June 9 – Do the Word (James 1:22-25)

“Do not merely listen to the Word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”(James 1:22)

IN WORD:
Who sees the behavior of Christians? First of all, God. God is interested in the motivations that guide our decisions and the thoughts that fill our minds. But He is interested in more than a people who will think right. His desire, expressed repeatedly throughout Scripture, is for a people who will do something about what they know.
Who else sees? Other Christians. We do not encourage one another primarily by our words but rather by our actions. A brother or sister in need may need to hear a kind reminder of the love of God, but he or she may need a visible illustration of it more desperately. Faith that says only “God bless you, I wish you well,” grieves the heart of God, as James implies later on (see 2:16). It accomplishes nothing that God can use. It must result in action, in prayer, in something. Otherwise, it is wasted faith.
And an unbelieving world watches too. It does not care about the intricacies of our theology, and apart from college philosophy majors, no one will really ask the questions we want to answer. Unbelievers want to see what faith looks like, and the only way to speak on those terms is to act. When Jesus told His disciples that the world would know them by their love for one another, it was not a sentiment hidden deep within. He called for acts of love. Faith, love, hope, and every other spiritual virtue remains invisible to a lost world — until we act according to our beliefs.

IN DEED:
Listening to the Word is immensely profitable, but it can be dangerously deceptive as well. When we hear the Word, mull it over, and let it become a part of our thinking, we often make the mistake of believing it has become a part of our lives. That’s an illusion. The Word is only ours when we have acted on it. It is only effective when we’ve allowed God to move it from our minds into our hearts, and then outward into our actions. Anything else will lull us into a false sense of security. Do not be deceived. “Do what it says.”

“Faith without works cannot please, nor can good works without faith.” -The Venerable Bede-

June 8 – The Source of Conversation (Proverbs 16:24)

“Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”
(Colossians 4:6)

IN WORD:
If words are as powerful as a raging fire, able to both warm the heart well and to burn it to a crisp, it might be important to consider their source. Words are not random utterances from absent minds; they are the fruit of the soul. They indicate what’s growing within us, whether the Spirit of God or the spirit of corruption. They are a true measure of the spiritual life. They tell us what’s inside.
Jesus said all the evils of sin “come from inside and make a man unclean” (Mark 7:23). His assessment of human corruption is startling, but experience and wisdom bear Him out. The human heart comes up with all sorts of mischief, and though we often keep it secret, it inevitably flavors our speech. We cannot disguise the condition of a sinful soul. Corrupt words are the fruit of that rotting tree.
But when we have been raised to life by the Spirit of God, our words become the fruit of a living, thriving tree planted by streams of water. Our conversation can be full of grace because WE are full of grace. We can speak with the flavor of salt because WE have been seasoned with salt. We can bear eternal fruit because we ARE eternal fruit. The Word of Life fills a faithful heart with words of life. He makes fertile what was once barren.

IN DEED:
Analyze your speech. Are you frequently making negative comments? Do you seethe with anger and bitterness? Do you spread discouragement and criticism when you open your mouth? If so, it’s a reflection of what’s inside. It indicates a lack of fellowship with the Spirit of life and hope and grace.
Do not make the mistake of thinking your speech and your spiritual condition are distinct. One reflects the other. If the reflection is negative, don’t just clean up your mouth. Bask in the fellowship of the Spirit. God doesn’t want to change your tongue, He wants to change your heart. When He does, your words become His.

“Take my lips and let them be filled with messages from Thee.”
-Frances Ridley Havergal-

June 7 – The Power of Pleasantness (Colossians 4:6)

“Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.”(Proverbs 16:24)

IN WORD:
There are few things in this world as contagious as words. Rumors spread like wildfire, lies inflame deadly passions, and bitterness hardens the heart of both its speakers and its hearers. On the other hand, encouragement cultivates the will, praise establishes the praiseworthy, and truth always begets wisdom. Words can do great things.
Speech is an awesome responsibility. It’s hard to imagine that our casual comments can have eternal implications, but they can. God anoints them for blessing, and Satan uses them for cursing. Both blessings and curses have a dramatic impact on the heart and soul of human beings. They often dictate the direction we go — forever.
That’s why pleasant words are sweet and soothing. They have deep spiritual impact. They are not neutral claims of neutral people; they are vehicles for both the power of God and for the corruption of this world. They can be inspired by the Holy One or hijacked by the evil one. They matter — a lot.

IN DEED:
Have you ever considered the implications of your words? They can be powerful, whether you realize it or not. Through your speech, you can pour out wrath and condemnation, and you can pour out blessing and encouragement. You can set the mood of a room and cultivate the direction of a life. You can stop people dead in their tracks or put them on a course of fruitfulness. One way or another, what comes out of your mouth is rapidly contagious. It will either build up or tear down. It all depends on what you say and how you say it.
Try this mental exercise: Learn to consider each of your words as a powerful spark, a small investment in a vast future. See the implications beyond the moment. Discipline your mouth to be silent until you are sure your words are (1) consistent with Scripture and (2) flavored with grace. That doesn’t mean you’ll never say anything harsh — some situations beg for rebuke. But let your speech be redemptive. Most of all, let it point to God.

“Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.” -Mother Teresa-

June 6 – God’s Good Favor (Psalm 5:12)

“A good man obtains favor from the Lord, but the Lord condemns a crafty man.” (Proverbs 12:2)

IN WORD:
We might think that the opposite of a good man is a bad man. Not so, according to this verse. A good man is contrasted here with a crafty man. God bestows no favor on those who — like the serpent in the Garden — are devious.
Our world praises shrewdness. But shrewdness has a devious side; craftiness manipulates people for one’s own ends. Why is it so tolerable to the world and so odious to God? Because the desire to serve self is common to all humanity. Those who do it best are often admired. But craftiness says volumes about a person’s belief in God. Those who are cunning do not expect God to help them; they must help themselves. They do not expect god to honor goodness; they must seek their own good. They do not believe God is watching; they are in this world for themselves. In short, a crafty person denies who God is.
All of us have a tendency to manipulate circumstances. We want to stack the odds in our favor, to set the best course before us, to get everyone else on our side. But the more focused we become on our position in this world — whether at work, at home, at church, or in any other social situation — the less focused we become on God. We cannot have our eyes on our own agenda and God’s simultaneously unless ours is perfectly in line with His — and it rarely, if ever is.

IN DEED:
Being “good” in the eyes of God and in the definition of Scripture involves a hands-off approach to the things that belong to God. He is the Master of our circumstances; there is no need for our guile. The opportunities He wants us to have will be opened before us. The people He wants us to know will come into our path. No manipulation is necessary — or even welcome. All that he requires from us is our willing to His plan. That, above all else, obtains His favor.

“When you get your own way, you nurse a hideous idol called self. But when you give up your way, you get God.”
-Janet Erskin Stewart-

June 5 – Humble Deeds (James 3:13-18)

“Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.”(James 3:13)

IN WORD:
If Proverbs is the wisdom book of the Old Testament, James is the wisdom book of the New Testament. There, the profound theology of the early church is applied. Real faith is demonstrated and good works are the result. The truth of the gospel comes to life for the poor, the widows, the tongues of the saints, the suffering church, and the faithful who pray. And, according to James, it is all characterized by humility.
Why is humility a natural by-product of wisdom? Because wisdom knows who God is and it knows who we are. It sees the remarkable contrast between the two and accepts that God. Has saved us anyway. It acknowledges the utter depravity of the human condition, but affirms the glory of redemption. Where can pride fit into such an understanding? It can’t. Wisdom rules it out. Humility grows in those who see things as they really are.
When we find pride in the church, we can be sure there are believers there who don’t really understand the gospel. Pride can never exist where the gospel is clearly understood. The fact that we all struggle with pride doesn’t alter that truth at all; we all struggle with the depth and the majesty of the gospel as well. It takes a lifetime to really sink in.

IN DEED:
Ask yourself a probing question. Do your good works result in pride or in humility? If in pride, then you are doing them to earn favor from God. That is not the gospel, it is legalism. If in humility, then you are doing them because of the amazing grace you have experienced.
Be extremely wary of pride, but do not mistake it for satisfaction. The wise and understanding life of which James speaks is deeply satisfying, but it is not proud. How can it be? The good news of the mercy of God precludes it. Grace removes all sense of worthiness. We do our deeds in humility because we have no other reason to do them.

“He who knows himself best esteems himself last.”
-Henry G. Brown-

June 4 – A Place of Rest (Philippians 4:4-7)

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7)

IN WORD:
We are easily caught up in anxious thoughts. Anxiety can keep us thinking obsessively about a certain problem, occupying all of our time and energy. We pray about the situation, asking God to intervene. But still, we are consumed with it. Shedding our anxiety does not come easily.
Paul gives us wise advice. It is, in fact, a command: “Do not be anxious about anything.” How can we follow this? We can go through the motions of prayer, but how can this kind of peace sink into our hearts in the midst of a difficult problem? By praying with thanksgiving and full trust that the problem is God’s. In this kind of prayer, we transfer ownership of our situation to God. We do not need to be wrapped up in it; it is His.
There is no way to come to this place of rest unless we are able to relinquish our agenda in the situation. We must become willing for God to work it out in any way He chooses, whatever the result to us. It seems scary to relinquish control, but we were never really in control anyway. And what outcome might God work out that would not be entirely good? He is completely trustworthy with our problems.

IN DEED:
Are you going through a difficult trial? Relinquish your goals in it. In your heart, transfer ownership of the situation to God. Our anxiety comes from a false sense of control — a sense that we perhaps are responsible to manipulate the crisis to work out for good. That’s God’s job. Let go of your will, and let your heart and your mind be at peace.

“Pray, and let God worry.” -Martin Luther-

June 3 – Radical Abandon (1 Peter 1:13-16)

“Just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: ‘Be holy, because I am holy.’ “(1 Peter 1:15-16)

IN WORD:
Our personal holiness is not a picky prerequisite handed down by a morally demanding God. It is the means to a fountainhead of blessing. Perhaps we thought it was a necessary inconvenience, something God required in theory, but which we could never fully attain. Perhaps we thought it was all for His benefit and not really for ours. That’s likely a problem for every Christian who straddles the fence between the call to holiness and an indulgence of misdirected desires. When it comes down to it, we don’t really believe that our becoming like Jesus — our sanctification — will really benefit us where we live today.
But we are dreadfully wrong. There is immeasurable blessing for those who will single-mindedly pursue the righteousness of God that is found in Christ. “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33). “The eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him” (2 Chronicles 16:9). We are offered all sorts of riches in unthinkable abundance, yet we hang on to our withered, sinful natures as if our only security is found there. That’s often the posture of the human flesh when it is threatened by a holy calling, and it’s pitiful.

IN DEED:
Does a deep suspicion of holiness lie beneath your struggle to forsake sinfulness? In faith, do all you can to abandon it. Read of Joseph, who reaped amazing long-term benefits from his commitment to remain pure. Read of Job, who was doubly blessed because of his commitment to maintain his belief in God’s faithfulness. Read of any biblical figure — Old Testament or New — and try to find someone who was all-out faithful to God and yet was not blessed. Yes, that’s a challenge. Accept it, and be encouraged by what you discover.

“The serene beauty of a holy life is the most powerful influence in the world next to the power of God.” -Blaise Pascal-

June 2 – Radical Transformation (1 Peter 1:13-16)

“Just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: ‘Be holy, because I am holy,’ “
(1 Peter 1:15-16)

IN WORD:
Our familiarity with the gospel often dulls us to history’s most spectacular truth: Human beings can have a relationship with the unimaginably awesome God. Perhaps having heard this so many times has led us to take it for granted, but it’s Scripture’s most startling claim and a truly overwhelming thought for anyone who will let it sink in.
What makes this possible? The cleansing sacrifice of Jesus removes our impurity and makes us pure. But this is the legal side of the issue. What makes an ongoing, intimate relationship with the Almighty a practical reality? Holiness. The process of becoming like Him. Those among us who need impressive theological terms to validate a doctrine call it “sanctification.” If the substitutionary sacrifice of Jesus is the basis for our relationship with God, our sanctification is its practical application. We cannot know Him well without it.
That’s what makes this truth of a relationship with God so startling. When we first learn who He is, we come face-to-face with an overwhelming obstacle: A thoroughly sinful man cannot get along with a perfectly holy God without one of them having a radical change of character, and we know God isn’t going to be the one to change. He can’t. It must be us.

IN DEED:
Far too many Christians are content with the legal basis of their salvation without taking too much thought to apply it to their daily lives. But we cannot know Him — really know Him, as in a relationship — unless we become like Him. That will hurt. It does painful damage to our sinful nature to become holy. We are slow to let it go.
Have you assumed that God would never ask you to forsake some of your natural tendencies? Don’t. He certainly will. That sin you tolerate? Let it go. However painful it is, let Him rework you. Abandon all that isn’t just like His pure, perfect character. Be holy.

“To love Jesus is to love holiness.” -David Smithers-

June 1 – Kingdom Currency (Galatians 3:22-29)

“You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.”(Galatians 3:26-27)

IN WORD:
How do you relate to God? Most people, after being saved by grace through faith, then quickly embark on a hybrid life of faith and legalism. It isn’t that we don’t believe in God, or even that we don’t trust Jesus for salvation; the problem is that our belief is often based on the quality of our works. When we serve God well, we assume He looks on us favorably. When we stumble, we assume He turns His back on us until we repent.
There’s an element of truth in that; we know that God looks with favor on the righteous, and that He disciplines His children who tolerate sin and rebellion in their lives. But in accepting these truths, we often take it a step further: We begin to relate to God on the basis of what we have and haven’t done. We pray with more confidence when we’ve been good, and we serve with more enthusiasm when we’ve been obedient. We forget how dependent we are as children of grace. We begin to base our faith on how well we’ve done rather than how good He is. We begin to think of obedience as a means to stay in His good graces and not as a response to the fact that He has already made us righteous.
We stand holy before God. No, we aren’t righteous in ourselves, but we’ve been clothed in the righteousness of Jesus. We’ve been given a sacred right to speak to the Eternal One about the problems of today. And while we speak, we dare not assume that the quality of our works procured that right. God only accepts one currency in His Kingdom, and there is no exchange rate. Our business with Him must be done only with the currency of faith.

IN DEED:
What currency do you try to pass off in the Kingdom of God? Is it ever anything other than faith in the righteousness of Jesus Himself? If so, remind yourself daily: Only Jesus is acceptable to God — for prayer, for ministry, for anything. And we are only “in Jesus” by faith.

“Ultimately, faith is the only key to the universe.”
-Thomas Merton-