“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”—Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)
God has a unique plan for you, designed to bring hope and prosperity. On this New Year’s Eve, commit to walking according to His divine purpose. Trust that He will lead you through the days and months ahead.
Heavenly Father, I place my future in Your loving hands. Grant me the wisdom and courage to walk in Your ways, filled with hope.
Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?
––2 Corinthians 13:5
As another year closes and we prepare to enter a new season, it’s a good time to take spiritual inventory. I try to do this every holiday season, before the coming of the New Year. I ask myself:
Your list may be different, and let me be clear: I’m not talking about making resolutions that we rarely keep. I’m referring to a time of reflection where we take stock of where we’ve been, where we are, and where we sense the Holy Spirit is telling us to go.
Taking a spiritual inventory may be as simple as going through your calendar from the past 12 months and reviewing your appointments, meetings, events, and trips (both personal and professional), and asking the Holy Spirit to identify those events that mattered most to Him, and why. Did you spend your time in a way that honored His calling and vision for your life? What events were either unnecessary, wasteful, or even toxic? How can you spend your time more efficiently and effectively for His kingdom in the upcoming year?
This is not a guilt and shame exercise. Just the opposite. It’s a time for you to get alone with God in a quiet place for at least several hours (I have friends who go away by themselves for several days to take a spiritual inventory—though that’s neither realistic or practical for many guys.) It’s always an uplifting, hopeful process for me.
A spiritual inventory is a time for you to allow God to put your life in context—to take a spiritual deep breath and reflect on His path for you. Are you on the path? Have you strayed off of it a bit?
As we retreat from the world, we are able to hear His voice more clearly. I get it. Some of you are young dads or have a very full life, either at home or at work. Maybe it’s impossible for you to escape to some bucolic, snow-dusted cabin for three days. Work in advance with your spouse and explain what you are doing, and why you’re doing it. Then head to your favorite coffee shop or book store, find a comfortable corner, and pray through your list of spiritual inventory items. Set aside at least three hours.
I guarantee you this: the time will not be wasted, and God will delight in meeting you where you are, in preparation for where you are going.
Lord, help me plan and execute a time for taking spiritual inventory—speak to me clearly about this coming year and Your will for my life.
Who would have ever thought we would be living in a time when murderers are considered heroes?
I suppose, in one sense, it’s not surprising. Millions of children are murdered in their mother’s wombs, and those who murder them, the abortionists, are considered heroes or heroines. We now have this particularly alarming example of Luigi Mangione, who shot the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, being applauded.
Consider an interview conducted on the streets showing startling opinions from the public:
Question: What do you think about Luigi Mangione?
Person #1: I’m up in the air about it because he killed someone, but I can understand part of his reasoning.
Question: Luigi Mangione, do you think he is a hero?
Person #2: Yeah. I do think he is a hero.
Question: Should Luigi Mangione be free?
Person #3: Yes. He is fighting for the people!
Person #4: He is a man of the people.
Person #5: Taking someone’s life is objectively something that is wrong to do, but he is a hero, in my opinion.
ABC News had this headline: ‘Supporters of suspected CEO killer Luigi Mangione established defense fund.’
The article began, “As New York City prosecutors work to bring murder charges against Luigi Mangione in the brazen killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, supporters of the suspect are donating tens of thousands of dollars for a defense fund established for him, leaving law enforcement officials worried Mangione is being turned into a martyr.”
Then, adding to the absurdity, politician Elizabeth Warren stated in an interview about Mangione, “You can only push people so far, and then they start to take matters into their own hands.”
Oh, really? How about in reference to politicians? What if somebody said, ‘Well, you politicians can only push us so far, and then we’re going to eliminate you!’ It’s an egregiously irresponsible statement, to say the least.
Interestingly, Hannity on Fox News said, “Cheering for the murder of an unarmed man is beyond sick.”
I agree; it’s morally sick. However, what needs to be recognized is that a person must believe in absolute authority to be able to make that statement. If there’s no absolute authority—God, who sets the rules, who decides right and wrong—how then can we say that an action is ‘morally sick’?
Why shouldn’t everyone act according to their personal judgment and whims? In Judges 21:25, we’re told, “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” That is the point. When there’s no absolute authority, everyone does what he believes is right. Right or wrong is subjective. What’s good or evil is subjective.
Our culture has increasingly abandoned God, deserted God’s Word, thrown Christianity out of the public education system, taught generations of people that there’s no God, and bought into the lie that we are merely animals. It is no wonder people think: ‘I can do whatever I want. I’ll define right and wrong. If I want to murder, it’s okay for me if I determine it to be the right thing to do. Why not?’
It reminds me of Jeremiah 17:9, which states, “The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?”
It’s a heart problem. That’s what we need to understand. The gun that was used to murder the CEO wasn’t the problem. Knives used to kill people are not the problem. What is the problem? The problem lies within people’s hearts. We’re sick; we have a sin problem. When people let their sinful nature rule over them, they do whatever is right in their own eyes.
There is a verse from Scripture that I have read many times over the years that I once thought, ‘I can’t imagine a culture being like that!’ We are now at a time when the verse in Isaiah 5:20 is precisely what we are witnessing in our society: “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!”
We see Isaiah 5:20 happening in all sorts of ways, and now we see it happening in regard to murder. People are calling murder good, and those who want to condemn murder evil. Who would have ever thought that we would be in that situation?
It’s a reminder that the culture is sick—and you can’t just treat the symptoms; you have to treat the sickness. The sickness is man’s heart. Until people recognize that this is a spiritual issue, we will be unable to deal with the many ramifications happening as a byproduct.
We have to understand the true sickness and deal with the origin. Doctors don’t just want to deal with the symptoms; they must get to the root cause and deal with the disease. The root cause is a spiritual issue. We have to be pointing people to the truth of God’s Word, the saving Gospel, and see a heart change—from a sick heart because of sin to one regenerated by the work of the Lord, Jesus Christ, through what He did on the cross of Calvary and the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
That’s the solution.
Source: Living In A Time When Murderers Are Called Heroes, And God Is Called Hateful – Harbinger’s Daily
How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever? Psalm 13:1
Today’s Scripture
Today’s Insights
Psalm 13 is an urgent prayer for God’s aid (vv. 3-4) as well as a lament of the psalmist’s long period of suffering, which is experienced as if God is absent and hiding His face (v. 1). When the psalm asks, “How long?” (vv. 1-2), the point isn’t asking for a specific end date but lamenting how long something has been endured and urging God to end the long wait—to act and make things right. Yet despite Psalm 13’s intense desperation, it’s also a psalm of deep trust (vv. 5-6). Through our bond with a God who we know to be good and faithful, we have the confidence and trust to honestly voice our lament. The reformer Martin Luther called prayer like that expressed in Psalm 13 the “state in which hope despairs, and yet despair hopes at the same time.”
Today’s Devotional
Jim has been battling a motor neuron disease for more than a year. The neurons in his muscles are breaking down, and his muscles are wasting away. He’s lost his fine-motor skills and is losing his ability to control his limbs. He can no longer button his shirt or tie his shoelaces, and using a pair of chopsticks has become impossible. Jim struggles with his situation and asks, Why is God allowing this to happen? Why me?
He’s in good company with many other believers in Jesus who have brought their questions to God. In Psalm 13, David cries out, “How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and day after day have sorrow in my heart?” (vv. 1-2).
We too can take our confusion and questions to God. He understands when we cry out “How long?” and “Why?” His ultimate answer is given to us in Jesus and His triumph over sin and death.
As we look at the cross and the empty tomb, we gain confidence to trust in God’s “unfailing love” (v. 5) and rejoice in His salvation. Even in the darkest nights, we can “sing the Lord’s praise, for he has been good to [us]” (v. 6). Through our faith in Christ, He’s forgiven our sins, adopted us as His children, and is accomplishing His eternal good purpose in our lives.
Reflect & Pray
What questions do you need to bring to God? How has He shown His goodness to you, even in your darkest night?
Loving Father, thank You that You care for me. Please help me to trust that You’re making something beautiful of my life.
And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him and let it drop (leave it, let it go), in order that your Father Who is in heaven may also forgive you your [own] failings and shortcomings and let them drop. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your failings and shortcomings.
Mark:11:25-26 (AMPC)
One of the greatest reasons why prayer isn’t answered among Christians is unforgiveness. Jesus gave His disciples a command to forgive, and then He told them plainly that if they did not forgive, neither would their Father in heaven forgive them their failings and shortcomings. He was blunt with them, because He knew what a stumbling block unforgiveness would be for their spiritual life.
It is important to note that forgiveness and having faith to move mountains comes in the same context. There is no power in speaking to a mountain if the heart is full of unforgiveness. Yet this problem is rampant among God’s children. If there is anything that will short-circuit God from answering our prayers, it’s a heart full of unforgiveness and bitterness toward others. You can’t go into your prayer closet and expect God to move mountains for you or on behalf of others when you’ve hardened your heart with unforgiveness. Extend abundant mercy and forgiveness just as God forgave you in Christ.
Prayer of the Day: Lord, help me to always remember what it cost You to forgive me, and yet You freely forgave me. I want my heart to be like Yours and to extend mercy to others as well, amen.
When you read the words, “All I want for Christmas is you,” does the song by that title immediately spring to mind? If so, you’re not alone: the song by Mariah Carey, recorded in 1994, is one of the best-selling Christmas songs of all time. And it earns her an estimated $3.5 to $4 million every year.
Why is it so successful? The answer in part is Carey’s amazing vocals. But another is the theme of the song. In an interview with Good Morning America, she recounted its origin: “I was working on it by myself . . . on this little Casio keyboard and writing down words and thinking about, ‘What do I think of at Christmas? What do I love? What do I want? What do I dream of?’” She added, “My goal was to do something timeless, so it didn’t feel like the ’90s, which is when I wrote it.”
Her lyrics, whimsical as they are, do express something timeless: “Santa Claus won’t make me happy with a toy on Christmas Day,” because “all I want for Christmas is you.”
“The Western world has turned officially crazy”
We are created to want more than the “toys” this world can offer, because we were created for the eternal world to come. That’s why possessions must not possess us, since nothing we can make can fill the “God-shaped emptiness” with which God made us.
Sinners can no more save themselves from sin than drowning people can save themselves from drowning. And our fallen world is far too unpredictable to be a reliable source of stability.
There was a day when people viewed the future as a time of progress and even glamour. Radios and record players brought music into homes that could not afford pianos. Movies offered inexpensive theater tickets. The Model T and its successors afforded ordinary people the kind of personal transportation once reserved for the coach-owning elite. The material abundance of the post-war era brought new suburban homes, televisions, and kitchen gadgets.
That was then, this is now.
Looking ahead to 2050, Pew Research Center found that:
From avian flu in California to drought in the Southwest to declining American air superiority in the world to an emerging military threat in Pakistan, today’s news offers no shortage of reasons to fear the future. As one geopolitical analyst wrote recently, “One would be forgiven” for thinking “the Western world has turned officially crazy.”
“A pessimist is never disappointed”
We fear the future in large part because it is, by definition, unknown and unknowable, and we fear what we do not know. Why?
In part, such fear is a primordial survival response—if we anticipate the worst, we think we are better prepared if it happens. “A pessimist is never disappointed,” as the saying goes.
But such fear also says something about our view of God. Most of us believe that he is so omniscient that he knows the future and so omnipotent that he can do what he chooses to do. We’re just not always sure his choices for us are what we would choose for ourselves.
The ancient Greeks and Romans depicted Zeus and their other gods as capricious and unkind, reflecting the world these deities supposedly ruled. Our world is just as fallen and chaotic as theirs, which leads us to wonder if our God is just as capricious and unkind.
This is why Christmas is such good and essential news.
“Perfect love expels all fear”
The next time you wonder if God loves you, remember his decision to send his Son to die for you. Remember his Son’s decision to give up his glory in heaven to take on human flesh so he could die for human sins. Remember the humility of his birth, illustrating the unconditional compassion of his grace.
Scripture declares, “Perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love” (1 John 4:18 NLT). A. W. Tozer commented:
“Love casts out fear, for when we know we are loved, we are not afraid. Whoever has God’s perfect love, fear is gone out of the universe for him.”
In this light, consider some wisdom from the esteemed Wall Street Journal opinion writer Peggy Noonan. On her recent book tour, she was asked, “Are you an optimist?” Her response:
Optimists tend to think the right, nice thing will happen, and I don’t necessarily. But I have faith and I have hope. Life takes guts. Don’t let all the bad news enter you and steal your peace. Keep the large things in your head. Two millennia ago a baby was born and the whole ridiculous story—the virgin, the husband, the stable, the star—is true, and changed the world. Compared to which our current concerns are nothing.
“Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take”
The English poet William Cowper, who struggled mightily with depression and despair, nonetheless pointed the way to the hope we need:
Deep in unsearchable mines
Of never failing skill,
He treasures up his bright designs,
And works his sovereign will.
Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take;
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy, and shall break
In blessings on your head.
What “clouds” will you trust to your loving Lord today?
Tuesday news to know:
*Denison Forum does not necessarily endorse the views expressed in these stories.
Quote for the day:
“The great God not only loves his saints, but he loves to love them.” —Jerry Bridges
by Henry M. Morris, Ph.D.
“Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” (Matthew 25:34)
In context, this wonderful promise may apply specifically to those living believers recognized as “sheep” by Christ when He returns to judge the nations (or “Gentiles”) at the end of the age. For them He has prepared a wonderful kingdom in which they can fully serve their great King here on Earth. The “goats,” on the other hand, will be sent away into “everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41).
But we remember also that the Lord Jesus Christ has also prepared a mansion in heaven for His faithful disciples. “In my Father’s house are many mansions…I go to prepare a place for you” (John 14:2).
He is, even now, preparing for us that glorious place. One day, it will be fully prepared, and we shall see it when He brings it down from heaven, as John did in his great vision. “And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband” (Revelation 21:2).
It will, indeed, be a wonderful place of “many mansions,” and John describes some of its beauties in the Bible’s last two chapters. But that is not all. “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him” (1 Corinthians 2:9). Therefore, we can say with Paul: “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18). He has indeed prepared a great eternal future for His redeemed children. HMM
All my fresh springs shall be in Thee. — Psalm 87:7 (PBV)*
Our Lord never patches up our natural virtues, He remakes the whole man on the inside. “Put on the new man” — see that your natural human life puts on the garb that is in keeping with the new life. The life God plants in us develops its own virtues, not the virtues of Adam but of Jesus Christ. Watch how God will wither up your confidence in natural virtues after sanctification, and in any power you have, until you learn to draw your life from the reservoir of the resurrection life of Jesus. Thank God if you are going through a drying-up experience!
The sign that God is at work in us is that He corrupts confidence in the natural virtues, because they are not promises of what we are going to be, but remnants of what God created man to be. We will cling to the natural virtues, while all the time God is trying to get us into contact with the life of Jesus Christ which can never be described in terms of the natural virtues. It is the saddest thing to see people in the service of God depending on that which the grace of God never gave them, depending on what they have by the accident of heredity. God does not build up our natural virtues and transfigure them, because our natural virtues can never come anywhere near what Jesus Christ wants. No natural love, no natural patience, no natural purity can ever come up to His demands. But as we bring every bit of our bodily life into harmony with the new life which God has put in us, He will exhibit in us the virtues that were characteristic of the Lord Jesus.
“And every virtue we possess
Is His alone.”
*PBV: Prayer Book Version. The Book of Common Prayer for the Church of England includes a translation of the Psalter, or Psalms of David.
Zechariah 13-14; Revelation 21
Wisdom from Oswald
The sympathy which is reverent with what it cannot understand is worth its weight in gold. Baffled to Fight Better, 69 L
These are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God . . .
—John 20:31
God caused the Bible to be written for the express purpose of revealing to us God’s plan for His redemption. God caused the Book to be written that He might make His everlasting laws clear to His children, and that they might have His great wisdom to guide them, and His great love to comfort them as they make their way through life. For without the Bible this world would indeed be a dark and frightening place, without signpost or beacon. The Bible easily qualifies as the only book in which God’s revelation is contained.
There are many bibles of different religions; there is the Mohammedan Koran, the Buddhist Canon of Sacred Scripture, the Zoroastrian Zend-Avesta, and the Brahman Veda . . . They all begin with some flashes of true light, and end in utter darkness. Even the most casual observer soon discovers that the Bible is radically different. It is the only Book that offers redemption to us and points the way out of our dilemma.
Want to read the Bible? Read Billy Graham’s advice on where to start.
Lea este devocional en español en es.billygraham.org.
Prayer for the day
Lord Jesus, as I read Your Word, Your truth shines through and illuminates a dark world.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!—2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV)
This time of year is perfect for letting go of past mistakes and regrets. Trust God’s grace and forgiveness, and look forward to the fresh start He offers you. Embrace the opportunity to grow closer to Him and to follow His guidance in your life.
Lord, help me let go of the past and embrace a fresh start.
You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. ––John 8:44
If you’ve ever been ripped off by a dishonest auto mechanic, you know how frustrating and infuriating it can be. $300 for a new “Johnson rod,” only to find out much later that there is no such thing? Yeah, it’s the worst. Satan is a crooked mechanic, always looking to pop the hood of our spiritual lives and mess around. We have titles for the tinkering of Satan and the malfunctions he causes:
Materialism: One who has bad relationships because they worship inanimate objects without souls or emotions. My Mercedes and my money can’t give me a hug, laugh, cry, or be hurt by stupidity. Things are safe to love because they require no character, but unsafe for your soul because they are soulless.
Hedonism: One who has bad relationships because they pimp people, seeing them ultimately as objects of—or a means of—achieving self-gratification. No one I have ever known enjoys being prostituted for someone else’s high. Hedonists love “feelings” or physical sensations or risky behaviors.
Narcissism: One who thinks life’s all about them. They are the god of their life: relational narcissism is an oxymoron. All of their relationships are meant to reflect back on them in a positive way. You can’t be addicted to yourself, your appearance, your titles, and your control over others, and genuinely serve someone else’s needs.
Satan will dress up these rip-offs in powerful ways; he pops the hood and suggests things we don’t need that will give him the profit. He suggests and we buy it. Same ol’ story … remember Eve? Everything we buy begins with thoughts that are suggested under our hoods. Our mind is a wonderful thing when it is properly cared for by the right mechanic.
By the way, I got a guy. Everybody’s got a guy. My guy is the perfect Mechanic because He built my engine.
Father, thank You for the thoughts You provide for me to buy.
Do not kill them . . . . Set food and water before them so that they may eat and drink. 2 Kings 6:22
Today’s Scripture
Today’s Insights
Author Ray Stedman draws an intriguing comparison between the prophets Elijah and Elisha. Elijah first appears in 1 Kings 17. He displays God’s power and judgment, calling down fire from heaven as he faced 450 prophets of the false god Baal (18:30-39). Then in 2 Kings 1:9-12 he did it again, killing the soldiers sent by evil King Ahaziah to arrest him. Then Elisha “took the mantle” (2 Kings 2:14 nkjv), or role, of Elijah. He had a powerful yet less fiery ministry than did Elijah. Stedman notes that Jesus’ ascension into heaven after His resurrection (Acts 1:8-9) was foreshadowed by Elijah, who ascended into heaven in a chariot of fire (2 Kings 2:11-12). Similarly, he also points out that Elisha foreshadows the ministry of the Holy Spirit—the Helper Jesus promised to send us after He returned to His Father. Again and again, we see the Scriptures pointing to Christ.
Today’s Devotional
In the novel About Grace, David Winkler longs to find his estranged daughter, and Herman Sheeler is the only person who can help him. But there’s a hitch. David’s daughter was born from David’s affair with Herman’s wife, and Herman had warned him never to contact them again.
Decades pass before David writes to Herman, apologizing for what he’s done. “I have a hole in my life because I know so little about my daughter,” he adds, begging for information about her. He waits to see if Herman will help him.
How should we treat those who’ve wronged us? The king of Israel faced this question after his enemies were miraculously delivered into his hands (2 Kings 6:8-20). “Shall I kill them?” he asks the prophet Elisha. No, Elisha says. “Set food and water before them so that they may eat and drink and then go back to their master” (vv. 21-22). Through this act of grace, Israel finds peace with its enemies (v. 23).
Herman replies to David’s letter, invites him to his home and cooks him a meal. “Lord Jesus,” he prays before they eat, “thank You for watching over me and David all these years.” He helps David find his daughter, and David later saves his life. In God’s hands, our acts of grace toward those who’ve wronged us often result in a blessing to us.
Reflect & Pray
Whose acts of grace have inspired you in the past? What act of grace could you offer someone today?
Dear Jesus, please give me the wisdom and power today to offer grace to those who’ve wronged me.
But God will redeem me…for He will receive me. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!
Psalm 49:15 (AMPC)
When offenses come and we are tempted to get into strife, it is wise for us to examine our thoughts and take ownership of our actions.
If you find that you are justifying having a bad attitude, I encourage you to realize that justifying any bad behavior that the Word of God condemns is a dangerous thing. It keeps us deceived and unable to take ownership of our faults.
Nobody enjoys saying, “I was wrong—please forgive me,” but it is one of the most powerful six-word sentences in the world. It brings peace to turmoil; joy replaces frustration, and this attitude puts a smile on God’s face. He is delighted when we follow His ways instead of our own thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.
Prayer of the Day: Father, help me see myself as You see me. Renew my mind to reflect my true identity in Christ and embrace the life You have planned for me, amen.
“If [God] can do this for me, there’s nothing he can’t do for you.”
Denzel Washington has made fifty movies and won two Oscars, but he wrote recently in Esquire, “The biggest moment of my life was when I was filled with the Holy Spirit,” an experience that occurred forty years ago.
Last Saturday, he received his minister’s license and was baptized. In a video he shared online, he said, “It took a while, but I’m finally here . . . If [God] can do this for me, there’s nothing he can’t do for you.”
Washington is right in ways we cannot begin to imagine.
Literally.
“If your mind were only a slightly greener thing”
One of my sons gave me The Overstory by Richard Powers as a Christmas present. As soon as I began reading, I understood why it won the Pulitzer Prize and was a #1 New York Times bestseller.
The novel is creatively centered around trees and those who experience them. It begins with a woman in a park leaning against a pine. The tree and those farther away say to her:
All the ways you imagine us—bewitched mangroves up on stilts, a nutmeg’s inverted spade, gnarled baja elephant trunks, the straight-up missile of a sal—are always amputations. Your kind never sees us whole. There’s always as much belowground as above.
That’s the trouble with people, their root problem. . . . A chorus of living wood sings to the woman: If your mind were only a slightly greener thing, we’d drown you in meaning (his italics).
As I read, I made a note: “What is true of roots below is also true of heaven above. What we cannot see is what makes possible what we can see. There is far more that we do not know than what we do. What we do not know changes our lives the most.”
Here’s why.
Why Jesus had to come at Christmas
The Bible says that “God is love” (1 John 4:8), that he is “holy, holy, holy” (Isaiah 6:3; Revelation 4:8), and that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8; cf. Malachi 3:6). Each aspect of his character requires the other: If God is love, he must always do what holiness requires. If he is holy, he must always do what love requires. And he cannot change—he must always do the most loving and righteous thing in our lives.
This is why Jesus had to come at Christmas. He had to come to save us in love while atoning for our sin in holiness, revealing his unchanging nature by taking on our nature while preserving his own.
But this was also true for millennia before Christmas. From Joseph saving his people from starvation, to Moses liberating them from slavery, to Joshua leading them into their Promised Land, to David defeating their enemies, to the prophets declaring his pathways to flourishing— God was unchangingly loving and holy.
It has been true for millennia after Christmas. From Cornelius opening the way for Gentile conversion to Paul taking the gospel across the Empire, to writers giving us the New Testament, and to parents, pastors, evangelists, theologians, political leaders, soldiers, doctors, attorneys, engineers, business people, teachers, and a plethora of others—God continues to act in and through us in ways that are unchangingly loving and holy.
And what is true on earth is true in heaven as well.
Why “we are more than conquerors”
In Paul’s soaring revelation we read, “Jesus Christ is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us” (Romans 8:34; cf. Hebrews 7:25). The apostle can therefore ask rhetorically, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” (Romans 8:35) and proceed to list the worst enemies we face before assuring us, “We are more than conquerors through him who loved us” (v. 37).
All this because Jesus is “interceding for us” right now, continuing the Christmas miracle as he incarnates his unchanging holy love in and through us.
Do you believe the Father always answers his Son’s prayers? One day we will fully know what today we can only “know in part” (1 Corinthians 13:12). On that day, I believe we will see the thousands of ways the Father acted in our lives because the Son prayed for us.
In the meantime, the familiar words of Alfred Lord Tennyson take on new meaning for us:
More things are wrought by prayer
Than this world dreams of.
What would you like to ask Jesus to pray for, for you?
Friday news to know:
*Denison Forum does not necessarily endorse the views expressed in these stories.
Quote for the day:
“If I could hear Christ praying for me in the next room, I would not fear a million enemies. Yet distance makes no difference. He is praying for me.” —Robert Murray McCheyne
“I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.” (Genesis 17:1)
Abraham had been “walking” in the land of Canaan nearly 25 years when God gave this command to him. He had experienced the shameful rebuke in Egypt by Pharaoh and a marvelous victory against Chedorlaomer. He then demonstrated both humility and obedience before Melchizedek.
God had been explicit in His promises to Abraham, but the promised heir had not yet come. Now, in spite of the awful lapse of faith with Hagar and the nagging burden of Ishmael, God insisted that Abraham “walk before” Him and “be perfect.”
The Hebrew language here is unusual. The word translated “before me” is panyim, basically meaning “the face.” This is the term used in the first commandment where we are told to “have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:3).
In Genesis 17:1, the phrase could well be translated “walk, looking at my face.” The first commandment could also be translated “don’t let any other god get between your face and my face.”
The implication is obvious. God expects us to live in such a way that His “face” (person, character, presence) is always “before” us so that our “walk” (lifestyle, behavior) is “perfect” (complete, whole, healthy), with nothing inhibiting the relationship “of him with whom we have to do” (Hebrews 4:13).
“Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations” (Genesis 6:9). After warning Israel of the dangers of the pagan nations surrounding them, Moses still insisted that they should “be perfect with the LORD thy God” (Deuteronomy 18:13). No matter what the circumstances may be, if we are looking at God’s “face,” we will walk perfectly. HMM III
https://www.icr.org/articles/type/6
If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith the Lord… — Jeremiah 4:1
The battle is lost or won in the secret places of the will before God, never first in the external world. The Spirit of God apprehends me and I am obliged to get alone with God and fight the battle out before Him. Until this is done, I lose every time. The battle may take one minute or a year, that will depend on me, not on God; but it must be wrestled out alone before God, and I must resolutely go through the hell of a renunciation before Him. Nothing has any power over the man who has fought out the battle before God and won there. If I say, “I will wait till I get into the circumstances and then put God to the test,” I shall find I cannot. I must get the thing settled between my self and God in the secret places of my soul where no stranger intermeddles, and then I can go forth with the certainty that the battle is won. Lose it there, and calamity and disaster and upset are as sure as God’s decree. The reason the battle is not won is because I try to win it in the external world first. Get alone with God, fight it out before Him, settle the matter there once and for all.
In dealing with other people, the line to take is to push them to an issue of will. That is the way abandonment begins. Every now and again, not often, but sometimes, God brings us to a point of climax. That is the Great Divide in the life; from that point we either go towards a more and more dilatory and useless type of Christian life, or we become more and more ablaze for the glory of God — “My Utmost for His Highest.”
Wisdom from Oswald
There is no allowance whatever in the New Testament for the man who says he is saved by grace but who does not produce the graceful goods. Jesus Christ by His Redemption can make our actual life in keeping with our religious profession.Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, 1465 R
The Lord will bless his people with peace.
—Psalm 29:11
How do we find peace with God? We must stop fighting! We must surrender! We must serve! Of course, these steps will be motivated by faith and mingled with love. Having found peace with God, next we experience the peace of God.
This peace of God is not a mere abstraction advocated by preachers and theologians. Thousands of people can witness that they have actually experienced the peace of God and have found it wonderfully adequate for this present day. “For He is our peace.”
You can have peace with God today.
Lea este devocional en español en es.billygraham.org.
Prayer for the day
Father, I thank You for the peace You have given to me, which does not depend on feelings or circumstances.
The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.—Psalm 19:1 (NIV)
Even in the midst of winter, when the weather outside might seem harsh, spending a few moments outdoors can be invigorating and inspiring. By taking the time to breathe in the crisp air and observe the wonders of creation, we can connect with God’s presence and find refreshing newness in our lives.
Dear God, thank You for the beauty of Your creation and the opportunity to experience it daily.
Then the Lord rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah—from the Lord out of the heavens. Thus he overthrew those cities and the entire plain, destroying all those living in the cities—and also the vegetation in the land. But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt. ––Genesis 19:24-26
When I was a kid I had a set of those Bible story books with the blue covers written by Arthur S. Maxwell. I loved those books for their awesome illustrations. But one story that always freaked me out was the one about Lot’s wife. If you will recall, God condemns the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction for their wickedness. Lot escapes with his wife and two daughters, and is instructed by two angels not to look back as they flee. Lot’s wife can’t resist the urge to take a peek, and is instantly turned into a pillar of salt.
It’s a cautionary tale that Jesus references two millennia later when he teaches His disciples about the kingdom to come. Luke 17:31-33 says,
On that day no one who is on the housetop, with possessions inside, should go down to get them. Likewise, no one in the field should go back for anything. Remember Lot’s wife! Whoever tries to keep their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life will preserve it.
“On that day” refers to the Second Coming of Jesus, and how no one knows when it will take place. He references Lot’s wife as a cautionary tale: Don’t be fixated on the things of this world, but prepare your heart and spirit for His return.
For God’s man, this means living our lives as if Jesus were returning today. Confessing our sins to one another, keeping short accounts in our relationships, and living each day in the power—and under the guidance—of the Holy Spirit. It means holding on lightly to the material things of this world, and always prioritizing His kingdom over our earthly pursuits and preoccupations.
Lot’s wife looked backward—as did many of the Israelites in the desert, who looked back and missed the leaks and onions of Egypt—and suffered for it. Brother, set your sights on the things above—and be ready for His return.
Lord, it’s tempting to look back at the “good times” in my life, but You’ve called me to a higher purpose. Help me set my sites on the things that are precious to You.
Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Hebrews 10:24
Today’s Insights
The words priest/high priest occur nearly forty times in the book of Hebrews. The priestly ministry of Jesus comes into view in the earliest verses of the book: “After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven” (Hebrews 1:3). Accolades for Jesus as high priest include words like “merciful and faithful” (2:17) and “great” (4:14; 10:21). The chorus of praise in 7:26 is of note: “Such a high priest truly meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens.” What are the implications for believers in Jesus that He occupies this role? The “therefore” and “let us” phrases help us. “Therefore, . . . since we have confidence . . . and since we have a great priest . . . let us draw near to God . . . let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess . . . let us consider how we may spur one another on” (10:19-24).
Today’s Devotional
Gregory of Nazianzus and Basil of Caesarea were celebrated leaders in the fourth-century church and also close friends. They first met as philosophy students, and Gregory later said that they became like “two bodies with a single spirit.”
With their career paths so similar, rivalry could’ve arisen between Gregory and Basil. But Gregory explained that they avoided this temptation by making a life of faith, hope, and good deeds their “single ambition,” then “spurring each other on” to make the other more successful in this goal than themselves individually. As a result, both grew in faith and rose to high levels of leadership without rivalry.
The book of Hebrews is written to help us stay strong in faith (Hebrews 2:1), encouraging us to focus on “the hope we profess” and to “spur one another on toward love and good deeds” (10:23-24). While this command is given in the context of a congregation (v. 25), by applying it to their friendship, Gregory and Basil showed how friends can encourage each other to grow and avoid any “bitter root,” such as rivalry that might grow between them (12:15).
What if we made faith, hope, and good deeds the ambition of our own friendships, then encouraged our friends to become more successful in this goal than ourselves individually? The Holy Spirit is ready to help us do both.
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