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The Navigators – Jerry Bridges – Holiness Day by Day Devotional – Going Our Own Way

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Today’s Scripture: 1 Peter 2:25

“You were straying like sheep.”

One of the most damning indictments of mankind is found in Isaiah 53:6: “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way” (NIV). Going our own way is the very essence, the very core, of sin. Your way may be to give money to charity; another person’s way may be to rob a bank. But neither is done with reference to God; both of you have gone your own way. And in a world governed by a sovereign Creator, that is rebellion.

When a particular territory rebels against a nation’s central government, the citizens of that territory may be generally decent individuals. But all their goodness is irrelevant to the central government, to whom there’s only one issue: the state of rebellion. Sometimes governments are so corrupt, we may applaud a rebellious territory. But God’s government is perfect and just. His moral law is “holy, righteous and good” (Romans 7:12, NIV). No one has a valid reason to rebel against his government. We rebel for only one reason: We were born rebellious, with a perverse inclination to go our own way, to set up our own internal government rather than submit to God.

It’s not that some become sinful because of an unfortunate childhood environment while others are blessed with a highly moral upbringing. Rather we’re all born sinners with a corrupt nature, a natural inclination to go our own way. As David wrote, “I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me” (Psalm 51:5). David acknowledges he was sinful while still in his mother’s womb, even during the period of pregnancy when as yet he had performed no actions, either good or bad. (Excerpt taken from Transforming Grace)

 

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The Navigators – Leroy Eims – Daily Discipleship Devotional – Called-Out Ones

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Today’s Scripture: Exodus 19:1-6

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. – Acts 2:42

Shortly after I became a Christian, I heard a famous preacher speak on “churchianity.” He said, “Don’t confuse churchianity with Christianity. They are not the same. Churchianity will not save you, because the church can’t save. Only Christ can save. And Christianity is Christ.”

Of course, I knew what he was saying. All the same, I grew a bit suspicious of the value of the church and the place of the church in daily life. After that night the church intrigued me, and I wanted to find its proper place in my Christian life.

If the church can’t save, what can it do? Is it just a place to go once a week and see our friends and enjoy fellowship with them? Oh sure, we learn more of the Bible each week through the Sunday school class and from the pulpit, but we could do that at home in personal Bible study.

In the Old Testament the people of God were called out from among the nations to be a holy people. In the New Testament you have the same idea. Christians are said to be “called-out ones.” God calls us out of darkness into His marvelous light. We no longer belong to ourselves; Christ has bought us to be His own special people, to live under His authority and enjoy His unmerited love. And we are more effective for Him when we are united.

The Bible teaches that the church is made up of every believer in Jesus Christ–anywhere in the world and throughout time. That means the congregations you and I meet with each week are members of God’s unique family. Although we may not look like it, Christ calls us His beloved bride. Friend, that’s identity!

Prayer

Lord, thank You for the privilege of being a member of Your family. Amen.

To Ponder

God said, “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together…” (Hebrews 10:25, KJV).

 

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The Navigators – Jerry Bridges – Holiness Day by Day Devotional – Saint or Sinner?

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Today’s Scripture: Philippians 1:1

“To all the saints in Christ Jesus .”

As Christians, should we view ourselves as saints or sinners? My answer is both. Paul often referred to believers as saints (Ephesians 1:1; Philippians 1:1), and we really are—not only in our standing before God but in our essential persons as well. We really are new creations in Christ. A fundamental change has occurred in the depths of our being. The Holy Spirit has come to dwell within us, and we’ve been freed from sin’s dominion. But despite this we still sin every day, many times a day. And in that sense we’re sinners.

We should always view ourselves both in terms of what we are in Christ (saints) and what we are in ourselves (sinners). To help us understand this twofold view of ourselves, consider Jesus as an analogy. In his own person he was sinless, but as our representative he assumed our guilt. However, he never had any of the personal feelings associated with guilt. He was fully conscious of his own sinless-ness even when bearing our sins and the curse of our sins in our place.

Just as Christ could maintain a separate sense of his personal sinless-ness and his official bearing of our sin, so we must distinguish between the righteousness we have in him and the sinfulness we see in ourselves. We should always rejoice in the righteousness we have in Christ and never cease to feel deeply our own sinfulness and consequent unworthiness.

If we refuse to identify ourselves as sinners as well as saints, we risk the danger of deceiving ourselves about our sin and becoming self-righteous. Our hearts are deceitful (Jeremiah 17:9), and we all have moral “blind spots.” We have a difficult enough time seeing our sin without someone insisting that we no longer consider ourselves as “sinners.”

 

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The Navigators – Leroy Eims – Daily Discipleship Devotional – The Creation of Man

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Today’s Scripture: Genesis 1:26-31

For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. – Colossians 1:16

Why does the theory of evolution get such a grip on people? I believe it’s because all people realize that if there is a God, and He made us and gave us life, we are accountable to Him for our actions.

If He has revealed His will to us; if He has given us the Ten Commandments; if He has given us the prophets and apostles, and even His only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to teach us what is right and wrong; and if we don’t want to live the way He teaches and believe what He teaches, the simplest thing to do is deny that any of it is true. There is no God, the Bible is a bunch of fairy tales, and we owe our existence to a theory that tells us somehow, somewhere, at some time there came into existence a living cell, and from this cell man evolved by a process of natural selection.

In contrast to this theory, we have the record of the Bible, which tells us that man is a created being. Genesis 1:27 simply and eloquently says, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” You would think man would be honored by such a statement. A college founded by Thomas Jefferson would be a mark of prestige. A house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright is a mark of honor. But somehow man would rather have crawled out of the slime onto the muddy bank and eventually up into the trees with the monkeys.

Scripture is clear. We owe our life to God. And may our lives be lived in such a way as to please Him.

Prayer

Lord, Master Potter, Your mark is indelibly fixed in the clay that is me, and I rejoice in being created by You. Amen.

To Ponder

It is an awesome thing to contemplate being part of the family of God and to say by the Spirit, “Abba Father.”

 

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The Navigators – Jerry Bridges – Holiness Day by Day Devotional – A Biblical View of Grace

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Today’s Scripture: 2 Corinthians 6:1

“We appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain.”

I once heard a definition of grace as God’s making up the difference between the requirements of his righteous law and what we lack in meeting those requirements. No one is good enough to earn salvation by himself, this definition said, so God’s grace simply makes up what we lack. Some receive more grace than others, but all receive whatever they need to obtain salvation. No one ever need be lost because whatever grace he needs is his for the taking.

This definition of grace sounds very generous of God, doesn’t it, making up whatever we lack? The problem with this definition, though, is that it isn’t true. It represents a grave misunderstanding of the grace of God and a very inadequate view of our plight as sinners before a holy God. We need to be sure we have a biblical view of grace, for grace is at the very heart of the Gospel. It is certainly not necessary for someone to understand all the theology of grace to be saved, but if a person has a false notion of grace, it probably means he or she does not really understand the Gospel.

For living by grace, we need to be sure we first understand saving grace. It would be a fatal injustice if I allowed you to believe that all the wonderful provisions of God’s grace are yours apart from salvation through Jesus Christ.

Grace is always the same, whether God exercises it in saving us or in dealing with us as believers. In whatever way the Bible defines saving grace, that same definition applies in the arena of living the Christian life day by day. (Excerpt taken from Transforming Grace)

 

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The Navigators – Leroy Eims – Daily Discipleship Devotional – Thanks Be to God

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Today’s Scripture: 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. – 1 Corinthians 15:57

We all have an Achilles’ heel–a weakness that’s difficult to overcome. I remember when I first started an exercise program years ago. For an ex-Marine, you’d think exercise would come naturally, but there were numerous times I had trouble getting down to the gym. And even after I got there it was tough. After all, it was a workout.

In the Bible there are certain teachings that aren’t easy to obey. And different teachings are difficult for different people. For some, witnessing is a scary thing. Getting up early for a devotional time with the Lord can be difficult. My difficulty can be summed up in one short statement by the apostle Paul: “Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:18). Friend, it’s hard for me to give thanks in every circumstance.

I remember flying home one Saturday night. I was preparing a Sunday school lesson on the subject of thanksgiving. I had the tray down and was using it as a desk. I was deep in thought when the guy in front of me suddenly reclined his seat. The tray was now hugging my chest, and I sat looking at the top of the guy’s head. I began to mutter and then dropped my pen. Now I really began to fume, under my breath, of course. Then it dawned on me. I was preparing to teach others about giving thanks in every situation, and I sat fretting over a pen. I began to laugh, confessed my bad attitude to God, and finished the lesson.

Sound familiar? I thought so. It’s one of those tough teachings of Scripture, but it can be a reality if we walk daily as disciples.

Prayer

Lord, You are so good to me, giving me the power to do those things befitting Your children. Amen.

To Ponder

God delights in giving me His strength to overcome my weaknesses.

 

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The Navigators – Jerry Bridges – Holiness Day by Day Devotional – Keep Your Eye on the Goal

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Today’s Scripture: Philippians 3:14

“I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

All of us face the pressure of more to do than we have time for. So we have to set priorities. We have to determine what’s most important in our lives. We have to ask, “do I really want to grow spiritually?”

Get your goal clearly in mind and keep focused on that. Paul used the analogy of the competitive races of his day to challenge the Corinthians to pay the price of growth: “do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air” (1 Corinthians 9:24-26).

In our case, we have an advantage over those Grecian runners. In a given race, only one received the prize, and it was only a wreath that would soon fade. But we’re not in competition with anyone. We can all get the prize, and it will last forever.

What is your spiritual goal? Do you really want to get the prize? Do you want to grow to be the man or woman God wants you to be? Do you want to pay the price of the spiritual disciplines you need to practice in order to grow? Or will you be content to sort of muddle through your Christian life and, at the end, have to sum it all up as no more meaningful than a trip to the corner store for a loaf of bread?

The choice is yours. What will it be?

 

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The Navigators – Leroy Eims – Daily Discipleship Devotional – Help for the Hurting

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Today’s Scripture: Job 15-17

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. – James 5:16

When we hear about someone who has been brought low, either through his own sin or through no fault of his own, do we weep over it? Or are we quick to condemn–quick to pass on gossip? It’s easy to snicker and to take on a holier-than-thou attitude. But it’s more profitable to pray.

In today’s passage, we find Job’s friends doing everything but comforting him. They try to expose some hidden transgression. They cast doubt on the integrity of his family. They bring his honesty into question and imply that he obtained his wealth by dishonest means.

Finally, Job cries out, “My friends scorn me, but mine eye poureth out tears unto God. Oh, that one might plead for a man with God, as a man pleadeth for his neighbor!” (16:20-21, KJV). That’s the need. Rather than punishing people with words that are as sharp as knives, we need to pray for them with words that are directed by the spirit of truth. It is through prayer that we can help hurting people focus their eyes on Christ.

The Bible challenges us to run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. And during the painful process, the Bible tells us to “consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart” (Hebrews 12:3). Is there a person you know who is suffering right now? Will you take a few minutes and pray for that individual?

Prayer

Lord, just as You have showed mercy to me, give me a heart of compassion for the frailty of others and a passion to pray for them. Amen.

To Ponder

It is through prayer that we can help hurting people focus their eyes on Christ.

 

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The Navigators – Jerry Bridges – Holiness Day by Day Devotional – No Place to Hide

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Today’s Scripture: Psalm 51:5

“I was brought forth in iniquity.”

Our fallen sinful nature affects and pollutes everything we do. Our very best deeds are stained with sin. Even our acts of obedience fall so far short of perfection, defiled as they are by remaining sin, that they are but as “filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6, NIV) when compared with the righteousness God’s law requires.

If we limit our attention to single sins to the neglect of our sinful nature, we’ll never discover how deeply infected with sin we really are. When David prayed his memorable prayer of Psalm 51, after he’d committed adultery with Bathsheba and had her husband murdered, he traced his heinous actions back to their original cause—his sinful nature acquired in his mother’s womb.

You might be thinking, “Why devote so much attention to sin? It just makes me feel guilty.” My reason is to cause us all to realize we have no place to hide. Only against the dark backdrop of our sinfulness can we see the glory of the cross shining forth in all its brilliance and splendor.

We often resort to euphemisms to mitigate the severity of our sins. I sat with some friends across the table from a Christian leader who said, “I’ve had an affair.” Of course we all knew what he meant, but I later wished I’d had the presence of mind to respond, “Bob, look me in the eye and say, I’ve committed adultery.’” We need to call sin what the Bible calls it and not soften it with expressions borrowed from our culture.

Furthermore, even a deep, penetrating sense of our sinfulness does not do justice to the reality of our predicament. Our situation was so desperate that only the death of God’s own Son on a cruel and shameful cross was sufficient to resolve the problem. (Excerpt taken from The Gospel for Real Life)

 

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The Navigators – Leroy Eims – Daily Discipleship Devotional – Come As You Are

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Today’s Scripture: Esther 3-4

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” – Matthew 11:28-29

Today’s passage in Esther is a study in contrasts. And it all centers around a contrast in kingdoms. The Scriptures go to great lengths to describe the riches of the king’s palace at Shushan. There were hangings of white, green, and blue fastened to silver rings with cords of fine linen and purple. The beds were of gold and silver on a pavement of red, blue, white, and black marble. It must have been something! But one day, every child of God will see something that will make the palace at Shushan look like a doghouse. We have no concept of what the glories of heaven will be like except that they will be beyond our wildest imaginings.

The second contrast emerges when Mordecai challenged Queen Esther to approach the king. Everyone knew the dangers involved. If she came to the inner court without being called by the king, she could be put to death if the king did not hold out his golden scepter.

What a contrast to the King of kings, whose word is, “Call unto me and I will answer thee.” What a contrast to the urging of Scripture to come boldly to the throne of God, where we can find mercy and grace.

We can see it in the life of Jesus as well. He was the most inclusive person who ever lived. He welcomed people others turned away–little children, lepers, tax collectors, sinners, anyone who came to Him in simple faith and need. And today, without special invitation, the Lord of glory is waiting to reveal more and more of Himself to you and me in His Word.

Prayer

Lord, I am awed that Jesus died for me so that I could be Your child and have access before Your throne. Amen.

To Ponder

God wants us to come into His throne room unbidden, to “interrupt” Him with our prayers.

 

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The Navigators – Jerry Bridges – Holiness Day by Day Devotional – Our Highest Moment

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Today’s Scripture: Galatians 6:14

“Far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Mutua Mahiaini, leader of The Navigators ministry in Kenya, addressed eloquently the issue of performance versus God’s grace:

“In talking with many believers, I get the impression that most of us consider the on-going repentance of the saved as a not-so-glorious experience. A sort of sad necessity.

Sin grieves God. We must not down-play the seriousness of it in the life of a believer. But we must come to terms with the fact that God’s grace is greater than all our sins. Repentance is one of the Christian’s highest privileges. A repentant Christian focuses on God’s mercy and God’s grace. Any moment in our lives when we bask in God’s mercy and grace is our highest moment. Higher than when we feel smug in our decent performance and cannot think of anything we need to confess.

Whenever we fail—and fail we will—the Spirit of God will work on us and bring us to the foot of the cross where Jesus carried our failures. That is potentially a glorious moment. For we could at that moment accept God’s abundant mercy and grace and go forth with nothing to boast of except Christ himself, or else we struggle with our shame, focusing on that as well as our track record. one who draws on God’s mercy and grace is quick to repent, but also slow to sin.”

Are you and I willing to live like Mutua and the apostle Paul? Are we willing to rely on God’s grace and mercy alone instead of our performance, to boast in nothing except the cross? If so, we can bask every day in the grace of God. And in the joy and confidence of that grace we can vigorously pursue holiness.

 

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The Navigators – Leroy Eims – Daily Discipleship Devotional – Life Choices

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Today’s Scripture: 2 Chronicles 21-25

Do two walk together unless they have agreed to do so? -Amos 3:3

In today’s Scripture passage, we watch an entire nation take a dramatic turn for the worse. This downward spiral is directly related to the marriage of the new king, Jehoram. While his father and grandfather had been godly men, 2 Chronicles 21:6 tells us that Jehoram “walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had done, for he married a daughter of Ahab. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord.”

The Scriptures tie Jehoram’s marriage and his conduct together. The lesson is clear: The choice of a marriage partner has far-reaching effects. If you’re a young person feeling the tug of the Holy Spirit upon your life to serve the Lord, your marriage partner will either double your effectiveness for Christ or kill it. There is no in-between.

I heard of a young man whose wife is an encouragement and challenge to him. One of his unmarried friends asked him, “Where did you find a girl like that?” His answer was amazing. He said, “I asked God for a wife like that. Every day since junior high school I’ve prayed for God’s perfect choice for me. And God has answered my prayers.”

According to one recent book on marriage, the statistical improbability of a person finding the right mate is astonishing. The author based his mathematical calculations on six desirable qualities, including physical attractiveness, intelligence, and concern for others. He concluded that a person would have to meet more than fifteen thousand people before encountering one with all of the above requirements. If you consider other criteria like religion and age, the chances become even less optimistic. But we’re dealing with the faithfulness of God, not the chances of finding the right person.

Prayer

Lord, I desire Your will for my life. Keep me in the palm of Your hand. Amen.

To Ponder

Are you asking God for His direction for your life?

 

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The Navigators – Jerry Bridges – Holiness Day by Day Devotional – At the King’s Table

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Today’s Scripture: 2 Samuel 9:7

“You shall eat at my table always.”

There’s a beautiful story in the life of King David illustrating God’s grace to us through Christ. Mephibosheth was the son of David’s bosom friend, Jonathan, son of Saul. He’d been crippled in both feet at age five. After David was established as king over all Israel, he desired to show kindness to anyone remaining of Saul’s family, “for Jonathan’s sake.” So Mephibosheth—crippled and destitute, unable to care for himself and living in someone else’s house—was brought into David’s house and “ate at David’s table like one of the king’s sons” (2 Samuel 9:11, NIV).

Why was Mephibosheth treated this way? It was for Jonathan’s sake. We might say Jonathan’s loyal friendship with David “earned” Mephibosheth’s seat at David’s table. Mephibosheth, in his crippled and destitute condition, unable to improve his lot and wholly dependent on the benevolence of others, is an illustration of you and me, crippled by sin and unable to help ourselves. David, in his graciousness, illustrates God the Father, and Jonathan illustrates Christ.

Just as Mephibosheth was elevated to a place at the king’s table for Jonathan’s sake, so you and I are elevated to the status of God’s children for Christ’s sake. And just as being seated at the king’s table involved not only daily food but other privileges as well, so God’s salvation for Christ’s sake carries with it all the provisions we need, not only for eternity but for this life as well.

This account both begins and ends with the statement that Mephibosheth was crippled in both feet (verses 3,13). Mephibosheth never got over his crippled condition. He never got to the place where he could leave the king’s table and make it on his own. And neither do we. (Excerpt taken from Transforming Grace)

 

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The Navigators – Leroy Eims – Daily Discipleship Devotional – Just Like You

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Today’s Scripture: 1 Kings 17-19

Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly… – James 5:17

If a person is going to accomplish anything in life, he’s going to have to take action. And that’s what I see in the life of Elijah the prophet, as we meet him in 1 Kings 17-19. At that time, Israel’s sin was right out in the open, parading itself in the streets in defiance of the Word of God. And into this mess the Lord sent Elijah.

The book of James tells us Elijah was a man just like us, a man subject to like passions as we are. So often we think the people God uses are somehow different. They must have some special ability to resist temptation and stand up for what’s right. But Elijah was a person with all the same emotions and struggles we have. He was also a man of action; he had a fiery spirit. He wasn’t content to sit in his chamber and write memos to King Ahab. Elijah was right out there on the firing line, confronting the worst aspects of his world with the Word and the power of God.

Perhaps most important, Elijah was a man of prayer. His communion with God kept rain from the land for three-and-a-half years, then brought it back. His prayer called the fire of God down from heaven in a confrontation with the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel. He wasn’t just a loud, angry voice condemning the sins of the nation. He was a humble servant of God, on his knees, pleading with the Lord to work miracles so that his people might come to repentance.

That’s exactly the kind of person God is looking for today–an ordinary person facing the same problems as everyone else, but a person of action and prayer.

Prayer

Lord, make my life count for You in the things I say and do. Amen.

To Ponder

God’s power is perfected in our weakness.

 

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The Navigators – Jerry Bridges – Holiness Day by Day Devotional – Two Standards

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Today’s Scripture: Matthew 22:40

“On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

Have you thought about what it means to “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37, NIV)?

Here are a few obvious aspects: you seek fellowship with him and long to gaze upon his beauty (Psalm 27:4). You rejoice in meditating on his Word and rise early to pray (Psalm 119:97; Mark 1:35). You always delight to do his will (Psalm 40:8). A regard for his glory governs and motivates everything you do (1 Corinthians 10:31)—eating and drinking, working and playing, buying and selling, reading and speaking, even driving. You’re never discouraged or frustrated by adverse circumstances because you’re confident God is working all things together for your good (Romans 8:28). You’re always content because you know he’ll never leave you or forsake you (Hebrews 13:5).

Or look at what Jesus called the “second” commandment: “love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39, NIV). Among other things, this would mean that you never show selfishness, irritability, peevishness, or indifference in your dealings with others. You take a genuine interest in their welfare and seek to promote their interests, honor, and well-being. You never regard them with prideful superiority or talk about their failings. You never resent any wrongs they do to you, but instead are always ready to forgive. You always treat them as you would have them treat you.

Do you begin to grasp some of the implications of what it means to obey these two commandments? Most of us don’t even think about them in the course of a day, let alone aspire to obey them. Instead we content ourselves with avoiding major outward sins and performing accepted Christian duties. (Excerpt taken from The Gospel for Real Life)

 

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The Navigators – Leroy Eims – Daily Discipleship Devotional – Bringing up the Future

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Today’s Scripture: Deuteronomy 3:21-28

And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others. – 2 Timothy 2:2

Do you know many people who are living with the next generation in mind? Probably not. Most of us have more than we can handle today without worrying about those who come after us.

It would seem that Moses could have been caught in the same trap with all he had to do, but he wasn’t. For years, he had been investing his life in a young man named Joshua. After Moses knew that he would not enter the Promised Land, and new leadership would be needed, we find him on his knees before God, asking God to make it clear who should take his place.

When Moses prayed, God pointed to Joshua as the new leader of the people. Joshua had already proven himself a man of courage in his battle with Amalek; he was a man of humility, having spent many years as Moses’ servant; and he was a man of faith, one of two men who had brought back a good report from spying out the Promised Land. Joshua was described as a man “in whom is the spirit.”

It has been said that “success without a successor is failure.” In the midst of your present Christian endeavors, are you training someone to continue that ministry? That’s what parenting is all about. And by the way, our children are one of our greatest opportunities for developing disciples of Christ for future years.

You and I have a great responsibility to pray for the succeeding generations of leaders for the work of Christ, that His work might flourish and advance long after we are in our graves. It all depends on which generation you’re living for.

Prayer

Lord, I pray for the young people in our Sunday school classes and youth programs. May we teach, nurture, and love them into leadership positions for Your kingdom. Amen.

To Ponder

Who is the next-generation person you could invest your life in?

 

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The Navigators – Jerry Bridges – Holiness Day by Day Devotional – Conduct and Character

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Today’s Scripture: Hebrews 5:14

“The mature . . . have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.”

The relationship between conduct and character is an intimate one. In the form of repeated actions over time, conduct produces character. That’s the teaching of 2 Peter 2:14 and Romans 6:19. But it’s also true that character determines actions. What we do, we become; what we are, we do.

Conduct is always feeding character, but character is also always feeding conduct. Paul’s experience while shipwrecked on the island of Malta furnishes a good example of this relationship. The islanders built the refugees a fire because of the rain and cold. Luke related in Acts 28 that Paul gathered a pile of brushwood, and, as he put it on the fire, a snake came out of the brushwood and fastened itself on Paul’s hand. Under the adverse circumstances of shipwreck, why would Paul have gone about gathering fuel for a fire built and tended by someone else? Why not just stand by the fire and warm himself? Because it was his character to serve (Acts 20:33-35; 1 Thessalonians 2:7-9). He’d learned well the lesson Jesus taught when he washed his disciples’ feet. Because it was Paul’s character to serve, he gathered the brushwood instinctively.

Because conduct determines character, and character determines conduct, it’s vitally important —extremely necessary —that we practice godliness every day. That’s why Peter said, “Make every effort to supplement your faith with . . . godliness” (2 Peter 1:5-6). There can be no letup in our pursuit of godly character. Every day that we’re not practicing godliness we’re being conformed to the world of ungodliness around us. Granted, our practice of godliness is imperfect and falls far short of the biblical standard. Nevertheless, let us press on to know Christ and to be like him. (Excerpt taken from The Fruitful Life)

 

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The Navigators – Leroy Eims – Daily Discipleship Devotional – Every Day with God

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Today’s Scripture: Exodus 25-27

My heart is steadfast, O God; I will sing and make music with all my soul. – Psalm 108:1

Today’s passage in Exodus, describing the tabernacle and the Holy of Holies, is a reminder of all that God has done to make it possible for us to have fellowship with Him. In the tabernacle, the veil separated the holy place from the most holy place. And into that Holy of Holies went the high priest once a year. This veil was the very one that was torn from top to bottom when Jesus Christ died on the cross, indicating that the way now was open for the likes of you and me to enter into that close, intimate communion with God that for centuries was reserved for the high priest alone. It took the death of the Son of God to make that intimate fellowship possible.

Another special feature in the temple was a courtyard enclosed with hangings of the finest linens. The court was fifty yards long and twenty-five yards wide. This was the court David longed for and into which the people of God entered with praise and thanksgiving. The court could only hold a few worshipers. But thanks be to God, in the New Testament times the enclosure was taken down, and today there is room for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord Jesus.

Tomorrow, when your alarm goes off, remember that Jesus Christ died to make it possible for you to come directly into the presence of the Lord, a privilege that once was reserved for a special few. Thank God that today there is room for every heart that longs to enter the place of prayer.

Prayer

Lord, thank You for that most precious of privileges–the priesthood of the believer, that gives me perpetual access to Your holy presence. Amen.

To Ponder

Many Christians are missing out on one of their greatest privileges as children of God–a daily quiet time with their heavenly Father.

 

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The Navigators – Jerry Bridges – Holiness Day by Day Devotional – Never Directly

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Today’s Scripture: Hebrews 10:19

“We have confidence to enter the holy places by the bloo

d of Jesus. ”

Pharisee-type believers unconsciously think they’ve earned God’s blessing through their behavior. Guilt-laden believers are sure they’ve forfeited God’s blessing through disobedience or lack of discipline. Both have forgotten the meaning of grace—God’s unmerited favor to those who deserve only his wrath.

Most of us probably entertain either of these attitudes on different days. On a good day (as we perceive it), we tend toward self-righteous pharisaism. On a not-so-good day, we allow ourselves to wallow in a sense of failure and guilt. Either way we’ve moved away from the Gospel of God’s grace, trying to relate to God directly on the basis of our performance rather than through Christ.

God never intended that we relate to him directly. Our own performance is never good enough to be acceptable. The only way we can relate to him is through the blood and righteousness of Jesus Christ. Only the blood of Jesus will cleanse us from a guilty conscience and give us confidence to enter into God’s presence (Hebrews 10:19-21).

The Gospel, applied every day to our hearts, frees us to be brutally honest with ourselves and with God. The assurance of his total forgiveness through Christ’s blood means we don’t have to play defensive games anymore. We don’t have to rationalize and excuse our sins. We can say we told a lie instead of saying we exaggerated a bit. We can admit an unforgiving spirit instead of continuing to blame others for our emotional distress. We can call sin exactly what it is, however ugly and shameful it may be, because we know Jesus bore that sin in his body on the cross. We have no reason to hide from our sins anymore.

 

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The Navigators – Leroy Eims – Daily Discipleship Devotional – God’s Care for His Children

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Today’s Scripture: Exodus 16-18

And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. – Philippians 4:19

When the Israelites’ supplies ran out, they accused Moses and Aaron of leading them out in the wilderness to kill them. Their complaint was really against God, for He was the one who had brought them forth out of the land of Egypt.

Now, you’d think they would quickly learn the lesson of the bountiful provision of God! But here they are, putting on a repeat performance and forgetting the long chain of miracles whereby God had delivered them, served them, and fed them. God didn’t forget His people, and once again He met their needs.

In addition to God’s provision of food and water, He sent them a management consultant in the person of Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law. Jethro watched Moses in action and saw that he was overworked and needed to delegate some responsibilities. He gave Moses some sound advice: “You must be the people’s representative before God and bring their disputes to him” (Exodus 18:19). Then he said, “Teach them the decrees and laws, and show them the way to live and the duties they are to perform.” He had to teach them the Word of God and then lead by example.

So in these three chapters, we see the God who provided food to eat, water to drink, and leadership to help meet their spiritual needs.

What is the greatest need in your life today? Maybe you need more money to meet the obligations of life. Or maybe you need a companion, friend, or advisor to help you through a time of aching loneliness or critical decision making. Whatever your need, let me encourage you to depend on God to meet it.

Prayer

Lord, I trust You to meet all my needs. Amen.

To Ponder

God doesn’t deal with us as we deserve. God is love.

 

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