Today’s Scripture: Matthew 11:29

“Learn from me, for I am gentle.”

A profile of gentleness as it should appear in our lives will first include actively seeking to make others feel at ease, or “restful,” in our presence. We should not be so strongly opinionated or dogmatic that others are afraid to express their opinions in our presence. Instead, we should be sensitive to others’ opinions and ideas. We should also avoid displaying our commitment to Christian discipleship in such a way as to make others feel guilty, taking care not to break the bruised reed of the hurting Christian or snuff out the smoldering wick of the immature Christian.

Second, gentleness will demonstrate respect for the personal dignity of the other person. Where necessary, it will seek to change a wrong opinion or attitude by persuasion and kindness, not by domination or intimidation. It will studiously avoid coercion by threatening, either directly or indirectly (as Paul, for example, avoided it in his appeal to the Corinthians).

Continue reading The Navigators – Jerry Bridges – Holiness Day by Day Devotional – Treating Others Gently →

Today’s Scripture: 2 Peter 3:18

“But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

The term growing in grace is most often used to indicate growth in Christian character. While I think that usage has merit, a more accurate meaning is to continually grow in our understanding of God’s grace, especially as it applies to us personally, to become progressively more aware of our own continued spiritual bankruptcy and the unmerited, unearned, and undeserved favor of God. May we all grow in grace in this sense.

As we grow in grace this way, we will grow in our motivation to obey God out of a sense of gratitude and reverence to him. Our obedience will always be imperfect in performance in this life. We will never perfectly obey him until we are made perfect by him. In the same way, our motives will never be consistently pure; there will frequently be some “merit points” mentality mixed in with our genuine love and reverence for God.

Continue reading The Navigators – Jerry Bridges – Holiness Day by Day Devotional – Growing in Grace →

Today’s Scripture: Daniel 1:8

“Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself.”

In addition to an overall commitment to pursue holiness in every area of life, I find it helpful to make specific commitments in areas where we’re particularly vulnerable to sin. There’s great value in identifying those areas—either in what we do (for example, gossip) or in what we fail to do (such as loving our wives as Christ loved the church)—and then making specific commitments of obedience to God in those areas.

I urge you to list any areas of temptation wherein you need to make this specific commitment. Do you need to make a covenant with your eyes about what you look at (Job 31:1), or with your mouth about what you say, or with your mind about what you think? Is there a particular temptation or sinful practice that arises in your work environment that needs a commitment to fortify you against it? Write these commitments down on paper, for your eyes only, so you can review them and pray over them daily.

Perhaps there’s a particular area in your marriage or in your relationship with your children, your parents, a friend, or an associate at work where you aren’t demonstrating the Spirit’s fruit of love, patience, or kindness. Do you need to make a commitment that, in dependence on the Holy Spirit to enable you, you’ll seek to display that particular “fruit” toward that individual? If so, I urge you to make such a commitment. You may find the need to make several commitments—sins to put off or avoid and Christ-like traits to put on. If you don’t commit yourself to the pursuit of holiness in these specific areas of your life, you’ll find a tendency to vacillate in the face of these temptations.

https://www.navigators.org/Home

Today’s Scripture: Romans 8:15

“You have received the Spirit of adoption as sons.”

Paul told us that God sent his Son “to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons” (Galatians 4:4-5, NIV).

This “full rights of sons” is a reference to the status of sons who have become full-grown young adults. We’ve not only been redeemed from a cell on death row but also brought into God’s family as fully adopted sons, with all the privileges included in that status.

All this is set against the dark background of the curse of the law for any disobedience, which, of course, affects us all. Just as the diamonds on a jeweler’s counter shine more brilliantly when set upon a dark velvet pad, so Christ’s redemptive work shines more brilliantly when contrasted with our sin and the consequent curse that was upon us.

Continue reading The Navigators – Jerry Bridges – Holiness Day by Day Devotional – Our Only Safe Response →

Today’s Scripture: Psalm 19:9

“The fear of the Lord is clean.”

I find myself motivated to obedience by a deep sense of reverence for God. When Joseph was tempted to immorality by Potiphar’s wife, his response was, “how then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” (Genesis 39:9, NIV). He didn’t calculate the possible wrath of Potiphar or the forfeiture of God’s blessing, but was motivated by reverence for God. He obeyed a sovereign, holy God, even though God had allowed him to be sold into slavery by his own brothers.

Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 7:1, “since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God” (NIV). These promises he mentioned were God’s promises to be our Father and to make us his sons and daughters (6:18). Philip Hughes commented on this passage, “The logical consequence of possessing such promises is that Christ’s followers should make a complete break with every form of unhealthy compromise.” Here again, promises come before duty, and duty flows out of a heartfelt response to the promises of God.

Continue reading The Navigators – Jerry Bridges – Holiness Day by Day Devotional – Motivating Reverence →

Today’s Scripture: 1 Peter 2:22

“He committed no sin.”

Christ’s life is meant to be an example of holiness for us. Peter told us that Christ left an example for us to follow in his steps (1 Peter 2:21); he spoke particularly of Christ’s suffering without retaliation, but in the following verse he said also that Christ committed no sin. Paul urged us to be imitators of God (Ephesians 5:1) and also said, “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1, NIV).

Clearly, the sinless, holy life of Jesus Christ is meant to be an example for us. Consider then his statement, “I always do what pleases him.” Do we dare take that as our personal goal in life? Are we truly willing to scrutinize all our activities, all our goals and plans, and all our impulsive actions in light of this statement: “I’m doing this to please God”? If we ask that honestly, we’ll begin to squirm a bit.

Continue reading The Navigators – Jerry Bridges – Holiness Day by Day Devotional – The Holy Example of Christ →

Today’s Scripture: Colossians 1:10

“Walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him.”

We should commit ourselves to doing everything we do, not in the way that might seem to best accomplish our personal objective, but in the way that will be most pleasing to God.

This principle applies to the way a student approaches his or her studies, to the way we do our shopping and buying, to the way we compete in games and athletics, to the way we decorate our houses and keep our lawns, and even to the way we drive.

The city where I live attracts a lot of visitors in the summer, and the road I used to drive to our office is frequently crowded at that time with tourists. Being unfamiliar with the city and sometimes unsure of their directions, tourists often tend to drive more slowly than we locals. It’s easy in such a situation to become impatient with them and to show that impatience in the way we drive. Sometimes, after I’d “whipped around” someone while driving to work, I found myself hoping that person didn’t see me turning into the driveway of a Christian organization.

Continue reading The Navigators – Jerry Bridges – Holiness Day by Day Devotional – In Everything →

Today’s Scripture: Romans 5:21

“Sin reigned in death.”

Think of a man sitting on death row, convicted of heinous crimes. All legal appeals to spare him have been exhausted. His impending execution looms nearer every day.

Suddenly the cell door is flung open. The judge who sentenced this man to die stands there with a full pardon in his hand. Moreover, the judge has now adopted him into his family as his own son, to be taken in and provided with all the love and care the judge lavishes on his own children.

We truly did live on God’s eternal “death row.” “For the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23)—physical and eternal death. As believers we know that we have been delivered from eternal death. That’s not the final word, however, for “we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies” (Romans 8:23). Our redemption and our adoption into God’s family will reach ultimate fulfillment at the resurrection, when we receive our immortal bodies and dwell forever in the immediate presence of the Lord.

Continue reading The Navigators – Jerry Bridges – Holiness Day by Day Devotional – Released and Adopted →

Today’s Scripture: 1 Timothy 2:5-6

“Christ Jesus . . . gave himself as a ransom for all.”

If Christ paid our ransom price, to whom was it paid? Some have thought it was paid to Satan, who holds unbelievers captive, but this cannot possibly be true. If it were, there would be a sense in which Satan was victorious over Christ. If we think of the ransom in terms of money, Satan would be “laughing all the way to the bank.” The better answer is obviously that the ransom was paid to God acting in his capacity as Judge. It was God’s justice that Jesus satisfied, his cup of wrath that Jesus emptied, and his curse that Jesus bore as he paid our ransom price.

Once again, a human analogy of biblical truth ultimately breaks down when pressed to every detail. In human experience a ransom is paid to an adversary—a kidnapper, an opposing army, or a slaveholder. But God both demanded the ransom price and paid it in the death of his Son. In human experience we also recognize a distinction between the ransom price paid and the redeemer who pays it. Jesus, however, was both redeemer and ransom as he laid down his life in our place.

Continue reading The Navigators – Jerry Bridges – Holiness Day by Day Devotional – Who Was Paid? →

Today’s Scripture: 2 Corinthians 8:9

“You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Living under the grace of God instead of under a sense of duty frees us from a self-serving motivation. It frees us to obey God and serve him as a loving and thankful response to him for our salvation and for blessings already guaranteed to us by his grace. Consequently, a heartfelt grasp of God’s grace—far from creating an indifferent or careless attitude in us—will actually provide us the only motivation that is pleasing to him. Only when we’re thoroughly convinced that the Christian life is entirely of grace are we able to serve him out of a grateful and loving heart.

I knew a man who was a strict tither, giving exactly 10 percent of his income to God’s work: never one penny less and, as far as I know, never one penny more. I asked him why he did this. He replied, “I’d be afraid not to.” I knew this man fairly well, and I suspect his motivation was mixed. He did somewhat enjoy giving his 10 percent, but his basic motivation was a fear of the consequences if he did not tithe. He was not motivated to tithe from a joyful and grateful heart.

By contrast, the apostle Paul appealed to Christ’s grace as a motivation to give: “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9). Paul wasn’t “laying a guilt trip” on the Corinthian believers. Rather, he wanted them not only to give generously but to give from a sense of gratitude for God’s grace—as a cheerful, loving response to what God had already given them in Christ.

https://www.navigators.org/Home