April 21 – Mercy’s Victory (James 2:8-13)

“Mercy triumph’s over judgment!” (James 2:13)

IN WORD:
When someone sins against us, we are driven by a sense of fairness. We want the sin acknowledged, repentance demonstrated, and restitution made. Within our minds are detail-sensitive measuring devices that scrutinize others’ actions to make sure we are treated fairly.
When we sin against someone else, we have an entirely different approach. We are driven by a sense of mercy. We expect people to cut us a certain amount of slack since, after all, only bitter, judgmental people get uptight about the little things. We forget that we ourselves are often uptight about the little things.
Jesus said to take that mercy-driven mind we have when we offend and apply it to the times when we are offended. “Do to others as you would have them do to you,” (Luke 6:31). The sense of fairness we have when we are wronged was assumed by God Himself and poured out on the crucified Jesus. We are no longer entitled to it. He declared once for all that justice is His, not ours. We are left only with mercy. And thank God for that. It’s all we need.

IN DEED:
God’s judgment is the natural result of His righteousness. It is integral to His character. But His mercy exceeds His justice. Only God could have conceived of a plan to exercise judgment in such a merciful way. In condemning our sins, He laid them all on His own flesh and took the condemnation Himself. His judgment was undergirded by grace.
God tells us to be like Him. If we are to have His mind and be steeped in His wisdom, we must let our own mercy triumph over our indignation. God has given us sure footing for grace and none at all for judgment.
The next time you need someone to cut you some slack and forgive, make a note of the feeling. Savor it and cultivate it. Then remember it the next time you are outraged at another’s fault. In doing so, you will apply mercy’s victory to your own heart. And you will understand God’s.

“The more godly any man is, the more merciful that man will be.” -Thomas Benton Brooks-

April 20 – Fallen (Romans 3:10-18)

“There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins.”(Ecclesiastes 7:20)

IN WORD:
Ecclesiastes is a depressing book. No one can accuse it of pious platitudes designed to put a positive spin on the world around us. It tells the truth, at least from the perspective of where a fallen humanity sits. If we depend on our eyes for the truth, we will end up saying the same things as “the Teacher” who wrote it: “Everything is meaningless” (Ecclesiastes 1:2).
The good thing about Ecclesiastes is that it sends us in search of a Savior. In its cold, hard assessment of who we are, it drives us toward the only One who can remedy our situation. But in order to know Him, we first need to embrace the harsh reality: “There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins.”
We accept this truth as basic, but we hardly live like we believe it. We put our hopes in politicians and policies. We admire entertainers and athletes as role models. We feed on the affections of friends and loved ones. We build up our own potential as the thing that, if we apply ourselves diligently enough, will make our lives meaningful. We invest such extreme emotions in fellow human beings — and ourselves — forgetting one critical foundation stone on which the gospel is laid: Every human being has the potential, even the probability, of letting us down.

IN DEED:
It’s only natural. We take our eyes off the invisible God and put them on visible mankind. We expect our dreams and desires to be fulfilled by others, or at least by ourselves. We develop a worldly focus and invest our energies into the plans, people, and places of this planet. Then, when we least expect it, our dreams are shattered. We should have expected that. No human being can live up to the expectations we have. No one is righteous enough.
There is one exception, of course. It’s the exception Ecclesiastes points us to: the Savior sent by God. In a fallen world, we need to keep turning our eyes toward Him — for everything. He will never disappoint us.

“We are not part of a nice, neat creation . . . ; we are part of a mutinous world where rebellion against God is the order of the day.” -Samuel Shoemaker-

April 19 – Where’s Your Heaven (2 Corinthians 5:1-4)

“Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling.” (2 Corinthians 5:2)

IN WORD:
There is an impulse deep in our hearts for the things of heaven. God placed it there. He shaped us for eternity, and somewhere deep within us, we know that. We may have distorted that impulse when our first parents ate the forbidden fruit or when we deliberately sinned against God, but we still have it. We want heaven, and we want it now!
Have you noticed all the ways we try to get it? We look for heaven in lots of places — the spring catalogs, the vacation brochures, the real estate guides, the novels and movies that engross us, the satisfying relationships we pursue, the American dream we’re promised, and more. You name it, we’ve placed our hope in it. We welcome poor substitutes.
Perhaps we thought of our personal goals as an innocent search for satisfaction, but they went deeper than that. We were driven by our impulses for the eternal kingdom, trying to satisfy our hearts with things that don’t measure up. That’s why we always want more, no matter how much we have. Everything we think will satisfy us won’t — not in the long run. Eternal impulses are not content with temporal treasures. Our hope is like an itch; it is cured with a divine balm, not an impatient scratch.

IN DEED:
Where have you sought to secure your heaven? Even if you’ve placed your hope in the Kingdom of God, you still may be tempted to secure your kingdom by your own means. Have you insulated yourself in the most comfortable neighborhoods, padded your accounts with the most comfortable margins, gotten away from it all with the most comfortable respites, and escaped into the most comfortable fantasies? You may be entertaining false hopes. You may have cultivated your own parallel false kingdom next to the eternal Kingdom of God.
Resist that urge. God has called us into a relationship with Him. Let that be your treasure. Handle the things of this world loosely. Look for heaven where heaven really is.

“Heaven will be the perfection we have always longed for.”
-Billy Graham-

April 18 – The Wisdom of the Believer (1 Corinthians 2:1-16)

“We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us.” (1 Corinthians 2:12)

IN WORD:
This verse is the conclusion of the remarkable story of God’s wisdom being made manifest in this world. We started with complete bankruptcy. We end with being let in on the deep mysteries of God. Paul makes an astounding claim: “We have the mind of Christ” (2:16).
Most Christians believe at some level that God is unknowable. It is true that we can never know everything there is to know about Him. We will explore His depths for eternity and still be near the surface. But the unknown God has made Himself known in the Cross. There He is Judge and Redeemer, wrath and love, holy and merciful, mighty and wise. The power of God was revealed one black day on a hill in the Middle East, and no one expected it to look like that. It seemed shameful, but it resulted in victory, life, and peace. Everything we will ever need was made available there.
Need salvation? It is given to us. On the basis of Jesus’ blood and the power of His resurrection. Need wisdom? It is freely given at the Cross, too. Need anything at all from God? He calls us to meet Him there — every time, for every purpose. The Cross and resurrection were God’s ultimate intervention in this world and the basis of all meetings between the holy and the profane. The mysteries of the sacrificial Lamb run deed, but they are available to us, always and forever.

IN DEED:
The fifth lesson of wisdom from the Cross is this: Never underestimate the availability of God. God did not just scratch the surface at the Crucifixion. He reached into the depths and drew us out. He invites us into its victory and the resurrected life that follows — to know it, to savor it, and to tell it. Never cry out to God, “Where are You?” Without looking first at the Cross. Understand what He has freely given and base your life on it. At the Cross, His wisdom is yours.

“The Spirit breathes upon the Word, and brings the truth to sight.” -William Cowper-

April 17 – The Wisdom of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:1-16)

“The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.”
(1 Corinthians 2:10)

IN WORD:
Leave it to God to exercise His perfect wisdom. Somehow, we thought that a God who is Spirit might give us a salvation of the flesh. But the One who bears children must bear children in His likeness. It’s the way of genetics — physical or spiritual.
Brought into a spiritual kingdom — though its spiritual nature encompasses body and mind, as well — we must learn of its culture. You cannot expect to prosper in another country without learning something of its customs and speaking its language. So it is with the Kingdom of God. We must be immersed in its culture and come into its character. The means for doing this is the Spirit of God.
Becoming wise in the ways of the Kingdom is like putting on a set of strange, new clothes. We look different and we feel different. This is no illusion; we ARE different. And we can take comfort in the fact that while a multitude of Christians — only God knows if they are genuine or not — are content with a superficial spirituality, God has called us to go deeper. The Cross is our holy invitation. We are not saved for superficiality. We are called into the wisdom that underlies the foundation of this universe, called to understand its purpose, its dynamics, its direction, and its needs. The invitation is more remarkable than we might think; it is a summons to participate in the works of God.

IN DEED:
he fourth lesson of wisdom from the Cross is this: Never be afraid to go deep. The privilege of the believer is to share in the deep things of God. The Cross was a secret mystery from before the beginning of time, but now it is revealed for our glory (2:7). We are co-laborers with Him, sharing in His likeness! All creation must marvel at the sight.
Never be content with staying on the surface, and never assume you’ve learned enough. God is deeper than most people know. Dive into the depths of His wisdom.

“The Holy Spirit of grace desires to disturb your sleep. Blessed are you if you awaken.” -Lars Linderot-

April 16 – The Wisdom of Jesus (1 Corinthians 1:18-31)

“You are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God — that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.”
(1 Corinthians 1:30)

IN WORD:
The life of faith begins with a confession of bankruptcy. In order to accept our Savior, we must accept our need. We cannot have His righteousness with out denying our own; we cannot have His holiness without confessing our sin; and we cannot receive His redemption without owning up to our bondage. We are bankrupt before Him, and fools if we do not know it.
The beauty of the Cross is its ugliness. God left us no aesthetic religion to idolize, no self-effort to perfect, no Law to fulfill. He completely undid us by doing it all Himself. The way to become godly now is not to become godly; it is to declare our ungodliness and cast its cost on Another. The way to become pure now is not to be pure; it is to declare our impurity and ask for the heart and mind of Another. The way to live is not to seek life; it is to die and let Another live in our place. We thought the wisdom of God would be to make us better people — through works, service, intellect, philosophies, religion, and more. But in His wisdom, Jesus did not come to make us better. He came to do away with the old entirely and to birth something new. We take hold of that by embracing the ugly, ignoble Cross. Only then can newness come.

IN DEED:
The third lesson of wisdom from the Cross is this: Never despise the humble appearance of God’s plan. Make no mistake — the Cross was not at first gilded with gold to adorn our steeples and necklines. It was first a place of disgrace. It was. The symbol of death. It was brutal & ugly, horrid and shameful. But it was God’s way! From the foundation of the world, He ordained that His priceless treasure be dressed in very plain clothes.
If you’re ever tempted to avoid the unattractive path God has planned, turn to Jesus on the Cross. See Him as a reminder that priceless treasures are in broken vessels.

“Nothing in my hands I bring, simply to thy Cross I cling.”
-Augustus Toplady-

April 15 – The Wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:18-31)

“In the wisdom of God, the world, through its wisdom, did not know him.”(1 Corinthians 1:21)

IN WORD:
The world lived in darkness. Why would God ordain such ignorance? Why would He not want the world to recognize Him through its own wisdom? Doesn’t He want to be known? Why isn’t He more easily found?

Think about it this way: Who would receive glory if we found God on our own? He would be the hidden One, we would be the seekers, and the credit in this divine hide-and-seek would go to the intellect of the pursuers. God did not ordain it this way. He is the Pursuer, and He receives the glory. The world, in its “wisdom,” refuses to play that game — to its own detriment. But those who really desire God are glad when He reveals Himself and are not reluctant to give Him the glory for finding the seekers before their own wisdom could find Him.
There is nothing in the human mind that can discern eternal realities without a revelation from above. It is all on His own initiative. If it were not, He would be the passive object of our activity. We would never be sure of His love; we would never know His ways; we would never see Him work. We would only find Him, and we would never be certain of what we found. But in His active pursuit of human rebels, His character is displayed. We see the intensity of His love, the wisdom of His ways, and the power of His works. His glory falls from above.

IN DEED:
The second lesson of wisdom from the Cross is this: Never forget the divine initiative. We think we pursued God, forgetting that He supplies all revelation, all strength, and all means of knowing Him. That’s a stressful — and futile — pursuit. We must cooperate with Him, but we must also rest. Knowing Him requires our diligence, but it is a diligence of reception, not a diligence of acquisition. We receive only what He has already given. As a result, we cannot celebrate our wisdom or the world’s — only His.

“His wisdom’s vast, and knows no bounds, a deep where all our thoughts are drowned.” -Isaac Watts-

April 14 – The Wisdom of the World (1 Corinthians 1:18-31)

“Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?”
(1 Corinthians 1:20)

IN WORD:
The wisdom of the world would never have chosen a cross for its salvation. The wisdom of the world always chooses the path of obvious victory. It knows nothing of the deeper battles and subtleties of faith. It acts on what it sees on the surface and grabs as much visible glory as it can. It will not wait; it seizes the day.
We are not born of that spirit. We are born of the Spirit of God, and the Spirit of God will lead us to the Cross. He points us toward eternal realities, not temporary glory. While earthly wisdom tells us to get what we can while we can get it, God’s wisdom shows us the reality of eternity that lies beyond the visible nature of this corrupt world. It shows us the Resurrection beyond the Cross.
Those of us who seek true wisdom do not simply desire information from God. We want to know what He is like. We must come to see Him as the source of all truth, and we must take our cues from Him. We shouldn’t be satisfied with Him just telling us what to be believe. We need to see it in action. What is His wisdom like? What would He do if He were clothed in human flesh?
God has given us the answer, of course. We can examine the wisdom of Jesus, which led Him to death for a greater good. What He did in surrendering to the Cross was absolute foolishness in the eyes of the world. And it still is. But we can see beyond the Cross if we are wise, and based on what we see, we can walk toward it with confidence.

IN DEED:
The first lesson of wisdom from the Cross is this: Never exchange eternal glory for temporary gain. Jesus forsook the temporal because He knew the eternal. But the world will always urge us to seek a superficial victory today. Don’t. It’s a foolish world, and God has shamed it. See what God has done, learn the wisdom of the Cross, and embrace it.

“We were deceived by the wisdom of the serpent, but we are freed by the foolishness of God.” -St. Augustine-

April 13 – Blessed Fear (Psalm 128:1-2)

“Blessed are all who fear the Lord, who walk in His ways.”
(Psalm 128:1)

IN WORD:
Our logic tells us. Not to fear the God who defines Himself as “love” and who offers His grace freely to all who will accept it. Yet, as we’ve seen, fear is where wisdom begins. Those who fear Him will become wise, and those who do not are fools. The Scripture makes that clear.
The one who does not fear God takes a casual approach to life. The awesome beauty of creation is taken for granted. The preciousness of time and life become less precious. Little by little, relationships become more trivial. And sin becomes a non-issue, something that doesn’t really exist or that God will just overlook without much thought. The one who does not fear God does not understand himself.
Those who do fear God, however, begin to see all things as holy. Creation is a blessing, life is a privilege. Relationships and resources turn into responsibilities for stewardship, and sin becomes a tragic defamation of the character of our Father. The one who fears God begins to see sin as ugly graffiti defacing the divine property and as high treason against the divine plan. And for God-fearers, that will unsettle their minds and gnaw at their sensibilities.
What is the blessing in that? How can such a painful discontent be called a “blessed” life? Because it gives us the right perspective and puts us on the right track. It unites us with the heart of God — not a God we’re terrified of, but a God who captivates us in awe and reverence. It sobers us up from our once-random, once-reckless existence. We see things as they are, and we can never take life casually again.

IN DEED:
What is the measure of your fear? Are you casual about the precious gifts of God? Do you take grace for granted and see your sin as tolerable? Are your relationships take-them-or-leave-them propositions? Are your time and resources carelessly managed? Let any symptoms of fearlessness alarm you. Laugh and enjoy life, but fear God. Love Him warmly, but respect Him deeply. You will know what it is to be blessed.

“Fear the Lord, then, and you will do everything well.”
-Hermas-

April 12 – Detestable Pride (Proverbs 16:5;n 1 Peter 5:5-6)

“The Lord detests all the proud of heart. Be sure of this: They will not go unpunished.”(Proverbs 16:5)

IN WORD:
Our world honors pride. We often give the most media attention to those who demand it. Athletes make arrogant claims and then are lauded for their competitiveness. Entertainers shamelessly promote their own image and then are praised for their confidence. Political and military leaders proudly wield their power over vulnerable people and are rewarded for their assertiveness. Making a name for oneself is an honorable business in the world’s culture.
We might easily be drawn into that philosophy if we don’t continually remind ourselves of God’s hatred for pride. It is a consistent biblical theme: Pride is repulsive. It directs glory inward instead of upward. It seeks the honor of the gifted rather than the honor of the Giver. It is far too impressed with the ingenuity and resourcefulness of human abilities. In its very essence, it ignores God. If we want to avoid it, we must always honor Him. We also must honor His hatred of it.
That’s hard to do. Pride is the foundation of self-will, which is the ultimate foundation behind every sin. It is deeply ingrained in us. We hate it in others, but we wallow in it when we’re allowed to. Whenever a little glory comes our way, we drink it in as though it’s the sweetest thirst quencher. But like other sweets, it has little substance. Eventually, no amount of honor will cover the fact that we’re needy on the inside. Something deep within us craves glory, but something deeper reminds us that we aren’t worthy of it. The depths of our soul know that God is the only worthy recipient of praise.

IN DEED:
Let every hint of pride be repulsive to you. Let God deal with those who seek their own glory; it is not our job to humble anyone. But the Bible repeatedly tells us to humble ourselves. Hate the pride that you are prone to love. Agree with God that it is a detestable thing. Send it away and seek His glory. His honor comes to those who do.

“Pride is utter poverty of soul disguised as riches.”
-John Climacus-