Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord…. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters.
Jeremiah 17:7-8

 Recommended Reading: Psalm 92

Most of us at some point stop growing taller. We reach our maximum height. Not so with trees. A new study has found that trees never stop growing during their lifespans. In fact, as they age, their growth accelerates. The study, published in Nature journal, involved 38 researchers from 29 institutions who said it’s the older trees and their massive size that most helps the earth keep its air recycled and clean.¹

Psalm 92:14 says, “The righteous shall … still bear fruit in old age; they shall be fresh and flourishing.” 

When we’re rooted and grounded in Christ, we’ll keep growing in spiritual maturity, and God will use us in exciting new ways. This is encapsulated in 2 Peter 1:5-7 where the Lord tells us we should keep growing in our faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love. “For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful” (verse 8).

Whatever your age—keep growing!

As a tree beside the water, has the Savior planted me; all my fruit shall be in season, I shall live eternally.
Alfred Ackley

1. N. L. Stephenson, et al. “Rate of Tree Carbon Accumulation Increases Continuously With Tree Size,” Nature, 507 (2014): 90-93.

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The Lord God planted a garden.
Genesis 2:8

 Recommended Reading: John 15:1-4

Faith is the soil in which all the other virtues grow. In 2 Peter 1:5-7, we’re told to have soul soil of faith and to let it produce increasing amounts of virtue, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love.

If you’ve done any gardening, you know weeds come up naturally, but crops and flowers have to be cultivated. Adam and Eve were given the task of tending to the Garden of Eden, and we’re charged with tending to our own souls under the watchful care of the Master Gardener (John 15:1).

A preacher of yesterday, Mark Guy Pearse, said, “Gardens are made out of waste places…. Before the King can make a garden, He must own the land…. [But] if it be the King’s garden the King Himself will come to it.”

Let’s strive to be fruitful! Once we believe and have faith, we should devote ourselves to growing deeper in that faith, abiding in Christ, being fruitful, and producing the other virtues God loves.

Jesus says to us, “My son, give Me thine heart.” He wants the heart, not because it is a garden, but that He may make a King’s garden of it.
Mark Guy Pearse

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Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another.
Romans 12:10

 Recommended Reading: Philippians 2:1-5

In 1681, England’s King Charles II granted William Penn, an English Quaker, a charter to establish what eventually became the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in America. Having suffered religious persecution in England, Penn wanted his newfound colony to be a place of religious freedom for all. Thus, he named what became the capital city Philadelphia—a Greek word for “brotherly love” (Greek philos means “beloved,” adelphos means “brother”). 

“Brotherly love” is an important subject in the New Testament epistles (Romans 12:10; 1 Thessalonians 4:9; Hebrews 13:1; 2 Peter 1:7). A hallmark of brotherly (and sisterly) love is the choice to put the interests of others ahead of one’s own—to “honor” others by giving preference to them. Paul writes that we should imitate Christ in this regard, doing nothing out of selfish ambition but considering others’ needs ahead of our own (Philippians 2:1-5). We should settle grievances quickly, not letting them carry over to tomorrow (Ephesians 4:26-27). 

Look for ways today to express brotherly love to someone by putting their needs and interests ahead of your own.

Brotherly love is the badge of Christ’s disciples.
Matthew Henry

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[Daniel] was faithful, always responsible, and completely trustworthy.
Daniel 6:4, NLT

 Recommended Reading: Ephesians 4:25-32

It’s hard to trust people today, isn’t it? How many people are frustrated because of a spouse who was unfaithful, a friend who disappointed them, a salesman who was dishonest, or a doctor who misdiagnosed an illness? Rebuilding a friendship is difficult after a perceived betrayal has occurred.

We can’t always do a lot about others who are untrustworthy, but we can do something about ourselves—or rather, we can let the Lord do something within us. He is utterly trustworthy. Psalm 119:86 says, “All your commands are trustworthy” (NIV). Psalm 145:13 says, “The Lord is trustworthy in all he promises and faithful in all he does” (NIV).

As Christians, we’re to grow in His faithful love and kindness (Ephesians 4:25-32). One way to do this is by fostering trust in our relationships. Brotherly kindness begins with a trustworthy spirit—the willingness to be honest and kind. If you’ve been betrayed, seek to forgive. And in all your dealings, be someone who can be trusted with the cares, secrets, and confidences of others.

Ask God to help you grow in your ability to be trusting and trusted.

Among the blessings and enjoyments of this life, there are few that can be compared in value to the possession of a faithful friend.
James C. Gibbons

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This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses.
Acts 2:32

 Recommended Reading: Acts 5:29-32

As we grow in Christ, we learn to engage in Gospel conversations with people. Norman Geisler wrote, “If we have God’s heart, we will do whatever we can to advance His kingdom purposes in every conversation we have with our nonbelieving friends…. Once our heart is right with God, we can begin to talk to people in a more effective way so that many may believe.”¹

It’s important to bring our Christian maturity into every relationship. People must see us as different—and different in ways they want to emulate. Then we look for opportunities to say a word, even if it’s as simple as: “I’ll pray about that for you.” The time will come when we can say: “Let me tell you about a verse I found today in the Bible,” or, “We’re having a concert at my church this weekend. Would you be able to come?”

As we try to live a godly life, we must remember we are God’s platform. Thank God for the opportunities that come your way and ask Him to keep you sharp enough to see them. 

Evangelism is every day and in every way helping your nonbelieving friends to take one step closer to Jesus Christ. 
Norman Geisler

1. David Geisler and Norman Geisler, Conversational Evangelism (Eugene, OR: Harvest House, 2009), 17.

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For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.
Ephesians 2:8-9

 Recommended Reading: Ephesians 2:4-10

Gnosticism was a dangerous heresy in the first two centuries of the Church. Besides denying the divinity of Christ, Gnostics believed that salvation was achieved through elevated spiritual knowledge rather than through faith in Christ (Greek gnosis means “knowledge”). The letters of Colossians and 1 John were written, in part, to counteract the claims of Gnosticism.

Second Peter likely contained veiled attacks on Gnostic teaching. For example, instead of special spiritual insight available only to a few, God has given every Christian, through the “knowledge of Him,” “all things that pertain to life and godliness.” Through God’s “exceedingly great and precious promises,” we “may be partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:3-4). We are saved, not by mystical knowledge, but by grace “for good works” (Ephesians 2:8-10). God has given us everything we need to manifest Him in this world through the promises in His Word.

If you belong to Christ, you have been called to be the hands and feet of Jesus in the presence of those who have not met Him.

We must come to good works by faith, and not to faith by good works.
William Gurnall

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And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope.
Romans 5:3-4

 Recommended Reading: Hebrews 11:1-3

There is no word more central to biblical teaching than faith. For instance, 2 Corinthians 5:7 says, “We walk by faith, not by sight.” (See also Romans 1:17.) But what is faith? Hebrews 11:1 says, “Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” (NIV1984). Faith is not just hoping for something we cannot at present see. It is being “sure” and “certain” that we will in time see it. But what are we authorized to be certain of? Whatever God has promised in His Word. John 3:16 promises eternal life to all who believe in Jesus. Therefore, we can be certain, by faith, that we have eternal life.

This raises the question: How do we live in the gap between not seeing and seeing? What do we do while we wait for God to fulfill His promise? We persevere. Echoing Hebrews 11:1, Romans 8:25 says, “But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.” 

Biblical faith is characterized by perseverance. If you are in the gap, wait faithfully on God by persevering. 

We persevere through faith and never apart from it.
Sinclair Ferguson

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A person without self-control is like a city with broken-down walls.
Proverbs 25:28, NLT

 Recommended Reading: 1 Peter 1:13-16

One of life’s paradoxes is how self-discipline gives us freedom. People without self-control live under the tyranny of whatever desires master them—pleasure, sleep, sex, indulgence, addictions, or hatred. When the Lord becomes the King of our life, He enables us to grow in the quality of self-control. It’s a fruit of the Spirit. As we’re released from our vices, we’re increasingly free to live healthy and happy lives.

To many people, the word freedom means doing anything you want whenever and wherever you want. But true freedom is impossible without constraint. Limitations don’t bring confinement—they enable freedom. Paul told Timothy, “For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline” (2 Timothy 1:7, NIV). Galatians 5:22-23 says, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace…self-control.” 

Identify any area of life in which you find yourself in bondage. Ask God to help you to allow His Spirit to work in your heart so that you will experience true freedom.

Jesus, who lived such a remarkable life, has sent His Spirit to dwell in you. His goal is to reproduce Himself through you—the courage, the self-control, the love, everything.
Charles Stanley

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He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.
Proverbs 16:32

 Recommended Reading: Titus 2:11-15

Fred had no self-control, and he left a path of destruction behind him. He was a four-hundred-pound hog who got loose in Colorado last fall. He covered four miles over ten days, tearing up lawns and digging up roots along the way. He was finally captured by animal service agents, who found him a home at a local high school’s agriculture farm.

Too many people who lack self-control carve a path of heartache and destruction. Peter told us to add self-control to our knowledge (2 Peter 1:6), and Paul told Titus to bring self-control to the churches and Christians on the island of Crete (Titus 1:8). He said, “For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled” (Titus 2:11-12, NIV). 

Is there an area of your life needing more self-discipline? Ask for God’s help and work diligently on that area. Anyone who tells you otherwise is just speaking hogwash!

Not only is self-control strong, it is also beautiful. Anger is not beautiful. Ungoverned temper is not lovely. Rage is demonic. But a spirit calm, strong, and unflustered amid storms of feeling and all manner of disturbing emotions, is sublime in its beauty.
James Russell Miller

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Thus says the Lord: “Stand in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; then you will find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’”
Jeremiah 6:16

 Recommended Reading: Luke 6:46-49

An American Old Testament scholar spent a summer studying in Jerusalem. He once listened to a Jewish rabbi recite the entire book of Psalms in Hebrew from memory. The rabbi didn’t miss a single word. In one sense, the rabbi knew the Bible, but in another sense he didn’t because he couldn’t see the Messiah—Jesus.

Likewise, there is a difference between knowing the way and walking in the way—a common biblical metaphor for the path one chooses to take. Jeremiah encouraged his hearers to seek the old, settled paths and “walk in [them].” And Jesus did the same: “But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46) He went on to illustrate: The one who hears God’s words but doesn’t put them into practice is building a life without a foundation—destined to collapse (Luke 6:46-49).

Know the Bible? Yes! But the purpose of knowing is to discover the way in which to walk.

Apply yourself to the whole text, and apply the whole text to yourself.
J. A. Bengel

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Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
Matthew 11:28-29

 Recommended Reading: 1 John 5:1-3

When the prophet Jeremiah warned Judah and Jerusalem that God was about to submit them to the “yoke” of Babylon in judgment, he actually wore a heavy wooden yoke around his own neck to illustrate his words (Jeremiah 28:10-13). A yoke connected two oxen for plowing, but it came to symbolize submission and oppression.

Jesus pictured the religious oppression of the Jews as “heavy burdens, hard to bear, [laid] on men’s shoulders” like a yoke laid on the shoulders of oxen (Matthew 23:4). God’s commandments “are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3), but the religious leaders had made them a burden by adding their own traditions to them (Mark 7:13). So Jesus invited people to come to Him and take His yoke upon them and learn the ways of God and “find rest for [their] souls,” for His yoke—His way—is easy and light (Matthew 11:29-30). 

The key to taking Jesus’ yoke is “come to Me.” Rest is not in religious requirements but in a relationship with Jesus.

Faith is reason at rest in God. 
Charles Spurgeon

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Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him.
2 Corinthians 5:9

 Recommended Reading: Psalm 69:29-33

Dale Earnhardt Jr. said about his father and namesake, the famous NASCAR driver, “You wanted to please him all the time, make him happy.” That’s the way most of us feel about someone we admire. But sometimes we forget that our greatest satisfaction in life comes from pleasing our Heavenly Savior.

Just as Jesus focused on pleasing His Father, we should strive to please Him by living with virtue. Peter told us to add to our faith, virtue; and to virtue, knowledge (2 Peter 1:5). That involves having the attitudes and actions that please the Lord. Ephesians 5:10 says: “And find out what pleases the Lord” (NIV). Colossians 1:10 tells us to “live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God” (NIV).

Ask the Lord today to enable you to please Him in every thought, deed, habit, and word.

Every Christian should have a passion to please God. We are to delight in honoring Him. It is our greatest pleasure to please our Redeemer.
R. C. Sproul

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The Lord will work out his plans for my life—for your faithful love, O Lord, endures forever.
Psalm 138:8, NLT

 Recommended Reading: Philippians 2:12-13

What are spiritual gifts, you ask? They are simply aspects of the work of Jesus Christ that the Holy Spirit wants to empower you to do. Henry Blackaby wrote, “Everyone who believes God’s good news of salvation and commits his life to Jesus Christ will receive the same Holy Spirit who indwelt the Son of God…. The Holy Spirit is the gift. He Himself is the indispensable gift of God to your life.”¹

When the apostle Paul told us to “work out” our salvation with “fear and trembling” in Philippians 2:12, he was thinking, in part, of our spiritual gifts. The Holy Spirit works into us the life of Jesus Christ, and we need to work out what the Spirit is working into us. How important to do our best to use our gifts actively and diligently for the glory of God. 

How does the Lord want to use you today? Thank Him in advance as you work out your spiritual gifts for His glory.

If you do not walk in the Spirit, you do not have a spiritual gift. Apart from the Spirit, whatever “gifts” we display can only be our natural talents, drawing attention to self.
Henry Blackaby

1. Henry Blackaby, What’s So Spiritual About Your Gifts? (Colorado Springs, CO: Multnomah Books, 2004), 17-18.

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Not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord.
Romans 12:11

 Recommended Reading: 2 Peter 1:5-11

The word diligent means to pursue something with keen attention and effort. It’s a word that often appears in God’s Word. We’re to “diligently” heed Scripture and do what’s right in His sight (Exodus 15:26); we must keep His precepts diligently (Psalm 119:4). Paul wrote, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed” (2 Timothy 2:15). Proverbs 4:23 says, “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.”

Peter used this word twice in the first chapter of his second letter. In verse 5, he told us to diligently add virtue to our faith, and knowledge to our virtue. And in verse 10, he said, “Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure.”

God has a purpose for us, and He’s given us all we need to achieve it. We must therefore be diligent. Can you think of an area of your spiritual life that needs extra diligence today? Let’s pursue Christlikeness with keen attention and effort.

Patience and diligence, like faith, remove mountains. 
William Penn

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And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.
2 Corinthians 9:8

 Recommended Reading: Romans 5:20-21

Most Christians know the story of the hymn “Amazing Grace.” The author was John Newton who was converted to Christ while engaged in the British slave trade in the eighteenth century. He went on to become a pastor and worked energetically to abolish the slave trade in England. Though his memory began to fail him in his final years, he was always clear about two things: “That I am a great sinner and that Christ is a great Savior.”

Newton’s conviction—that God’s grace is greater than our sin—was probably based on Paul’s words in Romans 5:20: “Where sin abounded, grace abounded much more.” As he wrote in “Amazing Grace,” Newton considered himself a “wretch” for having trafficked in the buying and selling of fellow human beings. But he found God’s grace and forgiveness to be greater than his sin.

Regardless of what you may have done, never wonder if God’s grace is sufficient for you. God makes “all grace abound toward you” in “all things,” qualifying you for “every good work.”

Amazing grace! How sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me!
John Newton

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His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life.
2 Peter 1:3, NIV

 Recommended Reading: Psalm 23

In 1943, Abraham Maslow, the son of Jewish immigrants to America, published his famous diagram illustrating the hierarchy of human needs. It was a triangle that explained our physical needs, our need for safety and love, and our need for esteem and for self-actualization. But Maslow was a humanist who neglected to mention our spiritual needs as described in the Bible.

Instead of devoting ourselves to trying to meet all our needs, the Bible tells us to devote ourselves to Him who can and will meet all our needs—physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, relationally, and eternally. His divine power has given us all we need for a life pleasing to Him.

The patriarch Jacob said, “God has been gracious to me and I have all I need” (Genesis 33:11, NIV).  Can you say the same thing today? Yes! With the psalmist we can all say in a moment of clarity, “Because the Lord is my Shepherd, I have everything I need!” (Psalm 23:1, TLB)

Be thankful for that today! Praise the Lord for His abundant provisions!

Just as I am, poor, wretched, blind; sight, riches, healing of the mind; yea, all I need in Thee to find, O Lamb of God, I come, I come! 
Charlotte Elliott

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Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Romans 5:1

 Recommended Reading: John 14:27

The road to personal peace is a multilane highway in today’s world. There is a lane for peace through prosperity, peace through prestige, peace through possessions, peace through personal achievements, and more. But all those lanes to peace omit the one lane that is necessary before all others: peace with God. Once we have peace with God, it doesn’t matter what things happen in our life. In God, we can have a clear conscience and true contentment knowing that we are secure and protected in Him.

That raises the question: How do we find peace with God? In his letter to the Romans (chapter 4), after Paul explained how Abraham gained a relationship with God (by believing God—Genesis 15:6), he said that we find peace with God the same way: by being “justified by faith…through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1). Abraham was declared righteous by God, not by his deeds or works but by simply believing in Him. And we are declared righteous the same way (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Before you look for peace anywhere else, make sure you have peace with God through faith in Christ.

God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing.
C.S. Lewis

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Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Hebrews 4:16

 Recommended Reading: Luke 11:9-13

Jesus commended little children to His disciples, saying they should be like them (Matthew 18:3). In what way? Perhaps in their shamelessness—their willingness to ask for what they want or need without feeling guilty or embarrassed.

When Jesus taught His disciples about prayer, He used the example of a child who asked his father for bread, fish, or an egg (Matthew 7:9-11; Luke 11:11-13). He said that no child would expect to receive a stone, serpent, or scorpion instead! What father would treat a child that way? Jesus’ point: If imperfect human fathers will grant their children’s requests, how much more will a perfect Heavenly Father do the same for His children? The problem, Jesus said, is that we fail to ask, seek, and knock on heaven’s door; we give up too soon. He wanted the disciples to learn not to give up when it came to prayer (Luke 18:1). The original language says we are to keep on asking, keep on seeking, and keep on knocking (Luke 11:9-10).

Go boldly today to God’s throne of grace. He is ready to meet your needs.

Believing prayer takes its stand upon the faithfulness of God.
D. Edmond Hiebert

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But when you pray, go away by yourself, all alone, and shut the door behind you and pray to your Father secretly.
Matthew 6:6, TLB

 Recommended Reading: Matthew 6:5-8

The renowned Scottish minister Andrew Bonar wrote, “I should count the days, not by what I have of new instances of usefulness, but by the times I have been enabled to pray in faith, and to take hold upon God…. Prayer should make time for itself.”

Every part of modern life thwarts the needed habit of secret prayer. Our schedules are too busy, our phones are too engaging, our world is too noisy, and our fatigue is too great. Yet without prayer—systematic, secret, sacred prayer—we cannot manage our schedules, control our phones, quiet our world, or counteract our fatigue. Secret prayer brings us into the presence of the energizing God who stills and strengthens us, who teaches us the way to Himself and the paths to avoid, and who fills us with the confidence of His own infinite power.

Make time for daily secret prayer. If we live with an attitude of prayer, we’re always in His presence. Pray today that your whole life might be a prayer as you walk day by day with Him.

The Lord…made me feel that I must be as much with Him alone as with souls in public.
Andrew Bonar

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Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath.
Romans 12:19, NIV

 Recommended Reading: Romans 12:14-21

Revenge is such an ugly word that perhaps you think you’re removed from it. But even as children, we schemed to “get even” when we thought someone did us wrong. As adults, we often have trouble knowing the difference between being hurt, becoming bitter, and evening the score. It’s human nature to defend our honor and seek vindication when attacked.

In facing conflict or oppression from the wicked, we must never let our hearts grow hardened. There may be just ways of solving the problem, but in the end it comes back to trusting God to vindicate us. Our Lord Jesus was abused, but He answered His critics, not with ten legions of angels, but with the most shocking event in history—His resurrection.

Pray that when times of conflict come, you will turn to Him and to His Word. Let Him give you wisdom to respond well, and trust Him to be your Maker, Defender, Redeemer, and Friend.

May the gospel keep me humble and patient…. I don’t want to waste one more self-absorbed moment rehearsing things that hurt me and relishing personal revenge.
Scotty Smith

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