The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted.
Luke 4:18
The Spirit of God has anointed Jesus to break the yokes—the shackles of Satan—in our lives. When Jesus abides in us, the power of His anointing is brought to bear in our every need.
Jesus brings the gospel to the poor—not just those lacking in financial resources, but any of us who experience lack in our lives. Our bank accounts may be full, but our heart accounts can be empty. Our All in All recognizes the places where we fall short and brings the good news of His sufficiency into the equation.
In place of turmoil, He gives peace. In place of doubt, He gives confidence. In place of exhaustion, He brings refreshing. In place of weakness, He grants strength.
Jesus has come to heal the brokenhearted. Our hearts are so susceptible to brokenness. They can be crushed through circumstances beyond our control, destroyed by decisions that we long to take back, or shattered by tragedies of the past.
One touch of His anointed hand can restore the splintered fragments. He fills our hearts with hope again. We sing a new song. We learn to love once more. He is a God of second chances and new beginnings.
Blessing
May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you and give you His peace. May God provide for your every need according to His glorious riches. Even though your weeping may last through the night, His joy will come in the morning!
It’s easy to say to a lonely person: “But remember, you have the Lord with you all the time!” That’s true, but it’s not what God said to Adam in the Garden of Eden: “It is not good that man should be alone” (Genesis 2:18). We’re created with an intense need for fellowship with both our Lord and with other people. We need both! Psalm 68:6 says, “God sets the solitary in families.”
If you feel alone, work specifically on cultivating your daily walk with the Lord and enjoy His fellowship. Then, in that context, ask Him to bring into your life a person or group of people who can be a family for you. Of course, we can’t be passive in the process. We need to find someone to whom we can minister and a church in which we can become involved.
The Lord knows all our needs, and He has promised to meet them. Don’t give up and don’t despair. Lean on Him who will never leave or forsake you.
God [is] at work, ready to transform our loneliness into a positive experience that…draws us into the very thing we long for: a closer, deeper, more satisfying relationship with Him and others. Ruth Graham
For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death.
Have you ever known someone who appeared as though they would really make their mark in life? They looked like they were going to do well, but then they self-destructed.
That is what happened to Saul, the first king of Israel. He started out well, but things went from bad to worse because he disobeyed God. And when his successor, David, emerged on the scene, Saul began to relentlessly hunt him down.
On more than one occasion, Saul tried to murder David because he was paranoid and jealous of him. And when Saul went to battle against the Philistines and realized that he was clearly defeated, he killed himself.
Saul had so much promise and potential, but he threw his life away. He was more concerned with what others thought of him than with what God thought of him. He was shallow. He was vain. And he was a fool.
In fact, he once admitted, “I have been a fool and very, very wrong” (1 Samuel 26:21 NLT). Or, as the New King James Version puts it, “I have played the fool and erred exceedingly.”
Like Saul, we can play the fool in our lives as well.
We play the fool when we disobey God, even in the smallest matters. Spiritual decline is gradual. Saul’s failure wasn’t immediate. At first, he was humble, but then pride set in. He took matters into his own hands and did what God told him not do.
We play the fool when we attempt to justify the wrongs we have done. More than once, Saul blamed others for something he had done wrong. And when he finally owned up to his sin, it was only to save face. We must be honest about our sin and admit it when we’ve done something wrong.
We play the fool when we allow hatred and jealousy to control our lives instead of love. There always will be people who do better in life than we do. There always will be someone who is better looking, in better shape, and more intelligent than we are. And if allow jealousy to control us, then we’ll be miserable people. Instead, we can thank God for everything He has given us because we don’t deserve any of it.
Saul threw his life away, and his jealousy ultimately destroyed him. In the end, if he had genuinely repented, God would have forgiven him.
The Bible says, “For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death” (2 Corinthians 7:10 NLT).
In other words, if we’re really sorry for something we’ve done, then we will stop doing it. But to say we’re sorry and continue in a path of disobedience shows that we’re not sorry at all.
“The LORD possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old. I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was.” (Proverbs 8:22-23)
The book of Proverbs repeatedly extols the virtues of true wisdom founded on the fear of the Lord. In the eighth chapter, however, beginning at verse 22, the theme changes, retreating far back in time to creation itself and even before. The statements in the next 10 verses, especially, must be of an actual divine Person. From the New Testament perspective, especially with John 1:1-14 as the definitive exposition, it becomes clear that the divine wisdom of Proverbs 8:22-31 is none other than the incarnate Word of John’s prologue.
The Lord Jesus Christ, indeed, fits perfectly all the statements in this particular section of Proverbs, which then gives marvelous new insight into the events of creation and the divine fellowship in the Godhead before the creation. Note that in these first two verses, the Lord’s “ways” were prior to His “works” and that He “possessed” His Son “from everlasting.” This is the profound doctrine of “eternal generations” whereby the Son is “brought forth” continually from the Father, forever manifesting Him in His creation.
The New Testament makes it plain that Jesus Christ is, indeed, the incarnate wisdom of God. He is the “Word” by whom all things were made (John 1:1-3). He is “the truth” (John 14:6) and “the light” (John 8:12) by whom alone men can come to God and follow Him. He is called “the power of God, and the wisdom of God” in 1 Corinthians 1:24, and He called Himself “the wisdom of God” in Luke 11:49.
All of the vaunted knowledge of the world’s thinkers and scientists is empty and futile apart from the Lord Jesus Christ, the living Word of God, for in Him alone are found “all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:3). HMM
In a refugee camp in the Middle East, when Reza received a Bible, he came to know and believe in Jesus. His first prayer in Christ’s name was, “Use me as your worker.” Later, after he left the camp, God answered that prayer when he unexpectedly secured a job with a relief agency, returning to the camp to serve the people he knew and loved. He set up sports clubs, language classes, and legal advice—“anything that can give people hope.” He sees these programs as a way to serve others and to share God’s wisdom and love.
When reading his Bible, Reza felt an instant connection with the story of Joseph from Genesis. He noticed how God used Joseph to further His work while he was in prison. Because God was with Joseph, He showed him kindness and granted him favor. The prison warden put Joseph in charge and didn’t have to pay attention to matters there because God gave Joseph “success in whatever he did” (Genesis 39:23).
God promises to be with us too. Whether we’re facing imprisonment—literal or figurative—hardship, displacement, heartache, or sorrow, we can trust that He’ll never leave us. Just as He enabled Reza to serve those in the camp and Joseph to run the prison, He’ll stay close to us always.
“Let love of the brethren continue” (Hebrews 13:1).
Genuine love among Christians is a testimony to the world, to ourselves, and to God.
The importance of brotherly love extends well beyond the walls of your local church or fellowship hall. In John 13:35 Jesus says, “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” In effect, God has made love for one another the measuring stick by which the world can determine if our Christian profession is genuine. That’s why it’s so important that we have a selfless attitude and sincerely place the interests of our brothers and sisters in Christ ahead of our own.
If you are a parent, you know what a delight it is when your children love and care for one another. Such harmonious relations make for a close-knit family and fulfill the words of the psalmist: “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity!” (Ps. 133:1). God is both pleased and glorified when Christian brothers and sisters love each other and minister together in harmony.
Neither the author of Hebrews nor the apostle John is equating love with a sentimental, superficial affection. As already suggested, practical commitment marks true brotherly love. If you do not have such commitment, it is fair to question your relationship to God (1 John 3:17). Refusing to help a fellow believer when you can, John reasons, reveals that you don’t really love him. And if you don’t love him, God’s love can’t be in your heart, which proves that you don’t belong to Him. This logic is sobering and persuasive. It should motivate us all the more to see the importance of practicing brotherly love: “Let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth. We shall know by this that we are of the truth, and shall assure our heart before Him” (1 John 3:18-19).
Suggestions for Prayer
Ask the Lord’s forgiveness for times when you did not show brotherly love or when you were reluctant to help another Christian in need.
For Further Study
Read Luke 6:31-35 and notice how our duty to love extends even beyond the sphere of fellow believers. What kind of reward results?
God said, Let Us [Father, Son, and Holy Spirit] make mankind in Our image, after Our likeness….
— Genesis 1:26 (AMPC)
Second Samuel 9 tells the story of Mephibosheth, the grandson of King Saul and the son of Jonathan. Crippled as a youth, Mephibosheth had a poor self-image. Instead of seeing himself as the rightful heir to his father’s and grandfather’s legacy, he saw himself as someone who would be rejected.
When David sent for Mephibosheth, he fell down before the king and displayed fear. David told him not to fear, that he intended to show Mephibosheth kindness because of David’s covenant with Jonathan. Mephibosheth’s initial response is an important example of the kind of poor self-image we all need to overcome.
A poor self-image causes us to operate in fear instead of faith. We look at what is wrong with us instead of what is right with Jesus. He has taken our wrongs and given us His righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21). We can joyfully walk in the reality of that truth.
I love the end of the story. David blessed Mephibosheth for Jonathan’s sake. He gave him servants and land and provided for all of his needs. God will bless us for Jesus’ sake!
We can all relate Mephibosheth’s lameness to our own weaknesses. We may also fellowship and eat with our King Jesus—despite our faults and weaknesses.
Prayer of the Day: Father, You know my struggles. Help me overcome any issue I have with self-image and only see myself as You see me. Help me to walk in faith and righteousness and embrace Your many blessings as Your beloved child, amen.
After six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light.
As John Lennon and Paul McCartney once suggested, there are places we’ll remember all of our lives.[1] Surely Peter, James, and John would have regarded this mountainside, where they saw Christ’s transfiguration, as one of those places. Certainly Peter never forgot it (2 Peter 1:17-18).
What was involved in the transfiguration? To begin with, it changed Jesus’ appearance. His face “shone.” Clearly this was not a matter of cleanliness but of supernatural transformation. There was a radiant glow to His face that Matthew could only describe as “like the sun.” His clothes were dazzling white—whiter than you or I have ever seen—signifying the matchless purity of heaven.
One of the ways in which the Old Testament describes God is that He wraps Himself “with light as with a garment” (Psalm 104:2). And that is how Jesus looked at the top of His mountain. Who does such a thing? Only God! It was no coincidence, but a clue that the transfiguration was a revelation not only from God but of God Himself. In this scene, Christ revealed Himself as God in an unprecedented way. Scripture tells us that Jesus is “the radiance of the glory of God” (Hebrews 1:3). Yet when He entered our world, God’s glory was veiled in Christ’s humble humanity. The transfiguration was what John Calvin referred to as “a temporary exhibition of his glory.”[2] It was a little pulling back of the curtain—a little flash up on the mountainside and into the minds of these three disciples. God was making it possible for Peter, James, and John to get a taste of what they could not yet fully comprehend but would one day enjoy eternally.
In Scripture, when there is a display of God’s majesty people often react by falling on their faces. The disciples were no different, responding with terror. But Jesus graciously said to them, “Rise, and have no fear” (Matthew 17:7).
Do you and I approach Christ in similar awe of His perfect holiness and transcendence? Or is there a possibility that our view of God is at times too small? Come before Him in such a way that you find yourself on your face as you consider His power and His purity. Then hear Him, in His mercy, say, Get up. You don’t need to be afraid. That is the way to live in awe and joy today and every day, until you gaze on our glorious Lord for yourself.
Questions for Thought
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?
“He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names.” (Psalm 147:4)
Molly loved to visit her grandma on her farm in Missouri. Because Grandma lived so far away from all the city lights, Molly could see many more stars there than she could at her house in the city. She would lie in the grass on a summer night, just staring into the sky. It seemed like the longer she looked, the more stars there were. Millions and billions and trillions of stars.
The Scripture says that God, the Creator, knows the number of the stars. And not only that, but He also knows all of their millions and billions and trillions of names! His knowledge of His creation is infinite.
The God who created each of the stars created you, too. He knows your name, too. And He knows you – from the inside out. He knows all of your thoughts, good and bad. He knows your fears and your desires. He knows what makes you cry. He knows what you love most. He knows things about you that you don’t even know yourself! He knows all this – and He loves you.
God’s knowledge of His creation is both infinite and personal.
My Response: » Am I willing to ask God to show me things about myself that need to change?
The Book of Clarence, a new film from writer/director Jeymes Samuel, takes place in Jerusalem across the weeks leading up to Christ’s crucifixion.
However, it’s not really a story about Jesus.
As Samuel described, “If they tell you a Bible story, you wouldn’t get the story of the guy around the corner. Or the person who sold Jesus his sandals.” And that’s where the movie’s main character—Clarence (LaKeith Stanfield)—steps in.
What is The Book of Clarence about?
You see, Clarence is the fictionalized twin brother of the apostle Thomas, a detail based in Scripture—Thomas was called “the Twin” three times in John’s gospel—but the film takes a great deal of license from there.
Consequently, Clarence is well acquainted with the work of Jesus.
Yet Clarence is also, as Alissa Wilkinson described, “an atheist stoner who sells first-century weed.” As such, when he looks at Christ’s ministry, he sees a false messiah getting paid by a duped populace and thinks he can do the same. After all, in his view Jesus is a con man as well.
Clarence’s ruse works, for a time.
However, he eventually learns the hard way that the Romans don’t take kindly to would-be messiahs and his story turns from there.
Ultimately, The Book of Clarence is a solid film that tells an interesting story while pulling from the biblical account without feeling beholden to it. There are certainly times when those creative liberties stand out more than others. But, when it comes to his portrayal of the true messiah, Samuel does not cross the line into blasphemy, staying pretty faithful to the Jesus of Scripture.
If you can get past those differences and accept the film for the story it’s trying to tell, Clarence has a lot to offer.
Multiple messiahs?
Take one of the film’s central premises, for example.
While Samuel certainly took liberties with some aspects of the gospel story, the proliferation of false messiahs was not one of them.
Jesus was not the only person who claimed to be God’s anointed one in the first century. He was just the only one for whom that claim was true.
The Jews in ancient Rome were desperate for someone to save them and restore the nation of Israel to prominence. And like those who trusted the false prophets in the time leading up to the exile, when those false messiahs filled the heads and hearts of first-century Jews with promises that satisfied their most sincere longings, they were prone to believe the lies.
That this was the case is demonstrated best by how quickly they turned on Jesus once it became clear that he would not be that kind of messiah. And even after he spent more than a month with his disciples following his death and resurrection, they still struggled to see the truth, asking if he would now restore the kingdom of Israel (Acts 1:6).
Who is your messiah?
The very human impulse to create a God in our own image rather than to serve the God who made us in his has been around since the Garden of Eden, and it would be naïve to think it’s going to go away anytime soon. We are just as likely to turn on our heavenly Father today when it doesn’t seem like he meets our expectations as messiah-seekers were two thousand years ago.
I don’t know if that’s the message Jeymes Samuel intended to convey, but it’s a truth God reminded me of through his film. And it’s a message I needed to hear.
So who or what are the false messiahs in your life today?
Is there a person or cause that you’ve turned to as a greater source of hope and security than the Lord?
Few things will hinder your relationship with God as quickly as attempting to place someone else on his throne. So take some time right now to pray and ask the Lord to reveal the false messiahs limiting your walk with him.
They may not look like a con man seeking to get rich or powerful off of false faith—though those certainly still exist. But chances are good that something or someone is vying for Christ’s role in your life, and it’s ultimately up to you to decide whether or not they will have it.
As we navigate the upcoming year, let us move forward in the power of the anointing of the Holy Spirit.
This anointing distinguishes us from the world and sets us apart for service to our King. Consider how the anointing impacted David – the youngest of eight sons, forgotten by his father, and overlooked by his brothers. God saw his heart and commanded the prophet, Samuel, to anoint David as the next king of Israel.
From that day forward, the Spirit of the Lord came upon him (1 Samuel 16:13). Under that anointing, he vanquished a giant and reigned over Israel as the apple of God’s eye.
The anointing puts a finger on our God-given talents and activates them to accomplish the divine purposes God has ordained for each of us. It gives strength when we are weak. It swallows up fear with courage.
The anointing destroys the yokes of slavery and oppression. It lifts the heavy burdens. It makes crooked paths straight and causes our feet to be steady on the journey.
Ask the Lord to pour out the anointing that will activate the gifts of God in our lives and set us apart for His service. For all that the new year holds, we can face it in the power of His anointing.
Blessing
May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you and give you His peace. May the anointing of God break every weapon which the enemy has used to entangle and ensnare you. Shake off the yoke of bondage in the mighty name of Jesus!
Those who have a best friend are blessed with a relationship of transparency and acceptance. For some, it is a sibling, for others, a non-family member. That may be what Proverbs 18:24 refers to as “a friend who sticks closer than a brother.”
A friend is a person to whom you can pour out your heart, a person who will not judge you for the feelings you express. For David the psalmist that friend was God Himself. When David found himself alone and oppressed by those who opposed him, he cried out to the Lord. That is, he used his voice to tell God what he was experiencing and how he was feeling (Psalm 142). He didn’t hold back; he trusted his covenant friendship with God was strong enough to withstand his flood of words and emotions. In John 15, Jesus introduced a new relationship with His disciples: He called them His friends (John 15:14-15). Their relationship changed from Master/servant to Friend/friend. And so it is with us.
When you are lonely, discouraged, or confused, tell Jesus. He invites you as a friend to come unto Him (Matthew 11:28-30).
What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear! Joseph M. Scriven
Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live!
The Philistines, the enemies of Israel, had mounted an attack against them, and fear was immobilizing the people. As a result, they went into hiding. Meanwhile, King Saul was trying to rally his troops.
God had told Saul to wait until the prophet Samuel arrived to offer a sacrifice and ask the Lord for direction as to what they should do next.
But Saul grew tired of waiting. When Samuel didn’t show up as soon as Saul thought he should, Saul essentially said, “Why do I have to wait for some prophet to do this? I can offer a burnt offering as well as anyone else. I’ve watched him do it.”
Then Saul proceeded with the offering the way he thought he should do it. And when Samuel arrived, there was trouble.
We pick up the story in 1 Samuel 13: “Samuel said, ‘What is this you have done?’ ” (verse 11 NLT).
“Saul replied, ‘I saw my men scattering from me, and you didn’t arrive when you said you would, and the Philistines are at Micmash ready for battle. So I said, “The Philistines are ready to march against us at Gilgal, and I haven’t even asked for the Lord’s help!” So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering myself before you came’ ” (verses 11–12 NLT).
Saul had been on a roll. Everything was going beautifully. But then he started to self-destruct. What he did may seem like a small thing to us, but God had said not to do it. And who are we to say something is small if it is a big deal to God?
The problem is that we want to edit the Bible. We try and rationalize something by saying, “Maybe it is a sin, but it is not as bad as other sins. Therefore, it is okay. Besides, everyone else is doing it.”
It always starts that way. Little sins always turn into big sins. If God says don’t do it, then that means don’t do it. All too often we underestimate the power of sin.
Saul was no exception to this. He was disobeying the Lord, and that led to his downfall.
Samuel told him, “How foolish! . . . You have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you. Had you kept it, the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your kingdom must end” (verses 13–14 NLT).
At first blush, this reaction may seem a bit extreme. But we must remember that God looks on the heart. And He could see that Saul’s heart already had turned away.
Sin can seem small when we start to fall into it, but it can become big in the end. Think of the messes that people make of their lives because they disobey the Word of God.
Like Saul, we unnecessarily bring trouble on ourselves when we don’t obey God. Yet God says that He gives us a choice: life or death, blessings or curses (see Deuteronomy 30:19 NLT). We choose how we want to live.
“Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?” (Matthew 26:53)
In 1 Chronicles 27:1-15, David assembled 12 “courses” (i.e., legions) of fighting men to protect him. Each would serve him one month out of the year when the nation was at peace, but presumably all would have reported for duty in time of war. Since each contained 24,000 warriors, they combined to form an immense personal army numbering 288,000.
By contrast, Christ, David’s greater Son, had at His command “more than twelve legions of angels.” These were not mere soldiers, as those guarding David were; these were angels. Consider the power of just one angel in the days of King Hezekiah. “And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the LORD went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses” (2 Kings 19:35). Simple multiplication shows that 288,000 such angels could handle 53 billion soldiers. And Christ had access to more angels than that!
Humanly speaking, Christ did not have to submit to brutality and death. But Christ was not only human; He was also the offended but loving God who had come to redeem His own. “The Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (Revelation 13:8) had “come to do thy will, O God….By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Hebrews 10:9-10). “He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5). “All this was done, that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled” (Matthew 26:56). JDM
“Please clean the front room before you go to bed,” I said to one of my daughters. Instantly came the reply, “Why doesn’t she have to do it?”
Such mild resistance was frequent in our home when our girls were young. My response was always the same: “Don’t worry about your sisters; I asked you.”
In John 21, we see this human tendency illustrated among the disciples. Jesus had just restored Peter after he’d denied Him three times (see John 18:15–18, 25–27). Now Jesus said to Peter, “Follow me!” (21:19)—a simple but painful command. Jesus explained that Peter would follow Him to the death (vv. 18–19).
Peter barely had time to comprehend Jesus’ words before he asked about the disciple behind them: “What about him?” (v. 21). Jesus replied, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?” Then He said, “You must follow me” (v. 22).
How often we’re like Peter! We wonder about the faith journeys of others and not what God is doing with us. Late in his life, when the death Jesus foretold in John 21 was much closer, Peter elaborated on Christ’s simple command: “As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do” (1 Peter 1:14–15). That’s enough to keep each of us focused on Jesus and not on those around us.
“Let love of the brethren continue” (Hebrews 13:1).
Christianity’s primary moral standard is love, especially for fellow believers.
Love of other believers is a natural outflow of the Christian life and should be a normal part of fellowship within the church. You can no doubt remember how after you were first saved it became very natural and exciting to love other Christians and to want to be around them. However, such an attitude is extremely difficult to maintain. This love, which is a gift from God’s Spirit, must be nurtured or it will not grow—it may actually shrivel. That’s why the apostle Peter urges us, “Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart, for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and abiding word of God” (1 Peter 1:22-23).
Paul teaches us the same concept of nurturing and practicing love for one another when he writes: “Now as to the love of the brethren, you have no need for any one to write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another; for indeed you do practice it toward all the brethren who are in all Macedonia. But we urge you, brethren, to excel still more” (1 Thess. 4:9-10). Paul also gives us the basic definition of brotherly love: “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor” (Rom. 12:10). Simply stated, brotherly love is caring for fellow Christians more than we care for ourselves. And such love presupposes that we will have an attitude of humility (Phil. 2:3-4).
So today’s verse from Hebrews merely supports what Paul and Peter said elsewhere. The writer’s admonition that we should let brotherly love continue tells us that this kind of love already exists. Our challenge today and each day is not to discover love for one another, but to allow it to continue and to increase.
Suggestions for Prayer
Ask God to help you rekindle the love that used to be strong for a Christian friend, but perhaps isn’t now.
For Further Study
Read 1 Samuel 18—20.
What was so special about the love and friendship between David and Jonathan?
What was the end result of that relationship (see especially 20:8-17)?
Stand therefore [hold your ground], having tightened the belt of truth around your loins and having put on the breastplate of integrity and of moral rectitude and right standing with God.
— Ephesians 6:14 (AMPC)
Integrity is vitally important to our walk with God. People with integrity take responsibility for their actions. They keep their commitments instead of making excuses for not keeping them. They do what they tell people they are going to do, and, if for some reason they absolutely cannot, then they contact the person, give an explanation (not an excuse), and ask to be released from the commitment. We expect God to keep His promises, and He expects us to keep ours.
If people truly understood what the word integrity means, we would hopefully have more people in the world with good character, trying to keep their integrity. Since God has given us the “breastplate of integrity,” we know we are to do battle against the enemy of deceit. Let us all choose to do right and trust God to honor our decisions.
Prayer of the Day: Father, I want to be a person of integrity, but I need Your help. Please give me the strength to honor my commitments, battle deceit, and reflect Your character in all my actions and decisions, amen.
“The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.” (Proverbs 15:3)
“Pretend I’m there and behave accordingly!”
Those were the words of a note Annie received in sixth grade. Her mom had gone on a long trip and had left that note to remind her that – even though she was gone – she expected Annie to act the same way she would have if her mom were still there.
Pretending her mom was watching her made Annie act differently. Sbe did her homework. She practiced the piano. She obeyed her teacher. She cleaned her room. She knew if Mom found out that she did wrong, she was in big trouble.
Did you know that God is always watching? He doesn’t go on vacation, and He never sleeps. He is in the United States of America, and He is in Africa, and He is in church, and He is in your bedroom – all at the same time. God is omnipresent – everywhere at one time. His eyes are everywhere, seeing the good and seeing the bad.
David, one of the many men God used to write down His words, said in Psalm 139: 7, “Whither shall I go from thy spirit? Or whither shall I flee from thy presence?” In other words – is there any place where we can hide from God? David’s answer: no.
A child of God cannot hide from Him. God is watching us when we are scared. He protects us when we are in trouble. He holds our hand when we need help. He hears us when we cry. He is happy when we rejoice. He also knows when we sin, and He loves us too much to let us get away with it.
Know that God is there – and behave accordingly!
God is everywhere, seeing everything.
My Response: » Will I behave differently today if I remember that God is always watching?
Kids4Truth, Kids, Truth, theology, spirituality, religion, prayer, peace, nature, Love, lord Jesus Christ, Joy, Jesus Christ, Jesus, human rights, holy spirit, God, faith, daily devotion, current events, church, Christianity, Bible
4.
Truth for Life; Alistair Begg –Praise in the Darkness
Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.
Job is perhaps the greatest biblical example of endurance in hardship. Despite being a blameless and upright man, in just one day he experienced the death of his children and the loss of nearly all his possessions. Yet one of his first reactions was to acknowledge God’s sovereignty both in plenty and in poverty, in bringing joyful circumstances and in bringing grievous ones. As chaos, disappointment, and pain descended upon him, he shaved his head, put on his torn robe, and fell to the ground, not only in anguish but also in worship.
Remarkably, in the darkness of this pain “Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.” Instead, in his tears, he trusted in God’s providence. In other words, he recognized that God knows what He is doing in every circumstance. God is worthy of our praise even in the hardest situations. Job knew that his times were in God’s hands (Psalm 31:15).
Most of us have lived through cries of anguish and pools of tears. We know how hard it can be to acknowledge God’s sovereignty and goodness in the middle of a storm. We wonder where He is. In our human response to pain, we’re inclined to find statements about God’s providence stale or clichéd—but they aren’t. In fact, with the passing of time or the changing of circumstances, we can look over our shoulders and recognize that there is no tragic situation that God has not sovereignly permitted. He allows all things to pass through His hands, and they do not take Him by surprise.
We must not make light of each other’s pain or offer easy answers. Instead, we are called to spur each other on to Christlikeness during times of hardship, reminding one another that God has granted us eternal life and steadfast love and that His care has preserved our spirits (Job 10:12). And, of course, we can look back in history and see that our God has entered the darkness of this world and plumbed the depths of suffering. He is a God who knows what it is like to be us. He is a God who has set before us a future where there is no pain or crying.
Even in the difficulties of life and the depths of pain, the fatherly providence of God permits all things for our good and His glory. He has proved that He knows what He is doing. For that, we can still praise Him in the darkness.
Questions for Thought
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?
Israel announced recently that it intends to kill every Hamas leader behind the October 7 massacre, wherever they are in the world. The IDF knows precisely where Yahya Sinwar, the mastermind of the October 7 terror attacks, is hiding in Gaza.
Why haven’t they taken him out?
Because he is hiding behind a large number of Israeli hostages.
What should we think of a God who allows people to suffer for sins they didn’t commit?
When a nonsmoker gets lung cancer
We understand when choices affect those who commit them. When a smoker develops lung cancer, we grieve for them but we don’t wonder why they are sick.
The Roman Stoic philosopher Musonius Rufus’s observation is true to life:
If you accomplish something good with hard work, the labor passes quickly, but the good endures; if you do something shameful in pursuit of pleasure, the pleasure passes quickly, but the shame endures.
However, it is unfair for choices to harm those who don’t make them. When a nonsmoker gets lung cancer from secondhand smoke, we ask how God can be holy when the world he created is so unjust.
David asked our question: “Why, O Lᴏʀᴅ, do you stand far away? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?” (Psalm 10:1). He then listed the many ways “the wicked hotly pursue the poor” (v. 2) while saying to themselves, “God has forgotten, he has hidden his face, he will never see it” (v. 11).
But the “wicked” are wrong.
David prayed: “You do see, for you note mischief and vexation, that you may take it into your hands; to you the helpless commits himself; you have been the helper of the fatherless” (v. 14).
He doesn’t tell us how or when God will “do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed” (v. 18), but he assures us that he will.
This is because “the Lᴏʀᴅ is king forever and ever” (v. 16). Our doubts do not threaten his sovereignty.
Why “God wants my whole life”
Yesterday I wrote: When you don’t understand God, you should still trust him. Today, let’s take a step further:
The less you understand God, the more you should trust him.
None of us fully understands why God allows innocent suffering. The greater the pain, the less we understand.
However, the worse the pain, the more we need the Great Physician.
Satan wants to use this issue to drive us from God when we need him the most. But when you are sick is when you especially need a physician. You may have lung cancer from secondhand smoke, but you still need an oncologist to treat the malignancy.
Let’s add this fact: the more you trust your life to God, the more he can give you his best. Henri Nouwen was right:
I am growing in the awareness that God wants my whole life, not just part of it. It is not enough to give just so much time and attention to God and keep the rest for myself. It is not enough to pray often and deeply and then move from there to my own projects. . . .
To return to God means to return to God with all that I am and all that I have. I cannot return to God with just half of my being. As I reflected this morning again on the story of the prodigal son and tried to experience myself in the embrace of the father, I suddenly felt a certain resistance to being embraced so fully and totally. I experienced not only a desire to be embraced, but also a fear of losing my independence. I realized that God’s love is a jealous love.
God wants not just part of me, but all of me. Only when I surrender myself completely to God’s love can I expect to be free from endless distractions, ready to hear the voice of love, and able to recognize my own unique call.
Have you surrendered yourself “completely to God’s love” yet today?
Going deeper
“Joy in a Jail Cell” is my exposition of 2 Timothy 3–4, one of the most encouraging sections in Scripture. Here Paul looks back at God’s providential grace and trusts him for a brighter future. I pray it will help you find hope where you need it most today.
The Scottish pastor and theologian Samuel Rutherford (1600–61) observed: “If your Lord calls you to suffering, do not be dismayed, for he will provide a deeper portion of Christ in your suffering. The softest pillow will be placed under your head though you must set your bare feet among thorns.”
Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.
Hebrews 10:23
How often do we spiral down into the dialogue of doubt? Instead of holding fast to our confession of hope in a faithful God, we begin to question His promises and doubt His Word.
In the coming year, practice the priority of behaving as if it were so—as if the promise of God was an in-living-color reality in your here and now. Romans 4:17 assures us that God breathes life into the dead; He calls those things which do not exist as though they already do. Even when those dreams seem down for the count, be confident that He is at work.
Eliminate the “if God moves” or “if God answers” from your vocabulary. Instead, begin to thank Him for the fulfillment of the promise – that He heard your prayer, that He is making a way, that He is healing your body, that He is providing for your needs.
Behave as though the breakthrough has come! Confess your hope, your alert expectancy for all that God is doing. Declare that you will rejoice right now, that you are one day closer to the answer.
Agree with Him that, even though it is not visible to you yet, the answer already exists in heavenly places. He is working everything out for good. Say it is so. Act like the answer has arrived!
Blessing
May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you and give you His peace. Abide in Christ. Allow His words to come alive in you. And whatever you ask, in His name, shall be done! Amen and Amen.
DAILY DEVOTIONS, NEWS AND INFORMATION 