February 22
Title: Whom Is God Sending To You?
'So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him.'
[Matthew 17:16-17]
Jesus gave His disciples the power to cast out demons and to perform miracles of healing(Matt. 10:8). He gave them His authority to minister to people, yet they became so self-centered that they lost the power to do the work of God. When God sent a father with his epileptic son to them for healing, they failed miserably. They were so concerned with position and status (Mark 9:32-35) that they lost their focus on what God wanted to do through them.
Jesus' response to His disciples included some of the harshest words ever to come from His mouth. He called His own disciples "believing" and "perverse" and questioned how much longer He had to endure them! Why? Because they were supposed to be on mission with Him to bring salvation to others, but they had become so disoriented to Him that they were spiritually powerless, lacking the faith to bring physical and spiritual comfort to those God had sent to them.
God ought to be able to send hurting persons to any child of His and expect that they will be helped. Like the disciples, we can become so preoccupied with our lives that we become ineffective in ministering to those whom God sends to us. It is even possible ton become so involved in religious activity that we are of no help to anyone. Regularly take inventory of your life to see if you are being a faithful steward of every life God sends to you.
February 21
Title: You Are Light
'Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.'
[Matthew 5:16]
There is no mistaking the effect of light upon a darkened place. Light boldly and unabashedly announces its presence and vigorously dispels darkness. God's desire is to fill you with His light. He wants you to shine as a brilliant testimony of His presence and power in your life, so that the darkness in the lives of those around you will be displaced by the light of God's glory.
If, however, you notice the world around you becoming darker and darker, don't blame the darkness! It is simply doing what darkness does. The only remedy for darkness is light. Jesus said His disciples should be the "light of the world"(Matt 5:14). What an awesome responsibility - to be the ones through whom God would shine His divine light and dispel the darkness from around others! In announcing His own coming, Jesus said,"The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light,/ And upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death/ Light has dawned"(Matt. 4:16).
There was no ignoring Jesus' arrival upon earth! Darkness was dispelled! everywhere Jesus went, God's truth was boldly proclaimed, people were healed, hypocrisy was exposed, and sinners found forgiveness. The world was never the same once the Father introduced His light through His Son. Can that be said of you as well? Do your coworkers recognize the light that is within you? Does the presence of Christ radiate from your home into your community? When God's light is allowed to shine unhindered through your life, the darkness around you will be dispelled.
February 20
Title: You Are Salt
'You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavour, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.'
[Matthew 5:13]
God's people are His preserving agents for a world for a world that is corrupted and degenerating because of sin. Your life is designed and commissioned by God to enhance a community and to preserve what is good and right. There is deep significance today for a godly life that is involved in its community. The presence of Christ in you makes all that He is available to others. His salvation can free an addict, mend a broken home, heal the pain of the past, restore a wayward child, and comfort a frieving heart. All of this is available to those around you as Christ expresses His life through you.
If we are not in a right relationship with our Lord, however, Jesus said we are like salt that has lost its saltiness and is, therefore, good for nothing. None of God's saving grace and power can be dispensed through us to others. How do we test the "saltiness" of our life? Look at our family. Are we preseving it from the destructive influnces in our work environment being halted because we are there? Observe our community. Is it better place because we are involved in it? What about our church? The evidence that we have been used by God as a preseving agent is that things are becoming spiritually better around us instead of worse. If people around us are deteriorating spiritually, we need to go to our Lord and allow him to adjust our lives so that we an be used to preserve others.
February 19
Title: Follow Me
'Then Jesus said to His disciples," If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.'
[Matthew 16:24]
We can take God's presence for granted. We can assume that because Jesus said He would be with us always, He will follow us wherever we go(Matt. 28:20). Jesus does not follow us; we are to follow Him. you do not invite God to join you in your activity. He invites you to become involved in His activity. Jesus said:"You did not choose Me, but I chose you."(John 15:16). Following Jesus requires adsolute obedience. He does not seek our counsel about which direction we think is suitable. God already knows what is best wihout ever having to consult with us.
Following Jesus will lead you into experiences you never dreamed of! You will be with Jesus as He weeps over those trapped in sin. You will feel the pain that Jesus feels. You will see those who were spiritually blind experience the joy of coming to see God for the first time. You will see lives that were broken, made whole. You will see marriages restored; those in bondage, released; and those who mourn, comforted. At times it will be easy to follow Jesus. At times, you will be tempted to abandon Him. Following Jesus can mean going through a storm or standing on a mountaintop.
You may have stopped following Jesus, but now you want to follow again. When you stopped following Jesus, you did so on your terms. But the returning to Jesus is strictly under His conditions. He is God, and you are not. Are you willing to follow Jesus anywhere, at any time, under any condition? That is the only way you can follow Him.
February 18
Title: Whom Is God Sending To You?
'So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him.'
[Matthew 17:16-17]
Jesus gave His disciples the power to cast out demons and to perform miracles of healing(Matt. 10:8). He gave them His authority to minister to people, yet they became so self-centered that they lost the power to do the work of God. When God sent a father with his epileptic son to them for healing, they failed miserably. They were so concerned with position and status (Mark 9:32-35) that they lost their focus on what God wanted to do through them.
Jesus' response to His disciples included some of the harshest words ever to come from His mouth. He called His own disciples "believing" and "perverse" and questioned how much longer He had to endure them! Why? Because they were supposed to be on mission with Him to bring salvation to others, but they had become so disoriented to Him that they were spiritually powerless, lacking the faith to bring physical and spiritual comfort to those God had sent to them.
God ought to be able to send hurting persons to any child of His and expect that they will be helped. Like the disciples, we can become so preoccupied with our lives that we become ineffective in ministering to those whom God sends to us. It is even possible ton become so involved in religious activity that we are of no help to anyone. Regularly take inventory of your life to see if you are being a faithful steward of every life God sends to you.
February 21
Title: You Are Light
'Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.'
[Matthew 5:16]
There is no mistaking the effect of light upon a darkened place. Light boldly and unabashedly announces its presence and vigorously dispels darkness. God's desire is to fill you with His light. He wants you to shine as a brilliant testimony of His presence and power in your life, so that the darkness in the lives of those around you will be displaced by the light of God's glory.
If, however, you notice the world around you becoming darker and darker, don't blame the darkness! It is simply doing what darkness does. The only remedy for darkness is light. Jesus said His disciples should be the "light of the world"(Matt 5:14). What an awesome responsibility - to be the ones through whom God would shine His divine light and dispel the darkness from around others! In announcing His own coming, Jesus said,"The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light,/ And upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death/ Light has dawned"(Matt. 4:16).
There was no ignoring Jesus' arrival upon earth! Darkness was dispelled! everywhere Jesus went, God's truth was boldly proclaimed, people were healed, hypocrisy was exposed, and sinners found forgiveness. The world was never the same once the Father introduced His light through His Son. Can that be said of you as well? Do your coworkers recognize the light that is within you? Does the presence of Christ radiate from your home into your community? When God's light is allowed to shine unhindered through your life, the darkness around you will be dispelled.
February 20
Title: You Are Salt
'You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavour, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.'
[Matthew 5:13]
God's people are His preserving agents for a world for a world that is corrupted and degenerating because of sin. Your life is designed and commissioned by God to enhance a community and to preserve what is good and right. There is deep significance today for a godly life that is involved in its community. The presence of Christ in you makes all that He is available to others. His salvation can free an addict, mend a broken home, heal the pain of the past, restore a wayward child, and comfort a frieving heart. All of this is available to those around you as Christ expresses His life through you.
If we are not in a right relationship with our Lord, however, Jesus said we are like salt that has lost its saltiness and is, therefore, good for nothing. None of God's saving grace and power can be dispensed through us to others. How do we test the "saltiness" of our life? Look at our family. Are we preseving it from the destructive influnces in our work environment being halted because we are there? Observe our community. Is it better place because we are involved in it? What about our church? The evidence that we have been used by God as a preseving agent is that things are becoming spiritually better around us instead of worse. If people around us are deteriorating spiritually, we need to go to our Lord and allow him to adjust our lives so that we an be used to preserve others.
February 19
Title: Follow Me
'Then Jesus said to His disciples," If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.'
[Matthew 16:24]
We can take God's presence for granted. We can assume that because Jesus said He would be with us always, He will follow us wherever we go(Matt. 28:20). Jesus does not follow us; we are to follow Him. you do not invite God to join you in your activity. He invites you to become involved in His activity. Jesus said:"You did not choose Me, but I chose you."(John 15:16). Following Jesus requires adsolute obedience. He does not seek our counsel about which direction we think is suitable. God already knows what is best wihout ever having to consult with us.
Following Jesus will lead you into experiences you never dreamed of! You will be with Jesus as He weeps over those trapped in sin. You will feel the pain that Jesus feels. You will see those who were spiritually blind experience the joy of coming to see God for the first time. You will see lives that were broken, made whole. You will see marriages restored; those in bondage, released; and those who mourn, comforted. At times it will be easy to follow Jesus. At times, you will be tempted to abandon Him. Following Jesus can mean going through a storm or standing on a mountaintop.
You may have stopped following Jesus, but now you want to follow again. When you stopped following Jesus, you did so on your terms. But the returning to Jesus is strictly under His conditions. He is God, and you are not. Are you willing to follow Jesus anywhere, at any time, under any condition? That is the only way you can follow Him.
February 18
Title: Take Up Your Cross
‘then Jesus said to Hid disciples,”If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.’
[Matthew 16:24]
Your “cross” is God’s will for you, regardless of the cost. Taking up your cross is a choice; it is not beyond your control. You may have health problems or a rebellious child of financial pressures, but do not mistake these as your “cross to bear”. Neither circumstances you face nor consequences of your own actions are your cross. Your cross will be to voluntarily participate in Christ’s sufferings as He carries out His redemptive purposes (Phil. 3:10). Paul said he rejoiced in his suffering required to bring others into Christian maturity (Col. 1:24).
We tend to want to go immediately from “denying ourselves” to “following Jesus.” But you can never follow Jesus unless you have first taken up your cross. There are aspects of God’s redemptive work that can be accomplished only through suffering. Just as Christ had to suffer in order to bring salvation, there will be hardships you may have to endure in order for God to bring salvation to those around you. Jesus did not talk with His disciples about the cross until they had come to know He was the Christ (Matt. 16:21). You will never be able to endure the suffering of the cross unless you have first been convinced that Jesus is the Christ. Once you have settled your relationship with god that never requires suffering or inconvenience, then you cannot use Christ as your model. God’s will for you involve a cross. First, take up your cross; then you can follow Him.
February 17
Title: Deny Yourself
‘Then Jesus said to His disciples,”If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross, and follow Me.’
[Matthew 16:24]
Sin causes us to be self-centered, shifting our hearts from God to self. The essence of salvation is an about-face from self-centeredness to God-centeredness. The Christian must spend a lifetime denying self. Our great temptation will be to affirm ourselves while we follow Jesus but asked for the two most prominent positions in Jesus’ kingdom (Mark 10:35-37). James and john wanted a discipleship that would not impede their personal desires and aspirations. Like them, we say. “Lord, I want to be pleasing to you, but I want to stay where I am.”
Self-centered people try to keep their lives unruffled and undisturbed, safe and secure. Our temptation is to give our time and effort to the goals of this world. Then, when we are successful in the world’s eyes, we week to bring God into our world by honouring Him with our success. We may say.”Now that I have succeeded in business [or sports, or politics, or with my family, or even Christian ministry], I want to give God the glory from our activity. God receives glory from His activity through our lives.
The world will entice you to adopts its goals and to invest in temporal things. Resist the temptation to pursue your own goals, asking God to bless them. Rather, deny yourself and join the activity of God as He reveals it to you.
February 16
Title: Forgive to Be Forgiven
‘And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.’
[Matthew 6:12]
Few things are more precious to receive than forgiveness. After carrying the burden of our sin, it is wonderfully freeing to know that the one we have wronged has completely forgiven us. Jesus told His disciples to ask God for forgiveness ever time they prayed. Jesus knew that we would daily incur debts against God, as we inevitable fall short of God’s standard. A day does not go by that we do need to ask God to remove our debt against Him.
Jesus warned that we should expect forgiveness from God as we forgive those who sin against us, for God will forgive us in the same way we forgive others (Matt. 6:15). God’s nature is forgiveness (Exod. 34:6-7). If God will forgive our most relentless enemy, we can do nothing less. Jesus did not say that certain offenses are unworthy of our forgiveness. We have no biblical excuse for allowing unforgiveness in our hearts.
If you choose to withhold forgiveness from someone, your worship and prayers are futile (Matt. 5:23-24). Ask god to make you aware of those dark corners in your life where you are harbouring resentment. A keen awareness of your own need for forgiveness will put the offenses of others in their proper light. Ask god to make you like Christ so that, even when you are being persecuted, you can pray, “Father, forgive them.”
February 15
Title: Learning to Love
'But concerning brotherly love you have no need that I should write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another.'
[1 Thessalonians 4:9]
God is love(1 John 4:16). His very nature is perfect love, but because of sin love does not always come freely and naturally to His children. You may have been raised in a home where love was not expressed. Perhaps you were hurt by someone you loved, and your heart became hardened as a defense against further pain. You may love others but not know how to express your love in words or actions. You may feel frustrated because you have been called by God to love, yet you do not understand how to love others.
Paul wrote to the Christians in Thessalonica to encourage them not to become disheartened as they learned to love each other(1 Thess. 3:7). They did not need Paul to explain to them how to love, for God Himself would teach them how to love one another. God would give them His loye, and as they followed Him, He would cause that love to multiply. If they found someone who was difficult to love, God would enable them to love through His Holy Spirit.
God in His grace has made provision for our human weakness, and He is prepared to teach us how to love one another. There are no exceptions. Are you struggling to love someone? God will help you. He will enable you to love your parents, your spouse, your children, your friends, or your enemy in a deeper way than you could ever love them on your own. If you do not know how to express your love in a meaningful way, God will teach you how to do this. god is the authority on love. Ask Him to make His love overflow to others through your life.
February 14
Title: Relentless Love
‘The Lord said to me, “Go again, love a woman who is loved by a lover and is committing adultery, just like the love of the Lord for the children of Israel.’
[Hosea 3:1a]
No human can comprehend God’s love for His children! Our limited experience of human love hinders us from understanding God’s unconditional love for us. We can see a picture of this love in the life of Hosea.
Hosea was a righteous man, but God told him to marry a sinful woman. Hosea obeyed and took Gomer as his wife. He cherished her and treated her with dignity and respect. Never before had Gomer experienced this kind of love, but she grew dissatisfied. She began giving her affections to other men. She became so involved in adulterous pursuits that finally she abandoned Hosea altogether. Other men used her until she had nothing left to give. Then they sold her into slavery. After this, God gave Hosea an amazing command:” Go and buy her back.” Despite the intense pain and hurt that Gomer had inflicted on him, God told Hosea to forgive her and to pay any price to bring her back into his home.
God’s message is clear: When we reject Him and turn our devotion elsewhere, our rejection carries the same pain as an adulterous betrayal. After all God has done for us, it is incomprehensible that we should reject Him. It is even harder to fathom that God could love us even after we have rejected, ignored, and disobeyed Him. Yet God’s love is completely different from ours. His love follows us to the depths of sinfulness until He has reclaimed us. His love is undaunted when we run from Him, and He continues to pursue us. What incredible love He has demonstrated to us!
February 13
Title: Love Assumes the Best
'Love...bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.'
[1 Corinthians 13:7]
Love has no limits. Love never says, "You've gone too far. I can't love you now." "All things" means everything is included. Christlike love leaves no doubt in the mind of another that you will continue to love steadfastly. Do those close to you know that they can fail and do foolish things, yet you will not falter in your love for them? Are others assured that, even when they hurt you, you still love them, holding nothing against them?
Love assumes the best about others. If someone inadvertently offends you, you choose to believe the offense was unintentional. If someone seeks to harm you, you "bear all things," forgiving unconditionally. If a positive light can be shed on a difficult encounter, you grasp it. If someone continually provokes you, you "endure all things." You never lose hope in the ones you love. You practice the same unconditional love toward others that Christ gives to you.
Paul said that he was nothing if has the faith to move mountains, the tongue of an angel, and the gift of prophecy to understand all mysteries, yet did not have God's love. It is unacceptable to say, "Well, I just can't love people that way!" When God loves people through you, this is the only kind of love He has! Read 1 Corinthians 13 with gratitude that God has already expressed this complete and selfless love to you. Pray and ask Him to express it through you now, to others.
February 12
Title: Sin Is Lawlessness
‘Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.’
[1 john 3:4]
It is a dangerous thing to live your life without a spiritual “plumb line,” or standard, by which you determine right from wrong. God’s Word is that plumb line. Spiritual laws, like physical laws, are meant to protect you, not restrict you. You may exercise your freedom to challenge the laws of electricity, but to do so can bring you death. Likewise, you will not break God’s laws, they will break you. God established absolute moral and spiritual laws that we are free to ignore, but we do so at our own peril. These laws are timeless. Culture does not supersede them. Circumstances do not abrogate them. God’s laws are eternal, and they will save you from death if you follow them.
You may feel that God’s laws restrict and bind you. On the contrary, God’s Word protects you from death(Rom. 6:23). For example, when God said that you are not to commit adultery, He wanted to free you to experience the fullest pleasure of a marriage relationship. Furthermore, He knew the devastating heartache that would come to you, your spouse, your relatives, your friends and your church family if you broke this law. How important the laws of God are for your life! Without them, you would be robbed of the delights God has in store for you. Sin is choosing a standard other than God’s law on which to base your life. If you are measuring your life by that of your neighbours, or society at large, then you are basing your life on lawlessness, and lawlessness is sin.
February 11
Title: Love Brings Obedience
‘He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loved Me will be lived by My Father.’
[John 14:21a]
Obedience to God’s commands comes from your heart. When you being struggling to obey God, that is a clear indication that your heart has shifted away from Him. Some claim: “I love God, but I’m having difficulty obeying Him in certain areas of my life.” That is a spiritual impossibility. If I were to ask you, “Do you love God?” you might easily respond, “Yes!” However, if I were to ask you, “Are you obeying God?” would you answer yes as quickly? Yet I would be asking you the same question! Genuine love for God leads to wholehearted obedience. If you told your spouse that you loved her at certain times but that you struggled to love her at others, your relationship would be in jeopardy. Yet we assume that God is satisfied with occasional love or partial obedience. He is not.
Obedience without love is legalism. Obedience for its own sake can be nothing more than perfectionism, which leads to pride. Many conscientious Christians seek to cultivate discipline in their lives to be more obedient to Christ. As helpful as spiritual disciplines can be, they never can replace your love for God. Love is the discipline. God looks beyond your godly habits, beyond your moral lifestyle, and beyond your church involvement and focuses His penetrating gaze upon your heart.
Has your worship become empty and routine? Have you lost your motivation to read God’s Word? Is your prayer life reduced to a ritual? These are symptoms of a heart that has shifted away from God. Return to your first love. Love is the greatest motivation for a relationship with God and for serving Him.
February 10
Title: God's Promises Are Yes
'For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.'
[2 Corinthians 1:20]
God keeps every promises He makes. When we walk in intimate fellowship with Christ, we have the assurance that every promise God has made in Scripture is available to us. This truth should motivate us to search the Scriptures for each promise in order to meditate upon its potential for our life.
Jesus promised that when you ask for something in His will, He will give you what you ask (John 16:23b). This promise is available to every christian. If you ask God if this promise applies to your life, His answer if yes. If you are not now experiencing this promise, it does not change the fact that God has said it. You may need to seek God's answer for why His promise has not yet reached maturity in you.
Paul claimed he had tested each of these promises in his own life and found them all to be abundantly true. That's why he could speak of the "exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus"(Eph. 2:7b) and the "unsearchable riches of Christ"(Eph. 3:8b). Paul had found a wealth of God's promises and enjoyed them all in abundance.
Don't become discouraged or impatient if you are not experiencing to the fullest all of God's promises in your life. God may want to prepare you to receive some of the great truths He has made available to you. Walk closely with your Lord and, in time, you will see Him bring His promises to fruition in your life.
February 9
Title: Encounters with God
'But rise and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister ad a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which i will yet reveal to you.' [Acts 26:16]
God was working in your life long before you began working with Him. The Lord knew you before time began, and He knew what He wanted to do with your life(Jer. 1:5; Ps. 139:13). Before the apostle Paul's conversion experience on the road to Damescus, Jesus already knew Paul and had a specific assignment for him. But Jesus only revealed this assignment after Pauls' conversion(Acts 9:15). So misguided was Paul that in his sincere efforts to serve God, he had actually been waging war against Christians! Although God knew what He wanted for Paul, He waited to reveal it to him until He gained his attention and became his Lord.
Our Lord does not come to us to discover what we would like to accomplish for Him. He encounters us in order to reveal His activity and invite us to become involved in His work. An encounter with God requires us to adjust ourselves to the activity of God that has been revealed. God never communicates with us merely to give us a warm devotional thought for that day. He never speaks to us simply to increase our biblical knowledge. Our Lord has far more significant things to reveal to us than that! When God shows us what He is doing, He invites us to join Him in the work He is doing.
Are you prepared to meet God today? Don't seek to hear from God unless you are ready to ask, as Paul did, "What shall I do, Lord?"
