Exchange of Grace (Romans 6:1-14)

“Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?”
(Romans 6:1)

IN WORD:
It seems so unreal. This gospel of grace, the thought that everything we have ever done and will ever do is covered by the sacrifice of Jesus, seems so unlikely. The world we live in has not conditioned us to believe that anything truly valuable is free. The knowledge deep within us that we are spiritually and morally corrupt has not conditioned us to accept mercy so easily. We’re trained to understand that people get what they deserve, not that a something-for-nothing transaction is worth anything. Especially when the “something” is so huge and the “nothing” so clearly devoid of merit.
So Paul asked this question: Shall we go on sinning? If none of this gospel is based on merit, should we just give up trying to behave ourselves? It’s a question that, if we have to ask it, unmasks our motives. We really just wanted salvation. We’d prefer not to have much to do with God.
The answer to this question of sinning in the face of grace, according to Paul, is a horrified “Of course not!” Paul is clear on one thing we frequently forget: We did not simply sign a contract for our salvation; we exchanged lives with a Redeemer! He took our sinful selves into the grave with Him and brought us a resurrected life instead. And that life can never be comfortable with sin. Never!

IN DEED:
Do you view your salvation simply as a contractual agreement that will guarantee you a pleasant eternity? Then you will have epic struggles with sin. You will find it much too easy to justify your indiscretions because, after all, a merciful God will overlook them. But if you view your salvation as a life-exchange — a once sinful existence now traded for a Holy Substitute — then the very thought of sin will seem ludicrous. Yes, there will still be struggles, but not from any attempt to justify obedience. The struggle will only be with the power of the flesh, which Jesus is ready and willing to subdue. With that kind of Savior, is there any reason at all to go on sinning?

“Free grace can go into the gutter and bring up a jewel!”
-Charles Spurgeon-

February 14 – Understanding Weakness (2 Corinthians 12:7-10)

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”(2 Corinthians 12:9)

IN WORD:
Why does human reasoning run so contrary to God’s ways? It seems only logical that if we want to be strong, we should strive to be strong. If we want victory, we should exert power. If we want success, we should learn strategies for success. This makes sense in any line of reasoning — except God’s. His methods don’t fit our logic because His purposes do not match ours. He will not divert His glory to His creatures. Our victories must come from His hands. And for Him to be glorified in them, His hands must be visible.
That is why God has us fighting our battles from a state of weakness. We fight from a position of strength — in Him — but in a natural state of weakness so that His demonstration of power will not be clouded by our own resources and feeble self-efforts. It is a hard lesson for a Christian to learn. We are strongest when we are weakest.
Paul was tormented by a messenger of Satan. We don’t know how that messenger manifested itself, though theories abound. What we do know is that God, in His wisdom, did not remove the thorn in Paul’s flesh. He used it as an occasion to demonstrate His powerful grace. And Paul, in wisdom that can only come from God, learned to accept his hardship for the greater good of displaying God’s strength.

IN DEED:
When you find yourself in the heat of a battle — and any Christian living a godly life often will — resist the urge to muster up strength. Call on His. Acknowledge your natural condition. It only stands to reason that fallen, finite beings will always be outmatched in a life-or-death spiritual struggle. Let no pride talk you out of accepting that truth. Embrace it and lean on His grace, understanding that the key to your battle today is His power — a power that will only be revealed when you stop trying to rival it. Your sufficiency is in what He brings to the situation: HIMSELF!

“We have no power from God unless we live in the persuasion that we have none of our own.” -John Owen-

February 13 – Life In The Spirit (Galatians 3:1-5)

“After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?”(Galatians 3:3)

IN WORD:
The Galatians had diverted from the right path. They had become “religious.” It’s a trap any of us can fall into, and we often do. We follow a law — any law, even a good one like Jesus’ words — trying to live the Christian life apart from Christ. We try to accomplish the work of God in the strength of our flesh. It can’t be done.
Jesus was very clear: “Apart fro Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). We may have thought that being a Christian meant being better, improving ourselves, and having a profound reason to obey God and do good works. If so, we set our eyes on the result of the Christian life and forgot the means to get there. We cannot become mature disciples except by supernatural means. Jesus did not come into this world to make us better; He came into this world to make us new. There’s a significant difference.
We know what a mature Christian looks like. He or she will have the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). What we don’t seem to know — or we forget easily — is that we don’t grow these attributes by doing our best at them. We get them by realizing how foreign they are to our to our human nature, how futile our attempts at achieving them are, and how dependent on God we are for His life within us. It’s a supernatural means to a supernatural life.

IN DEED:
Are you frustrated with your Christian growth? Are you strong in religion but weak in faith? Understand the difference between the two. Avoid the foolishness of the Galatians. No amount of human effort can fulfill God’s laws. You were born of the Spirit when you believed. Now live by the Spirit. Cry out to God for Him to live His life in you, and He will accomplish your righteousness.

“The Father in Heaven loves to fill His children with the Holy Spirit.” -Andrew Murray-

February 12 – External Fruit (Psalm 1)

“He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.”(Psalm 1:3)

IN WORD:
God plants His Spirit within us — we have the eternal Son of God in our being by faith. When non-believers read the Gospels, the stories of Jesus ought to remind them of those of us who believe. The fact that there is sometimes little visible resemblance between the biblical Jesus and the Spirit dwelling in our flesh today is a tragedy. There should be in our character and lifestyle a clear & present correspondence to one controversial Galilean of ancient history.
God’s character is expressed in His works. What He does emanates fro His personality. He expects the same of us — our faith will result in works. The fruit of the Spirit is not just internally received, but externally expressed. God meets us in deep inward places, but He always leads us outward. His Spirit does not invade our being to remain hidden. We are the display of His glory, not its best-kept secret.
The one who realizes this — who has meditated on the life & law of god inscribed upon his heart — will be firmly established. He will be like a tree planted by streams of water. And there will be fruit. There’s no doubt about it: When the season is right, fruit will come, and the fruit will be good. Why? Because there is an infinitely rich, ever-flowing stream of water that nourishes this tree. It is not a tree that establishes itself; it is planted and tended by the living God.

IN DEED:
God calls us to be like Himself. His eternal character produced the purity of the Law, words of wisdom, the voice of the prophets, the saving work of Jesus, and the life of the church. What does our character produce? If it comes from God, it produces reflections of the very same themes. It produces the kind of prosperity that glorifies God and keeps us in His extravagant grace. It produces fruit that will last forever.

“Our actions disclose what goes on within us, just as its fruit makes known a tree otherwise unknown to us.”
-Thalassios the Libyan-

February 11 – Internal Law (Psalm 1)

“His delight is in the law of the Lord, and on His law he meditates day and night.”(Psalm 1:2)

IN WORD:
Many Christians get confused about the Law of the Old Testament, even with Paul’s lengthy teachings on its role for believers in Jesus. We don’t want to be legalists, trying to earn righteousness through our works, as other religions teach. Our righteousness is found exclusively in Christ — why would we seek it in our own efforts? On the other hand, we don’t want to be lawless. The Bible — even the New Testament — condemns lawless behavior. God is holy, and so must we be (Leviticus 11:44; 1 Peter 1:16). Somehow, we are to have holiness and liberty all at the same time. How?
The Law that was written on stone tablets — i.e., the 10 Commandments, the sum of God’s moral standard — was once an agenda for how sinful humans could be godly. No one ever fulfilled it, of course, except for Jesus. But it was the right standard. It is now not our agenda, but a description of what God does in us to make us godly. There is no difference in the godliness of the Old Testament and the New, per se. The difference is in how it is obtained. It was once an external objective; it is now an internal work of the Spirit of God. But it is the same Law.

IN DEED:
It is as appropriate in New Testament faith to meditate on God’s Law as it was for the psalmist hundreds of years before Christ. The trick for the Christian is never to put it outside of ourselves as something to strive for. Instead, we are to see it as a measure of what God has already done and will continue to do in our hearts.
Suppose you have failed one of the commandments. Meditate on it, but do not strive to fulfill it in your strength alone. Pray to have it fulfilled in you. Confess your transgression of it, but know that its fulfillment is an act of God. It comes with your prayers and full cooperation, of course, but it is His work. The perfect Son of God lives in you. Why attempt the life He has already lived? Delight in His holiness and let Him write it on your heart.

“Law says ‘Do”; grace says ‘Done.’
-John Henry Jowett-

February 10 – Righteous Hunger

“The Lord does not let the righteous go hungry, but He thwarts the craving of the wicked.”(Proverbs 10:3)

IN WORD:
We are, in a sense, defined by our hunger. Think about it: Our cravings are descriptive, to a large degree, of the spirit within us. Our personality, our preferences, our problems are all revealed in and through the things we strive for.
God’s Word affirms this — it often defines us by our hunger. Jesus said those who hunger and thirst for righteousness would be filled (Matthew 5:6). They are His. It pleases Him when we crave His righteousness and seek it as a treasure. He delights in that desire. And when we have it, He never mentions our sin — it no longer defines us. He mentions only our future — the fullness we will receive from Him. The craving, by His description, is who we are.
This is why Proverbs can tell us that the righteous will not go hungry. The righteous will not go hungry because they hunger for righteousness. God gives such treasures to all those who seek Him. The wicked, however, crave wickedness. If they are filled, it will only be for the moment. It will not last.
God promises daily bread to those who trust Him for it with a right spirit. This verse affirms that, but it goes far beyond food. It describes matters of the heart, not matters of the stomach. The heart that is fixed on God will find itself in sync with the purpose of creation itself. The heart that has more inclination toward wickedness than toward God, will find itself horribly out of step with the rest of the universe.

IN DEED:
Does contentment elude you? Check your desires. They are an accurate description of who you are and the kingdom you would rather live in. What do you hunger for? If your cravings lead you to God, you will never go hungry. If they do not, you always will. God’s Kingdom is always about righteousness. Never forget that, and be filled.

“Man finds it hard to get what he wants because he does not always want what is best.” -George MacDonald-

February 9 – Deep Guidance (Daniel 2:19-23)

“He reveals deep and hidden things.”(Daniel 2:22)

IN WORD:
Sometimes we think God has given us a bare minimum of information. We want to know the answers to all of our deep questions, but because wise philosophers struggle with the meaning of life as much as we do, we assume that we are confined in ignorance for the length of our lives. And aside from the mysteries of the ages, we’d even settle for guidance in today’s choices. Our finite minds need help.
God does not leave us in darkness; He makes that very clear. He spoke light into our world on page 1 of the Old Testament, and He sent the Light of the World to us on page 1 of the New. The mysteries of life — and today’s guidance — are revealed in Him. Our God is more than willing to direct us.
So, why do we so often struggle to find our way? Perhaps our struggle is not so much a matter of knowledge as it is a matter of will. We often know the right thing to do, but we search for reasons not to do it. Or perhaps we want our fortunes told. We just want direction; we don’t want God! We don’t want to put in the time and the effort for a life-changing relationship with Him. The mind of Christ takes a while to grow in us, and it has radical implications. We just want a little direction today.
God won’t usually work that way. He offers us deep and hidden things, but to find them we must have a deep and hidden relationship with Him — deep in faith and hidden in Christ (Colossians 3:3). Everything we want to know is there, but it involves a heavy cost on our end: a sacrificial life, a thirst for truth, a love for our Savior, and a promise to follow Him wherever He leads. Daniel demonstrated such qualities long before God gave him the understanding revealed in this passage. The revealer of mysteries asks no less of us.

IN DEED:
Do you want wisdom from above? It is far-reaching and powerful, deep and true. But asking for the light of His wisdom demands a pledge to LIVE in the light of His wisdom. That is often our missing ingredient. He won’t let us settle for superficial direction. Visions of truth come to those who will follow truth.

“Deep in your heart, it is not guidance you want so much as a guide.” -John White-