Confidence

Mark Batterson post:  Holy Confidence

Self-confidence is two inches deep. I don't care about it. I don't want it. It typically undermines my raw dependence upon God anyway. It's unhealthy. It's unholy. There is a higher, deeper and truer confidence that comes from God. Think of it as God-confidence. And it's the byproduct of two things.

First, God-confidence is a byproduct of humility. The more your humble yourself before God the more favor you expect. It sanctifies your expectations and it builds a holy confidence that God is in control. Humility is the way we stay out of the way of what God is doing. Holy Confidence is confidence that finds it's locus in Christ alone. The confidence for salvation. The confidence of favor. The confidence for miracles. The confidence for grace.

Second, God confidence is the byproduct of authority. We grossly underestimate the authority that is ours by virtue of the fact that we are "in Christ." He has given us "all authority." As long as we are functioning in the will of God, all things are possible. If that doesn't give you confidence nothing will.

Humility + Authority = Holy Confidence. 

Everything from God

The Message that points to Christ on the Cross seems like sheer silliness to those hellbent on destruction, but for those on the way of salvation it makes perfect sense. This is the way God works, and most powerfully as it turns out. It's written,

   I'll turn conventional wisdom on its head,
   I'll expose so-called experts as crackpots.

So where can you find someone truly wise, truly educated, truly intelligent in this day and age? Hasn't God exposed it all as pretentious nonsense? Since the world in all its fancy wisdom never had a clue when it came to knowing God, God in his wisdom took delight in using what the world considered dumb—preaching, of all things!—to bring those who trust him into the way of salvation. 

While Jews clamor for miraculous demonstrations and Greeks go in for philosophical wisdom, we go right on proclaiming Christ, the Crucified. Jews treat this like an anti-miracle—and Greeks pass it off as absurd. But to us who are personally called by God himself—both Jews and Greeks—Christ is God's ultimate miracle and wisdom all wrapped up in one. Human wisdom is so tinny, so impotent, next to the seeming absurdity of God. Human strength can't begin to compete with God's "weakness."


Take a good look, friends, at who you were when you got called into this life. I don't see many of "the brightest and the best" among you, not many influential, not many from high-society families. Isn't it obvious that God deliberately chose men and women that the culture overlooks and exploits and abuses, chose these "nobodies" to expose the hollow pretensions of the "somebodies"? That makes it quite clear that none of you can get by with blowing your own horn before God. Everything that we have—right thinking and right living, a clean slate and a fresh start—comes from God by way of Jesus Christ. That's why we have the saying, "If you're going to blow a horn, blow a trumpet for God." 

1 Corinthians 1:18-31 [The Message]

Peculiar Doctrines and True Affections

Excerpt from Peculiar Doctrines, Public Morals and the Political Welfare by John Piper, Reflections on the Life and Labor of William Wilberforce 2002 Bethlehem Conference for Pastors

...


What made Wilberforce tick was a profound Biblical allegiance to what he called the "peculiar doctrines" of Christianity. These, he said, give rise, in turn, to true affections - what we might call "passion" or "emotions" - for spiritual things, which, in turn, break the power of pride and greed and fear, and then lead to transformed morals which, in turn, lead to the political welfare of the nation. He said, "If . . . a principle of true Religion [i.e., true Christianity] should . . . gain ground, there is no estimating the effects on public morals, and the consequent influence on our political welfare." [1]


But he was no ordinary pragmatist or political utilitarian, even though he was one of the most practical men of his day. He was a doer. One of his biographers said, "He lacked time for half the good works in his mind." [2] James Stephen, who knew him well, remarked, "Factories did not spring up more rapidly in Leeds and Manchester than schemes of benevolence beneath his roof." [3] "No man," Wilberforce wrote, "has a right to be idle." "Where is it," he asked, "that in such a world as this, [that] health, and leisure, and affluence may not find some ignorance to instruct, some wrong to redress, some want to supply, some misery to alleviate?" [4] In other words, he lived to do good - or as Jesus said, to let his light shine before men that they might see his good deeds and give glory to his Father in heaven (Matthew 5:16).

But he was practical with a difference. He believed with all his heart that new affections for God were the key to new morals (or manners, as they were sometimes called) and lasting political reformation. And these new affections and this reformation did not come from mere ethical systems. They came from what he called the "peculiar doctrines" of Christianity. For Wilberforce, practical deeds were born in "peculiar doctrines." By that term he simply meant the central distinguishing doctrines of human depravity, divine judgment, the substitutionary work of Christ on the cross, justification by faith alone, regeneration by the Holy Spirit, and the practical necessity of fruit in a life devoted to good deeds. [5]

...

Progress and Joy in the Faith

... I will ... continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.

 Philippians 1:25-26 [selected]

Sweeten Our Zeal

Ray Ortlund post:  Zeal

“They have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge” (Romans 10:2).

Zeal is good.  It’s the pure heart of God, moving all of history toward final redemption (Isaiah 9:7).  But our zeal is mixed.

Our zeal can be of the Spirit or of the flesh.  We shouldn’t assume, just because we’re considering a virtue (zeal) and not a vice (complacency), that our zeal must be okay.  To quote Jonathan Edwards, “There is nothing that belongs to Christian experience more liable to a corrupt mixture than zeal.”

What was wrong with the zeal of the Jews?  It was “not according to knowledge.”  Verses 3-4 explain that.  The Jews were zealous for their own righteousness.  Paul is saying, “You have to hand it to them.  They’re not complacent.  They’re passionate.  But their zeal doesn’t understand justification by faith alone.”

That helps me.  It gets me asking myself, What’s going on inside my own zeal?  If it’s really about my own righteousness, to show how radical I am, how rigorous I am, how I am not a slacker, then my zeal is self-justification.  It’s of the flesh, by the law.

How does the zeal of the flesh reveal itself?  Because it’s driven by law, it treats people with law.  It does not rejoice over them but finds fault, jumps to conclusions, accuses, is argumentative, doesn’t listen, gloats when a brother is down, and loves to come out on top.  This zeal isn’t for God.  It’s for Self.  And it’s powerful.  It diminishes the future of the church by robbing everyone of beautiful things that might have been.

How does the zeal of the Spirit reveal itself?  In many ways.  But its intensity is never at variance with this: “My yoke is easy” (Matthew 11:30).  We tend to think, “With Jesus, harder = better.”  Not always.  That word “easy” is also translated “kind” in Ephesians 4:32: “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”  True zeal is kind.  It melts in your mouth.  It goes down easy.  Yes, it may have to drive moneychangers from the temple now and then.  But the zeal of Jesus always asks, “In kindness, how can I make this as easy on everyone as possible, even at cost to myself?”

This Holy Week is a good time to sweeten our zeal for God with kindness toward one another.

God Knows

During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God.  And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.  God saw the people of Israel—and God knew.

Exodus 2:23-25

An Offense

Mark Batterson post:  The Point of Offense

Have you ever noticed when Judas betrayed Jesus?

I think the timing is significant. It's right after a woman anoints Jesus with the alabaster flask of ointment. It was worth 300 denarii. That is almost a year's salary! Everyone considered it a waste of money. And I think Judas, as the money keeper, was more offended than anyone else. So offended he was willing to betray Jesus. I think this offense is the final straw. The very next verse says "then" Judas went to the chief priest to betray him.
Judas makes the mistake many of us make: we use some offense as an excuse for our own disobedience. Someone else's offense becomes justification for our own mistakes. Don't go there! Proverbs 19:11 says "it is to our glory of overlook an offense." I think it is "offenses" that make us or break us. Either we use them to justify our mistakes or we overlook them and become more like Jesus.

Judas used the offense to justify the biggest mistake of his life. Jesus overlooked the offense and gave his life to justify us from the biggest mistakes of our lives! Two very different reactions to offense!

The Heart of Jesus' Mission

Excerpts from Ed Stetzer post:  missionSHIFT:  Introducing Jeff Vanderstelt

Jeff Vanderstelt is a pastor and an equipper of church leaders. He served in Youth Ministry for 14 years and as a pastor for over 7 years. Presently, he is one of the pastors of Soma Communities, a multi-expression church and one of the founders and leaders of the GCM Collective. Jeff is married to his wife of 17 years, Jayne, with whom he loves and shepherds their three children in Gospel life and mission.

...


Ed: Obviously, the word "missional" is spoken of, used by, and claimed by many groups. Instead of giving another definition for the word, can you tell the readers an example of where you and your wife are seeking to live missionally?

The best expression of mission for my wife, three children and I is our own neighborhood and our children's elementary school. We have called a group Christians to join us in the mission of making disciples who will make disciples in these two fields. These people have reoriented their lives along with us toward this mission.

This looks like meals together with believers and unbelievers 2-4 times a week; cleaning up the yard of our widowed neighbor next store; serving at the elementary's auctions, community events and after school programs; going through "The Story of God" 1-2 times a year with unbelievers to introduce them to the Gospel; sharing our house for others to live with us and join us on the mission; having an "open door" policy to our neighbors and friends; throwing parties regularly to meet more people who we hope will also come to faith in Jesus; etc... We focus on demonstrating the change the Gospel makes in our lives through tangible expressions of serving and declaring the reason why we live this way by sharing the Gospel.

In this past year, our group grew from 9 to 27, with 6 people coming to faith in Jesus and 5 people trained to lead new MCs. We recently sent out some leaders to start more groups to reach more people. Now my family is leading mostly new believers and unbelievers in living this Gospel-centered, missionally focused life together (all the others were sent out to start new works).

Ed: In terms of missionSHIFT and the Missional Manifesto, what would be a great end-game in your mind for this event and process?

I would love for the church to have a better understanding of the mandate of The Great Commission and better clarity on the term "missional"--that it isn't just a new form of social justice in action, but it is getting back to the heart of Jesus' mission to make disciples who make disciples leading to every member in the Body of Christ being a minister and missionary of the Gospel all day long, all week long, all life long. And, I would hope that we would be able to move from theory and talk to belief and action in very tangible ways so that North America might experience in this century the most pervasive missionary movement of Gospel centered and sent people it's ever experienced.

All Came to Pass

Not one word of all the good promises that the LORD had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass.

Joshua 21:45

He Showed Himself

Jonathan Parnell post:  Worse Than 450 Bleeding Prophets of Baal

And they cried aloud and cut themselves after their custom with swords and lances, until the blood gushed out upon them. And as midday passed, they raved on until the time of the offering of the oblation, but there was no voice. No one answered; no one paid attention. (1 Kings 18:28-29)

Imagine that scene: 450 prophets of Baal, weeping and pleading, wounds all over their bodies with blood gushing out, exhausted and limping around an altar, hoping for Baal to show himself. Could it ever get any more gruesome that this? Imagine it. Could there ever be a scene more horrible than this?
 
Yes.


The only scene more gruesome than a crowd of people limping around an altar, wounded all over their body with blood gushing out , begging to see a god who doesn’t exist is the true God of the universe hanging on a cross, wounded all over his body with blood gushing out, showing his love to a people who don’t care.

The prophets of Baal begged their god,  “Answer us!” “Say something!” “Give some gesture!” “Please, do something!”

And the true God showed his love for us in that while we were sinners, Christ died for us. We didn’t ask him for that. We were sinners who didn’t care anything about God, we worshipped ourselves, we were dead in our sins. And it was precisely then that God showed himself. It was while we were still weak, at the right time, that Christ died for the ungodly. 

Praise him. 

Promptings

Mark Batterson post:  Woolly Socks

Is anything more exciting or more scary than the prompting of the Holy Spirit?

Got to tour the Birmingham Dream Center this afternoon and met one of the staff. Amazing lady! She shared one of the most amazing Holy Spirit prompting stories I've ever heard. One morning she felt like the Holy Spirit was prompting her to take her woolly socks to work. She thought she was losing her mind. She got to the Dream Center and one of the prostitutes that they minister to literally collapsed inside the door. She held her, fed her, and then asked her: if you could have anything what would it be? She said her feet were freezing and all she wanted was a pair of woolly socks. Not only did she give her the woolly socks. They matched her outfit.

Don't tell me God doesn't care about the little things! A sparrow doesn't fall without Him seeing it. Nothing is too big for God. Nothing is too small for God. Praise God.

If you want to live a more adventurous life, obey those Holy Spirit prompting. You'll feel crazy at times. You'll feel foolish at times. But there is nothing like it.

He Will Surely Finish It

Miscellanies post:  A foretaste of the new creation

Sam Allberry in Lifted: Experiencing the Resurrected Life (IVP, 2010), pages 111–112:

“‘Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead’ [1 Pet 1:3]. In the resurrection of Jesus this hope has begun to be realized. Its scope includes not just our bodies, but the whole of this world. Jesus anticipated this in his miracles, both in healing the sick and in putting nature around him right. The one who raised the dead also calmed the storm. These are miracles that point ahead, a foretaste of what the new creation and redeemed humanity will be like. In his teaching, so with the events of his life: we look back to Jesus to look forward to our destiny. In his resurrection we are reborn into a new hope, and it lives and breathes with this unshakable certainty: God began the resurrection project, and he will surely finish it.”

Church Life

Ray Ortlund post:  Your church so matters

“It is church life like this [Philippians 2:16-30] that really conquers the world, as it did the ancient world.  Men and women saw something in the Christian society that they had never seen anywhere else.”

D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, The Life of Joy and Peace (Grand Rapids, 1989), page 225.

On the Hunt for God

Christine Wyrtzen Devotional: PANTING

I open my mouth and pant, because I long for your commandments.  Psalm 119:131

When an animal is chasing something, he pants.  The hunt is all-consuming.  I have no trouble, when describing someone in the animal kingdom, as one who pants.  But in the distinguished world of human beings, to admit to panting seems extreme and inappropriate to admit.  David wasn't so provincial.  His spiritual hunger was edgy.

I look inside this morning and consider the longings of my heart.  Am I alive enough to pant for God?  Is my appetite that consuming?  Am I on the hunt for more experiences of Christ, more revelations of His love, more understanding of His truth?  Is my heart yearning for Him, leaning into Him for life itself?  May it be.

Some days it is so.  Today is one of them.  I feel wonderfully alive, very passionate, wholly in touch with the Christ in my Spirit.  Some days, though,  are dull.  My appetite seems dormant.  Such is the experience of any of us who live in mortal bodies.  A bad night's sleep can numb out feelings, even spiritual ones.  Long term stress can tax my endocrine system, making positive emotional experience inaccessible.  It is all so delicate, isn't it?  I'm glad to say that these are the exception.

Panting should be the norm.  My capacity to enjoy the kingdom should be limitless.  My taste of the things of God should be so exhilarating that I run to Him at fast speed for more of it.  I just can't get enough.  Until I pant as David pants, until my language reflects a languished tone, I am not fully alive.

Trials shake up indifference.  I praise you for the fruits of them.  Amen

Healed and Set Free

LifeToday Weekly Devotional

Escaping the Corruption
by Jeanne Rogers

“His divine power has given us everything we need for life
and godliness through our knowledge of Him who called
us by His own glory and goodness. Through these He has
given us his very great and precious promises, so that through
them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the
corruption in the world caused by evil desires.” (2 Peter 1:3-4)

When Anita finished telling the emotional details of her captivity, we asked if she wanted us to change her name to protect her from human traffickers. She knew the dangers, but didn’t hesitate to expose the system and people who capture and corrupt innocent young lives.

“Use my name,” she insisted. “There are so many women and children in human trafficking who will die of disease without ever hearing about Jesus.”

Anita grew up in a poor farming village in Nepal. When she was 19, a woman befriended her and convinced her parents that their daughter could earn money in India, cooking and cleaning for foreigners in the city. A long train ride carried them to Mumbai, where Anita was immediately taken to a dingy brothel, sold to its owner and locked inside a tiny, windowless room.

Three days later, they ordered her to accompany a man to a private room. Anita was terrified. As an innocent, Nepali girl, she had never been alone with a man. When she resisted, six women beat her and tied her hands and feet. Then a group of men mercilessly raped her. When the abuse ended, they returned her to the small, dark room that became her torture chamber for three years. During that time, she never even saw daylight.

When she realized there was no escape, she became violent. Her captors calmed her with alcohol and she learned to welcome its numbing effect in order to survive. Most of the men frequenting the brothels preferred Nepali girls, so Anita was forced to service an average of 25 men every day. By age 29, Anita had given birth to two children and needed more money to provide for them. The owner helped Anita open her own brothel and she became a madam.

Anita’s girls trusted her. Though she occasionally hit them in anger, she never locked them up. She even told them they could leave if they wanted, but none left. “The girls knew that they were ruined,” she said. “They had to pay money to their owners, so they stayed.”

During the morning hours, a preacher visited the brothels in the red light district. He was the first to tell Anita that Jesus loved her, but she struggled with the idea, asking, “How can someone I do not see love me, when men, that I do see, do not love me?”

Eventually, the girls came to trust the preacher, calling him “Uncle,” and God used this man’s ministry to change their lives. Anita closed her brothel for a few hours every Saturday so her girls could attend Uncle’s church in the red light district. During this time, one of the girls became pregnant and asked Anita for an abortion. “This child belongs to God,” Anita told her. The young girl gave birth, but a few months later discovered that the baby boy was blind. Anita wept, fasted and prayed for God to heal him. She asked Uncle to pray, so he did. As he closed his prayer, the infant reached out and grabbed his finger. Uncle moved his hand. Again, the child grabbed at his finger. His sight was miraculously restored!

Uncle had often urged Anita to leave. As her faith in the Lord grew stronger, she finally gained the courage to walk away with nothing. She made Jesus her Lord and started a new life in the mission’s rescue center. As Anita adjusted to life outside of the sex industry, her greatest challenge was forgiving the woman who deceived her family and sold her into a life of captivity and abuse. During a Bible study, she heard how Jesus forgave and prayed for the men who beat Him and nailed Him to the cross.

“That night,” Anita told me, “I asked Jesus to teach me to forgive as He had done. Luke 6:27-28 told me to love my enemies, do good to people who hate me, bless those who curse me, and pray for those who hurt me. Finally, I was able to pray for the lady who sold me. I blessed her and suddenly the forgiveness came.”

Later, God called her to rescue the women of the red light district. “I knew there were people like me, broken and captive,” she explained. “If God could do so much for me, then I knew it could happen for them.”

The morning after we interviewed Anita, we met 10 other former madams. Now they teach the Bible to the women they once managed. Anita’s team has greatly expanded the ministry Uncle began. It is dangerous, but they are passionate and fearless. God has given them supernatural favor and protection to share their stories of captivity and deliverance.

They led us through filthy streets to a small brothel. Young women who had been forced to work most of the night packed into a tiny room to hear God’s word. Like Anita, they were captured and brought to Mumbai – a foreign place to them where the difference in language and culture added to their isolation. They quickly learned to depend only on each other. At first, the girls seemed uneasy in our presence, but as Anita knelt on the dirt floor and prayed, the atmosphere changed. They wept, and we wept with them as the Holy Spirit filled the room.

Anita’s story is a glimpse into the overall outreach of Rescue LIFE. God continues to work in great power through the sacrificial ministry of these former madams. They could have returned to their villages or started over in new place, but they have chosen to live among the desperation and pain, pointing the way to Jesus Christ. As we support them, we are partnering in this amazing ministry. If ever there was a place of evil desires, as described in 2 Peter, this is it. Yet the divine nature of Christ is being revealed as those whose lives have been transformed by his love reach out to those still trapped, helping them to escape the corruption.

This Week
In what areas of your life has God worked redemption and healing? Share your story with someone else and pray for the Lord to transform him or her as well.

Prayer
“Lord, thank you for your love and mercy. You set me free, healed me and gave me new life.  Help me to share my story in such a way that helps others find you.  Amen.”

Humiliation

Miscellanies post:  Humbled -> Exalted

Bavinck writes a good summary on how the Savior’s humiliation and exaltation are inseparable. In Reformed Dogmatics (3:433-434) he writes that the Reformers believed “the entire state of exaltation from the resurrection to his coming again for judgment is a reward for the work that he accomplished as the Servant of the Lord in the days of his humiliation. And, given the teaching of Scripture, no other answer is possible. For over and over it presents the state of humiliation as the way and the means by which alone Christ can attain his exaltation (Isa. 53:12-13; Matt. 23:12; Luke 24:26; John 10:17; 17:4-5; Phil. 2:9; Heb. 2:10; 12:2). … Because Christ humbled himself so deeply, therefore God has so highly exalted him.”

Feeling Uncomfortable

Mark Batterson post:  Awkward

I think awkwardness is one key to spiritual growth. Are you willing to do things that feel awkward like kneel at an altar or obey a spirit-prompting or have a hard conversation? If you are, then God can use you! Those things involve a degree of awkwardness but they often lead to spiritual breakthroughs. I'm at a place in life and ministry where I crave awkwardness. I want to look awkward. I want to feel awkward.

On Friday I met with a group of students and something came over me as I prayed for them. I'd never even met any of them before but I cried as I prayed. It was a little awkward. But sometimes that is the difference between generic prayers and prophetic prayers. At our Saturday night service, I didn't feel like God was done with us so we went into overtime. I felt like there were things that people needed to submit to the Lordship of Christ. It was a little awkward. But one of our prayer leaders told me that she prayed with someone who gave her life to Christ during that time.

Let's not avoid awkwardness. Let's create it, cultivate it, and celebrate it.

All Things Once Thought

Yes, all the things I once thought were so important are gone from my life. Compared to the high privilege of knowing Christ Jesus as my Master, firsthand, everything I once thought I had going for me is insignificant--dog dung. I've dumped it all in the trash so that I could embrace Christ

Philippians 3:8 [The Message]

Stand Firm .. Be Faithful .. Stay on Track

Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved.  [ESV]

Dear friends, I love you and long to see you. Please keep on being faithful to the Lord. You are my pride and joy.  [CEV]

My dear, dear friends! I love you so much. I do want the very best for you. You make me feel such joy, fill me with such pride. Don't waver. Stay on track, steady in God.  [The Message]

Philippians 4:1

Fanatics

Ray Ortlund post:  Quiet Fanatics

“It is a growing conviction of mine that no parish can fulfill its true function unless there is at the very center of its leadership life a small community of quietly fanatic, changed and truly converted Christians.  The trouble with most parishes is that nobody, including the pastor, is really greatly changed. . . .

We do not want ordinary men.  Ordinary men cannot win the brutally pagan life of a city like New York for Christ.  We want quiet fanatics.”

John Heuss, Our Christian Vocation (Greenwish, 1955), pages 15-16.

Be Joyful - Do Good

I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God’s gift to man.

Ecclesiastes 3:12-13

Challenge

Stay alert, stand firm in the faith, show courage, be strong.

1 Cor 16:13 [NET]

Celebrative Clothing

Miscellanies post:  The Re-Creation

From Herman Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics, 4:720

“Just as the caterpillar becomes a butterfly, as carbon is converted into diamond, as the grain of wheat upon dying in the ground produces other grains of wheat, as all of nature revives in the spring and dresses up in celebrative clothing, as the believing community is formed out of Adam’s fallen race, as the resurrection body is raised from the body that is dead and buried in the earth, so too, by the re-creating power of Christ, the new heaven and the new earth will one day emerge from the fire-purged elements of this world, radiant in enduring glory and forever set free from the ‘bondage to decay.’”

Called

Mark Batterson post:  Saint Patrick

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, here is a little backstory on Saint Patrick himself.

At the age of 16, Saint Patrick was captured by Irish raiders and taken to Ireland where he became a slave to the chieftain of Ulster. One night, after six years of slavery, Saint Patrick heard a voice, "Behold, thy ship is ready." He traveled two hundred miles on foot to a place where he knew no one and had never been. He wrote in his autobiographical account, "After this I took flight, and left the man with whom I had been six years; and I came in the strength of the Lord, who directed my way for good; and I feared nothing till I arrived at the ship. And on that same day on which I arrived, the ship moved out of its place."

Patrick made his way back to Britain, found his family, and could have lived out the rest of his life in relative comfort in the land of freedom. But in 432 AD, he had another vision. He saw a man coming to him from Ireland carrying innumerable letters. "And I read the beginning of the letter containing 'The voice of the Irish.' And while I was reading aloud the beginning of the letters, I myself thought indeed in my mind that I heard the voice of those who were near the wood of Foclut, which is close by the Western Sea. And they cried out thus as if with one voice, "We entreat thee, holy youth, that thou come, and henceforth walk among us." And I was deeply moved in my heart, and could read no further; and so I woke."

Saint Patrick went back to Ireland as a missionary. No outside religion had penetrated Ireland in a thousand years. Saint Patrick founded more than 300 churches and baptized more than 120,000 people. His ministry was so influential that he came to be known as the one who "found Ireland all heathen and left it all Christian."

Come Simply

Christine Wyrtzen Devotional: 

THE WORD AND MY RESPONSE

The unfolding of your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple.  Psalm 119:130

When the Word of God is spoken, the possibility for understanding and then transformation exists.  Whether or not that occurs in the life of a person is dependent on their response to the hearing of the Word.  Understanding what has been spoken depends on the person declaring themselves 'simple'.

"Lord, I do not have any wisdom about my life apart from you.  I am a dark place without the light of your Word.  Teach me."  To this person, the Word comes as a sword and slices an opening in the soul where the shaft of light can penetrate.  When light touches darkness, the darkness is challenged.  And, if the light is then embraced, the darkness will be transformed.  The heart will be washed with the water of the Word and new thinking and feeling will occur.  In a short time, behavior changes.

Take any disciple who has immersed themselves in the Word over a long period of time and they will you that they no longer think like the person who lived a decade ago.  They will, most likely, have a hard time remembering how they were.  This is true of me.  The insecure and fearful woman of my thirties began to discover the life-shaping power of the Word of God and the light of God's love touched my insecurity.  The strength of God's character collided with my fear.  I began the journey of healing and am still discovering the cataclysmic effect of what happens when God's Words unfold inside this simple woman.  Boldness has been the biggest change.

Light can be soft, enveloping me like a warm blanket.  It can also be blinding and convicting.  No matter how it comes, I must not run from it.  Defending myself against the need of it would be my demise.  Running away for fear of change or exposure is my loss!

What Word do I need today?  Comfort, guidance, assurance of something?  My need exists because I'm aware of a dark place that is in desperate want of the Light.  Need takes me to Jesus' feet.  Like Mary, I say "teach me".  The simple student is usually the teacher's favorite.  Whatever the Master says, the student soaks it in like a sponge.

When my heart faints because I have no plan to save myself, I come simply. Let the unfolding of Your Word bring light to my darkness. I live in hope of its instruction and life change.  Amen

Ordinary Events of Life

Miscellanies post:  The Subtle Drama

Wickedness is easier to display in literature than goodness. Evil characters are easier to develop than good characters. So says crime novelist Phyllis Dorothy James, or P. D. James. In an interview with Ken Myers from the 1980s, James said this:

I suppose that wickedness reveals itself often in action. Goodness also does, but is on a quieter plane. Good people often reveal their goodness through the whole of the quiet revelation of their character in the ordinary events of life. And if a good person is being courageous he’s probably being courageous in facing rather ordinary troubles—sick children, a sick wife, an uncongenial job. Wicked people are murdering. It’s more dramatic. Goodness is very seldom dramatic, I think. And it’s much more easy to write about drama.

If evil is more dramatic and more easily communicated in literature it is also more easily read. On the other hand, goodness in literature is difficult to write and is–I think–more difficult to read.

The bold drama in crime fiction is less demanding of the reader. The subtle drama of goodness we read in novels like those by Marilynne Robinson is more demanding. And this is because reading literature for its goodness requires the reader to pick up on the subtle drama.

A Reminder Never Hurts

Regarding life together and getting along with each other, you don't need me to tell you what to do. You're God-taught in these matters. Just love one another! You're already good at it; your friends all over the province of Macedonia are the evidence. Keep it up; get better and better at it. 

Stay calm; mind your own business; do your own job. You've heard all this from us before, but a reminder never hurts. We want you living in a way that will command the respect of outsiders, not lying around sponging off your friends. 

1 Thessalonians 4:9-12 [The Message]

Weekly Gathering

Excerpt from Dan Kimball post:  Fascinating to look at your church from someone else's perspective

...


I recently was reading reviews of churches across America on another web site that a Christian hosts - and the weirdest part to me, is that the church review is always about "Sunday". For Christians as we think of church, we shouldn't be thinking you visit on a Sunday and that is what you then think of the church. That is one meeting of the church. To truly understand a church, you would want to know what the church does all week long. What other meetings and community do they have?  How do the people of the church treat their neighbors? Are they respected in their community? etc. Not just evaluate the Sunday meeting..... But this writer of the blog, states he is an atheist so this wouldn't apply to him - as it is understandable you define church by "Sunday". But I hope as Christians we will think of "church" as all week long and on Sunday is when the larger group may all meet together - but church is not defined by the Sunday meeting.

Anyway - here  is the blog article that he wrote about his visit to our church - complete with good and bad things he observed. I did like that he thought I was young.

 ...

Look Backward

Mark Batterson post:  In the Latter Days

I keep reflecting on this little statement in Jeremiah 30:24: "In the latter days you will understand this."

I realize this has eschatological undertones, but I also think there is a general principle at play. Hindsight is 20/20. Jeremiah prophesies doom and destruction. He prophesies calamity and tragedy. And he knows that it won't make sense until the Israelites come out the other side of their Babylonian exile. I think most of us go through our own babylonian exile. They are seasons when things don't make sense and you can't see your way forward. But the Lord promises to heal the wound and restore their fortunes and rebuild that which was destroyed. But it only makes sense in retrospect.

If you can learn this lesson, it will help you navigate so much uncertainty in your life: some things cannot be understand looking forward. It is only in your latter days, when you look backward from the vantage point of eternity, that they will come into perfect perspective.

You Are

LifeToday Weekly Devotional: Who Am I Really?  by Christine Caine

"What is man that you are mindful of him?" (Psalm 8:4a)

My daughter Catherine knows who she is and has no problem displaying it.

Catherine had just started school at the age of five, and one day she had an argument with another little boy from her class. I think it was over a global issue like who was going to take the teddy bear home that night! At one point in the argument, the little boy grabbed the teddy bear from Catherine’s arms and said to her, “Catherine Bobbie, you are dumb and ugly.” Later that day, Catherine’s teacher relayed the story to me because she was stunned by Catherine’s response to the situation. She watched as Catherine, having just been insulted, put her shoulders back, looked the little boy squarely in the eyes, and confidently asserted, “No I’m not, my daddy says that I am beautiful and smart.” She then proceeded to take the teddy bear back and walk away. I absolutely love this story not only because my daughter ended up with the teddy bear but because Catherine displayed the power in knowing what her daddy says about her, which is exactly what your Father in heaven thinks about you! Empowered by knowing what God’s Word says about you, you can refute the lies of the enemy when they come.

Just like that little boy, the enemy comes to us on a regular basis, not only to try to snatch away the things in life we want, but also to make us believe we don’t even deserve those things. He tells us we are unworthy, unlovable and unable, as he throws insults and doubts at our minds, trying to make us believe we are far less than we really are. But if we can learn to possess the bold, childlike faith of Catherine and simply (and deeply) believe we are who God says we are, and we can only achieve this through the Word of God…and nothing else!

I encourage you to write down the following Bible verses about who you really are in Christ. Take out your post-it notes. Copy these Scriptures, and stick them on every possible surface. Put them on your mirror so you can reflect on them as you’re applying lipstick or brushing your teeth, adhere them to your steering wheel for when you are stuck in traffic. They will remind you of who your Father in heaven is, what family you belong to, and your true identity altering your perspective on who you are.

I am a child of God.
“But as many received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the wil of man, but of God.” (John 1:12-13)

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

I am alive to God and dead to sin.
“Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:11)

I am sanctified.
“For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.” (John 17:19)

I am a new creation.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come.” (2 Corinthians 5:7)

I am a royal son or daughter.
“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” (1 Peter 2:9)

I am reconciled to God.
“That God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation.” (2 Corinthians 5:19)

I am free.
“Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.” (John 8:36)

I am justified.
“Know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.” (Galatians 2:16)

I am chosen.
“For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight.” (Ephesians 1:4)

I am adopted.
“Having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will.” (Ephesians 1:5)

I am accepted.
“To the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.” (Ephesians 1:6)

I am forgiven.
“And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.” (Ephesians 4:32)

I am predestined.
“In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will.” (Ephesians 1:11)

I am raised and seated in heavenly realms.
“Raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 2:6)

I am created for good works.
“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God has prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10)

I am called to eternal glory.
“But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen and settle you.” (1 Peter 5:10)

I am more than a conqueror.
“Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” (Romans 8:37)

I am an overcomer.
“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

I am never forsaken.
“For He [God] Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. [I will] not, [I will] not, [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let [you] down (relax My hold on you)! [Assuredly not!]” (Hebrews 13:5, AMP)

I am the righteousness of God in Christ.
“This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.” (Romans 3:22)

Without truly knowing who we are in Him, we will always struggle, attempting to gain our identity from “having and doing it all,” as opposed to getting our identity from Christ.

This Week
Take a long look who you have thought and felt yourself to be. Is that who God says you are? Adjust your focus so that it’s on who God says you are.

Prayer
“Lord, thank you that I am who you say I am. Please help me to truly find my identity in you, and to display it in my life. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

Adapted from Can I Have and Do It All, Please? by Christine Caine.

He Will Do It

Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.

1 Thessalonians 5:23-24

War: Hold Firm

War broke out in Heaven. Michael and his Angels fought the Dragon. The Dragon and his Angels fought back, but were no match for Michael. They were cleared out of Heaven, not a sign of them left. The great Dragon—ancient Serpent, the one called Devil and Satan, the one who led the whole earth astray—thrown out, and all his Angels thrown out with him, thrown down to earth. Then I heard a strong voice out of Heaven saying,

   Salvation and power are established!
      Kingdom of our God, authority of his Messiah!
   The Accuser of our brothers and sisters thrown out,
      who accused them day and night before God.
   They defeated him through the blood of the Lamb
      and the bold word of their witness.
   They weren't in love with themselves;
      they were willing to die for Christ.
   So rejoice, O Heavens, and all who live there,
      but doom to earth and sea,
   For the Devil's come down on you with both feet;
      he's had a great fall;
   He's wild and raging with anger;
      he hasn't much time and he knows it. 

When the Dragon saw he'd been thrown to earth, he went after the Woman who had given birth to the Man-Child. The Woman was given wings of a great eagle to fly to a place in the desert to be kept in safety and comfort for a time and times and half a time, safe and sound from the Serpent. The Serpent vomited a river of water to swamp and drown her, but earth came to her help, swallowing the water the Dragon spewed from its mouth. Helpless with rage, the Dragon raged at the Woman, then went off to make war with the rest of her children, the children who keep God's commands and hold firm to the witness of Jesus. 


 Revelation 12:7-17 [The Message]

Real Solution

Ray Ortlund post:  Moment by moment

“The Christian life, true spirituality, can never have a mechanical solution.  The real solution is being cast up into moment-by-moment communion, personal communion, with God himself, and letting Christ’s truth flow through me through the agency of the Holy Spirit.”


Francis A. Schaeffer, True Spirituality (Wheaton, 1971), page 88.

Living Subversively

Ed Stetzer post excerpts:  An interview with Trevin Wax:  Holy Subversion 

Trevin Wax, has written a helpful book that's generating a lot of good discussion. I'm happy to have Trevin on the blog today, answering a few questions about his book, Holy Subversion. It's a great book that challenges us all to live a distinctly Christian life, one that is truly subversive. After you read the interview, stick around to talk with Trevin. He'll be hanging around the blog today to interact with us all.
 
What does it mean to live "subversively" for Christ?
To subvert means to put something back in its proper place. As Christians, we are called to live according to the lordship of Jesus Christ.

To live subversively for Jesus means that our lives should undermine the other loyalties vying for primacy. Many times, these other loyalties are not bad in and of themselves. Money, sex, recreation, power, etc... these are all good gifts from God. But we humans have the tendency to take God's good gifts and invest them with ultimate significance. When we begin living for money, sex, recreation, success, etc... these gifts become idols that enslave us and rob God of his glory.

To live subversively for Christ means that we as Christians will identify the prevailing idolatries of our culture and then deliberately subvert those idolatries by the way we live.

 ...

You spend a chapter contrasting a worldly understanding of Success with a biblical understanding of success. How should church leaders redefine "success" according to the Scriptures?
It's sad to see so many people come to church who are still formed by the patterns of this world. And yet, we shouldn't be surprised to see people living according to the world's definition of success in their respective vocations if we as pastors and leaders have adopted the world's definition of success for ourselves as well.

For many pastors, success is equated with numbers. If you're successful, you're growing. Numbers tell the story. Well, numbers may indeed be an indicator of success. But they can be misleading as well. You may have unhealthy churches growing by attracting other church members, not reaching the lost. And you can have unhealthy churches that use a declining number as "proof" of their faithfulness, when actually, they might just be unwilling to make any adjustments.

So numbers tell a story, but they don't determine success. Biblically speaking, faithfulness is success. God calls us to be faithful, to rely on the power of the Holy Spirit, and to trust him for the results. When we do this, we're successful. Regardless of the outcome, we've been obedient.

...

Living in the Body

And now, friends, we ask you to honor those leaders who work so hard for you, who have been given the responsibility of urging and guiding you along in your obedience. Overwhelm them with appreciation and love!

Get along among yourselves, each of you doing your part. Our counsel is that you warn the freeloaders to get a move on. Gently encourage the stragglers, and reach out for the exhausted, pulling them to their feet. Be patient with each person, attentive to individual needs. And be careful that when you get on each other's nerves you don't snap at each other. Look for the best in each other, and always do your best to bring it out.

Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live.

Don't suppress the Spirit, and don't stifle those who have a word from the Master. On the other hand, don't be gullible. Check out everything, and keep only what's good. Throw out anything tainted with evil. 

1 Thessalonians 5:12-22 [The Message]

A Whole Paradise of Delight

Miscellanies post:  Satan's Tactic

From Puritan Thomas Brooks’ book Precious Remedies Against Satan’s Devices:

“The first device that Satan has to keep souls in a sad, doubting, and questioning condition, and so making their life a hell, is by causing them to be still poring and musing upon sin, to mind their sins more than their Savior; yes, so to mind their sins as to forget, yes, to neglect their Savior, that, as the Psalmist speaks, ‘The Lord is not in all their thoughts’ (Psalm 10:4). Their eyes are so fixed upon their disease, that they cannot see the remedy, though it be near; and they do so muse upon their debts, that they have neither mind nor heart to think of their Surety. A Christian should wear Christ in his bosom as a flower of delight, for he is a whole paradise of delight. He who minds not Christ more than his sin, can never be thankful and fruitful as he should.”

Age and Words

Mark Batterson post:  Don't Say It

Jeremiah 1:7 is such a powerful truth: "Don't say I am only a youth."

I love that on lots of levels. First of all, we have to challenge our kids to do great things for God. When it comes to doing something for God, you're never too old and you're never too young! Age is never an excuse. It wasn't an excuse for King Josiah at age 8. It wasn't an excuse for Caleb at age 85.

I also love the fact that God says: "don't say it." When we verbalize negative things I think they become self-fulfilling prophecies. Obviously, there are some things we need to verbalize rather than internalize. It's healthy to talk about frustrations and doubts. It helps us process them. But I think we need the discernment to know when to say: "don't say it." I'm afraid we often solidify negativity by verbalizing it.

May the Lord give us the wisdom to know what not to say!

Spritual Faith

Ray Ortlund post:  What must I do to be saved?

“‘What must I do to be saved?’  Now what is the answer which the cross of Christ gives to this inquiry?  We know the answer which paganism would give; it would point the inquirer to the Ganges and tell him, That is the way to heaven.  We know the answer which Rome would give; it would tell him to repeat his prayers to the virgin. . . . But what is the answer which the cross gives to his inquiry?

It will be said, perhaps, that as the guardian of sound morality, the cross instructs such a man to reform his life and break off his habits of outward sin. . . . But this does not satisfy him.  It does not quiet his fears nor silence the thunders of divine vengeance nor relieve him of his burden nor fill his heart with peace.  His morality is rotten at the core. . . .

It is not a system of outward observances nor anything in which a self-righteous spirit may boast.  It is simply a spiritual faith in Jesus Christ, in distinction from everything else and in opposition to that righteousness which is by the deeds of the law.  There is but this one way. . . . It is to love Jesus Christ and to trust in him.  This is what the cross tells the inquiring sinner to do.  It is as though he who hung upon it said to the inquirer, ‘I must have your cheerful consent to the method of salvation which I have accomplished.  I require the entire surrender of your immortal spirit, polluted and condemned as it is, into my hands, for all that it needs.  No longer go about to establish a righteousness of your own by deeds of the law, but rather feel that you have no righteousness and receive my salvation as it is testified to a dying world.  This do, and you shall live.  You shall have an interest in that great atonement which was made for all your sins, you shall be delivered from the curse of the law by that blood which not only answers every charge and covers every sin but powerfully pleads on behalf of those who from the heart renounce all other helpers and confide in me as their Savior!’”

Gardiner Spring, The Attraction of the Cross (Edinburgh, 1983), pages 117-120, language updated.

His Spirit Within Us

God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.

   Glory to God in the church!
   Glory to God in the Messiah, in Jesus!
   Glory down all the generations!
   Glory through all millennia! Oh, yes! 

Ephesians 3:20-21 [The Message]

Changing Focal Point

Excerpt from God Responds to Suffering & Fear by  Brad Hambrick | Crossroads Counseling

...

When presented with the greatest challenge of his life, Moses asked a very natural question, "Who am I (Exodus 3:11)?"  God could have answered Moses directly, "Moses, you are the only Jew who has access to the throne room of Pharaoh by virtue of being his adopted son and the only Jew who has learned to navigate the desert by being shepherd since the rest have been brick-building slaves.  That is who you are and why I have chosen you."

Instead, God simply said, "I will be with you (Exodus 3:12)."  In effect, God is saying, "Although I have sufficiently equipped you to carry out the task set before you, the task is not primarily about you.  You will not be the one who delivers the people, you will simply be my ambassador to Pharaoh."  God sought to deliver Moses from his insecurities by changing Moses' focal point.  Like us, Moses was not immediately cooperative with this change.

...

Prayer

Mark Batterson post:  The Cure All

It's so hard not to harbor bitterness. It's so hard not to hang on to unforgiveness. It's so hard to offer the same kind of grace that we've received from God. But it is the only cure, the cure all. How do you let go and let God?

I think the formula is found in Job 42:10: "And the Lord restored the fortunes of Job, when he had prayed for his three friends."

Can you imagine how difficult it must have been for Job to forgive his friends. They added injury to insult as Job suffered tragedy after tragedy. He lost his family. He lost his wealth. He lost his health. And then his friends took away his dignity by attacking his integrity. That's all he had left.

I've found that when someone wrongs me I have a tough choice to make. Either I try to get even in some form or fashion. Or I have to begin praying for that person. I honestly believe that prayer is the only antidote to anger, bitterness, and unforgiveness. You can't just forgive. You've got to pray for that person. Why? Because it will change your heart. You'll find that a supernatural love for that person disarms your anger. Forgiveness will set your free. And prayer is the key.

If Job can pray for his fair-weather friends who turned on him in tragedy, then we can certainly love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us.

God's Holiness

Christine Wyrtzen Devotional

PUTTING 'HOLY' IN FRONT OF GOD

My flesh trembles for fear of you, and I am afraid of your judgments.  Psalm 119:120

    In the missionary journal of Henry Martyn, this entry was found.  "In prayer, in the evening I had such new and terrific views of God's judgment upon sinners in Hell, that my flesh trembled for fear of them ... I flew trembling to Jesus Christ as if the flames were taking hold of me! Oh! Christ will indeed save me or else I perish."  Not many writers, not many teachers, not many of God's children speak this way today.  There is a lazy respect for God's holiness.  As hymns have given way, almost entirely, to new worship songs (I love them as well), the heavy doctrines which have defined our Christian faith, even in song, have taken a back seat.

    Many will argue that the fear of the Lord is an Old Testament theme.  But it is the New Testament that says things like, "It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of a living God."  The most terrifying pictures of God's judgment are not in the Old Testament but in Revelation, in the future.

    Life often brings us full circle.  I grew up in a legalistic Baptist church in New England.  A relationship with God was never discussed.  Christian faith was all about beliefs and the study of the Word.  The fallout from that, personally, was huge.  When trials came, I didn't have a relationship with God to fall back on.  I made decisions on how to cope as if I were a pagan.  Slowly, I came alive to Christ through the influences of some writers like Max Lucado, Philip Yancey, and Brennan Manning.  My heart warmed when I sang Draw Me Close To You.  A new kind of church became a place to feel the warmth of the Spirit and view scripture as God's revelation to His children's hearts.  How I needed that.   

    But now, many years later, I have come full circle and I desire balance.  When looking for a church and for meaningful fellowship, I look for people with a passion and warmth, for a people who love to worship, for a people who know and embrace their Christian heritage, and above all, a people who love and tremble at the Word of God.  They are not turned off by a study of the doctrines.  Their drive toward knowledge is based on their love for God.  Such a church will not approach God casually.  Their view of sin leads them to embrace repentance as a lifestyle.  Their awareness of coming judgment for all unbelievers leads them to weeping and intense evangelistic efforts. 

    When God's presence moved over Mt. Sinai and thunder and lightening shook the camp of the Israelites, they trembled.  (Exodus 20:18-20)  The people begged Moses to speak to them, instead of God.  They feared God as someone so powerful that they would not live if He spoke.  Moses said to the people "Do not be afraid; for God has come in order to test you, and in order that the fear of Him may remain with you, so that you may not sin."

    A healthy fear of God is not one that fails to believe that God loves me.  It encompasses a knowledge of His love but, simultaneously, a knowledge also of His holiness.  I want to hear His voice more than anything, but I also know that when I do, I will tremble.

I want to be like your Jesus, Father.  It's because I love Him and it's also because I fear Your name.  Amen

Good News: Everywhere, Among Everyone

Peter fairly exploded with his good news: "It's God's own truth, nothing could be plainer: God plays no favorites! It makes no difference who you are or where you're from—if you want God and are ready to do as he says, the door is open. The Message he sent to the children of Israel—that through Jesus Christ everything is being put together again—well, he's doing it everywhere, among everyone. 

Acts 10:34-36 [The Message]

Pleasing God

Life Today Weekly Devotional

Can You Really Please God?
by John Bevere

“We have everything we need to live a life that pleases God
It was all given to us by God’s own power.” (2 Peter 1:3, CEV)

When it comes to pleasing God, the big question is, “Can we do it?”

Do we have what it takes to make Him smile? Can we who live in an imperfect world, bring a perfect God delight?

My early years of ministry were focused on teenagers. As a youth pastor, I learned so much about parenting and family dynamics. One thing I repeatedly observed that broke my heart was how some young people just couldn’t please their parents. No matter what they did or how hard they tried, these kids didn’t measure up to their parents’ (most often the father’s) expectations.

I soon discovered a pattern. These frustrated young people would keep attempting to please, but eventually, after repeated failures, they gave up and spiraled downward to a careless and loose life. Disillusioned, they felt hopeless. If the parents had given their children more positive feedback, many train wrecks could have been avoided.

How about our heavenly Father? Can we actually please Someone who is flawless? Hear the apostle Peter:

“We have everything we need to live a life that pleases God. It was all given to us by God’s own power.” (2 Peter 1:3, CEV)

There’s our answer – we have everything it takes to live a life that pleases our heavenly Father. So from the outset, settle this in your heart and don’t ever let this knowledge slip away. God is the One who spoke these words through Peter. His Word is true and unchangeable. Never at any time accept the lie that you don’t have what it takes to please God.

Many believers look at certain Christians, especially great leaders, and think they could never measure up or be as delightful in the eyes of God as the apostle John, the apostle Paul, Billy Graham, Oral Roberts, Mother Theresa or anyone else they admire. The truth is that no one has any more ability to please God than you.

With that said, I want you never to forget this statement either: You have the ability to please God, but it is up to you to utilize the power and live it out.

God expects us to be faithful in what He has given us, and He doesn’t empower each child equally. Oh, how great it would be if believers firmly understood this truth. This is made clear in the parable of the talents. One servant was given five talents, another was given two, and still another was given one.  Scripture specifically states that we are entrusted with gifts “to each in proportion to his own personal ability.” (Matthew 25:15) Each servant in the parable had different levels of abilities. In considering this we must also always keep in mind Paul’s words:

“Who made you superior to others? Didn’t God give you everything you have? Well, then, how can you boast, as if what you have were not a gift?” (1 Corinthians 4:7, TRV)

We must always pay attention to what has been given us by God. A person’s ability to write, teach, preach, sing, compose music, design, manage, organize, lead, interact well with people, and so forth is a gift given by God. If I keep that in mind, it guards me from the deadly trap of pride or envy – pride in thinking that I’m better than others, envy in coveting what another person has.

Returning to the parable of the talents, the man who was given five talents labored diligently and finished with ten. The man given two talents worked just as diligently but ended up with only four. Even though the first man ended up with six more talents than the other (far better results), both were rewarded equally. You can hear the pleasure in their master’s voice:

“Wonderful,” his master replied. “You are a good and faithful servant. I left you in charge of only a little, but now I will put you in charge of much more. Come and share my happiness!” (Matthew 25:21 or 23, CEV)

Notice the unusual scripture reference here – verse 21 or 23. The two verses are identical. I don’t believe this is an accident. God is emphasizing a very important point: verse 21 was for the man who gained ten; verse 23 was for the man who finished with four, less than half the first man’s total. Yet the master’s delight and pleasure for both servants was identical. Jesus says:

“If God has been generous with you, he will expect you to serve him well. But if he has been more than generous, he will expect you to serve him even better.” (Luke 12:48, CEV)

If you compare yourself with an admired leader, family member or friend, then you may come up short. The fact is, God probably gave that person more gifts, more ability, more talents than you. (Romans 12:3-6)

You were perfectly created by God to function in the kingdom and have the gifts and abilities to fulfill your specific assignments. So in regard to what we have, we cannot compare our measured results with others. However, in regard to what we do with what we have, we will be judged, and in this we bring pleasure, or a lack of it, to our heavenly Father.

Let me say it another way. If the two-talent servant had compared his two gifts with the one who had five talents, he would have fallen short. However, both servants doubled what they started with. They were equally faithful with what they had been given and equally delighted their master.

This WeekThank God for the gifts and abilities with which he has blessed you and ask him to show you how to further utilize them in such a way that brings him pleasure.

Prayer“God, thank you for being so generous with the gifts and abilities you have given me. Help me to diligently use them for your glory and pleasure. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”    

Adapted from Extraordinary: The Life You're Meant to Live by John Bevere.

Favor of Christ

Ray Ortlund post:  It will not be taken away from you

“Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary.  Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”  Luke 10:41-42

“The true Christian’s portion is the grace of God.  This is the ‘good part’ which he has chosen, and it is the only portion which really deserves the name of ‘good.’  It is the only good thing which is substantial, satisfying, real and lasting.  It is good in sickness and good in health, good in youth and good in age, good in adversity and good in prosperity, good in life and good in death, good in time and good in eternity. . . .

The true Christian’s possession shall never be taken from him.  He alone, of all mankind, shall never be stripped of his inheritance.  Kings must one day leave their palaces.  Rich men must one day leave their money and lands.  They only hold them till they die.  But the poorest saint on earth has a treasure of which he will never be deprived.  The grace of God and the favor of Christ are riches which no man can take from him.  They will go with him to the grave when he dies.  They will rise with him in the resurrection morning, and be his to all eternity.”

J. C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, ad loc.

Redeemed Suffering

Mark Batterson post:  Cause vs. Effect

When it comes to suffering I think we tend to focus on cause instead of effect. We want to know why. And that is normal and natural. Nothing wrong with wanting to know why bad things happen, but that isn't the primary issue. The primary issue is effect. Why it happened is less important than who you are becoming as a result? You can get bitter or better. It can make you stronger or weaker. And that is up to you.

In a sense, you are not responsible for suffering but you are responsible. Let me explain what I mean. You may not have caused it, but you are response-able. You have the ability to choose your response.

Holocaust survivor, Victor Frankl, said it this way in Man's Search for Meaning: "Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of human freedoms--to chose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances."

Honestly, I think the reason why so many of us have such a problem with suffering is that we're more concerned with our comfort than God's glory. Suffering is all about sanctification and glorification. If I am sanctified and God is glorified then the suffering is redeemed. God uses a bad thing to produce a good thing in us. That doesn't ease the pain or lessen the sorrow or stop the bleeding, but it does redeem it. There is spiritual gain through the pain. If our goal is to become like Christ and glorify God, we will experience some suffering along the way. A relationship with Christ is not an immunity card. But we have a High Priest who identifies with our suffering and through our suffering we identify with Christ.