Love in Truth and Action

1 John 3:18—Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action.

My boss likes to say, “Turn down the volume, and watch where the feet go.”  This advice has become invaluable in navigating all the relationships in my life.  When it comes to personal relationships, I have found that it’s not so difficult for a person to speak—the hard part arises in the follow-through.  I recently had an experience where a friend promised to help on a project.  It was an important project with a strict deadline.  And the friend just didn’t show up.  I felt so disappointed, but I also learned a great lesson that despite my friend’s best intentions, she couldn’t follow through with the actions. Fortunately, I do have a couple of people in my life who are reliable, who do show up, and who remind me of the type of friend I want to be.  We must also remember that God follows through on His promises to us.  He is not a God of just words, but one of truth and action. Our challenge in this earthly realm is to live in truth and action, not just in word or speech.

Today as you pray and meditate on His Word, praise God for His truth and action.  Prayerfully consider the way you love, and pray that God would lead you in fulfilling that love through truth and action.  Ask the Holy Spirit to fill you with courage and energy that your word and deeds match the full love of Christ Jesus which is in you.

A Season for All Things

Ecclesiastes 3:1-14—For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing.

The unfolding of our lives is a curious thing rife with emotions.  So often as one chapter ends, we are saddened, perhaps even grieving, at the end of an era while simultaneously feeling anticipation and maybe even joy at the new opportunities that unfold before us.  Life rarely turns out the way we have expected or according to our own plans, and it almost never obeys the timelines we have set.  But life always happens exactly as it should, and the emotions it prompts are intended to be felt.  We must lean into the grief with equal zeal as we lean into the joy. We need never fear our feelings because God is there with us, He lifts us, and He carries us through this experience called life. His Plan is perfect even when we cannot understand the perfection in a given moment.  Faith means we trust His Perfection despite our human inability to comprehend it.

Today as you pray and meditate on His Word, give thanks for the timing of God’s perfect plan.  Pray that God would make His Presence known to you and that you would have the courage to feel utterly and completely as He has willed.

Learning to Ride a Bike

Deuteronomy 31:6—Be strong and bold; have no fear or dread of them, because it is the Lord your God who goes with you; he will not fail you or forsake you.

The first time I learned to ride a bicycle without training wheels was a Christmas morning when I was about 4 years old.  Santa had left me the most wonderful pink Huffy—my sister and I got identical ones.  All the presents were barely opened before we scrambled out the door to hop on those bikes.  But it wasn’t long before my sister and I realized that we couldn’t ride those bikes without some help.  That fear of having to balance on two wheels rose up from deep inside despite all my father’s assurances that he wouldn’t let me fall.  My legs were timid and refused to turn those pedals with boldness.  Eventually though, I started to trust my dad.  I started to believe that no matter what happened, he would be there to catch me.  And then a wonderful thing happened—I started riding that bike!  The fear had caused me wobble and pedal timidly, which made it a lot more likely that I would fall over.  But when I pedaled with confidence knowing my father was nearby, I could find the balance on that bike.  Our lives are a lot like that learning to ride a bike experience.  We must act strongly and boldly because we are filled with faith and courage in the Lord.  Timidity and nervousness can make us waver, vacillate, and even fall down.  When we believe God is with us, though, we can step strongly and boldly into each moment of life with the assurance that we will continually rise up and never fall. 

Today as you pray and meditate on His Word, praise God for His unwavering presence.  Rejoice in the courage He fills you with.  Pray that in every moment you would act strongly and boldly according to His Will.  Ask Him for courage to overcome timidity and nervousness as you grow in your faith devotion to Him.

Are You a Planner?

Jeremiah 29:11-13—For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. Then when you call upon me and come and pray to me, I will hear you. When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart.

Do you ever just feel weary?  Even the most faithful person can grow tired of navigating the world.  It’s not easy to be the salt of the Earth.  It’s challenging to let Jesus’ light shine in a world that can’t or won’t receive Him.  But in all things, we can rest assured that God is working for good, not evil.  Evil may occur – in fact, it surely will.  But God knows the plans He has for us.  In all things He works for good, for our growth, for our development, and yes, even for our discipline.  We don’t have to understand the big picture to trust God’s plan.  We need only call on Him, and He will infuse us with a peace that passes all understanding no matter our circumstance.

Today as you pray and meditate on His Word, thank God for His Plan for you.  Praise Him for His steadfast presence and guidance.  Pray that He would fill you with strength and endurance.  Ask His Holy Spirit to guide you and lead you in wisdom, love, and service to Him.

Good and Evil

Proverbs 14:22—Do they not err that plan evil? Those who plan good find loyalty and faithfulness.

In all things, we should seek to live into God’s will for our lives.  It is true that we may be attacked and that others may act with bad intentions against us.  But that is not reason enough for us plot evil ourselves.  At the end of the day, we have to be able to lie down with ourselves at night.  I am the only one who has to live with my own conscience, and evildoers will endure the consequences of their actions.  And God has promised to take all that is intended for evil and work it for good.  That is His nature. 

Today as you pray and meditate on His Word, praise God for His Righteousness.  Pray that He would continue to illuminate your path and guide you into His Will.  Ask Him to cloak you in His Protective Spirit and to work all things for the good of His Kingdom.  Declare your desire to be His willing servant.

Lost?

Psalm 112—Praise the Lord! Happy are those who fear the Lord, who greatly delight in his commandments. Their descendants will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed. Wealth and riches are in their houses, and their righteousness endures forever. They rise in the darkness as a light for the upright; they are gracious, merciful, and righteous. It is well with those who deal generously and lend, who conduct their affairs with justice. For the righteous will never be moved; they will be remembered forever. They are not afraid of evil tidings; their hearts are firm, secure in the Lord. Their hearts are steady, they will not be afraid; in the end they will look in triumph on their foes. They have distributed freely, they have given to the poor; their righteousness endures forever; their horn is exalted in honor. The wicked see it and are angry; they gnash their teeth and melt away; the desire of the wicked comes to nothing.

In all things, we must constantly refocus on the Lord.  He will never lead us astray, and He will unfailingly reveal the right path in any given circumstance.  We can never control what someone else might do.  We can never control the evil that might happen in this world.  But we can control where we look – when we look to the Lord, we point our feet in the right direction even if we don’t understand what the right direction is.  We might be able to only see our feet, nothing ahead and nothing behind.  We might feel lost and without a compass.  But the Lord is steadfast.  He is the Way, the Truth, and the Light—His compass never fails.

Today as you pray and meditate on His Word, praise God for His unwavering devotion and direction in your life.  Pray that He would continue to lead and guide you in righteousness.  Ask for a spirit willing to be led to the right path, even when the right path is an unexpected one.  In all things, please the Lord.

Words Fail

Matthew 10:19-20—When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given to you at that time; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

Time and again, Jesus warned His disciples that they would not always be well-received.  He prepared them to be ridiculed, excluded, and persecuted.  Though Christianity is certainly more mainstream now than it has been at other times, historically-speaking, there is still ample persecution directed toward those who love Christ.  God’s love for us is unique, individualized, and complex.  He is the same God, unwavering and steadfast, but our ability to perceive Him, and the way He reveals Himself, to us is wholly personal.  That is one reason God identified Himself as the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, etc., in the Old Testament.  Each person had an individual and personal relationship with God – they knew Him in a different way.  It’s kind of like how we know our parents differently than their friends know them.  They are the same person, but our experiences color the way we know them.  This personalized knowledge, though, can lead to conflict among Christians.  It can cause those outside Christianity to question the truth of Christianity.  It might cause us to be labeled hypocrites or something even worse.  When we face conflict, God tells us we have nothing to fear.  He assures us that He will give us the right words.  We are not to worry or be concerned for the Lord never needs defending, and He is quick to protect His Sheep.

Today as you pray and meditate on His Word, praise God for protecting you and speaking through you.  Rejoice in His constant love.  Pray that your spirit would be open to God’s movement.  Allow yourself to be a vessel for the Lord and ask Him to speak through you with wisdom, knowledge, and clarity so that His Will might be fulfilled in your life.

Infinite Love

Romans 8:38-39—For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

How amazing that the Lord, Our God loves us so much that nothing can separate us from Him.  He chases after us.  He is steadfast.  There is no shame we can bring Him that would make Him stop loving us.  When we feel distant or far away, He is always in the same place.  It is true that problems, difficulties, challenges, and adversity will try to separate us.  They will get into our heads and push our attention away from God.  But the constant truth is God never changes, He never leaves, and He always loves us.  When we feel distant, if we call out to Him, He will make His presence known.  There may be times we cannot perceive Him only because our finite minds are limited.  His presence, though, is infinite.

Today as you pray and meditate on His Word, praise God for His enduring love.  Rejoice in His care for you.  Offer your life to Him and ask Him to guide you with His Holy Spirit that you might always feel His presence encompass you.

Separation Anxiety

Romans 8:35, 37—Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

In the midst of our daily lives, it can sometimes be difficult to feel God’s presence all around us.  Emotions like fear, worry, anxiety, relief, elation, and even happiness can distract us from relying on God and cause us to feel utterly alone or solely responsible for what is happening in our lives.  But God never changes.  He never leaves.  He never fails.  We are the mercurial ones who forget to look up.  We are the ones who put up walls and wear blinders to His presence.  What great comfort we can take in knowing that when life starts to make us feel separated, that God will never leave.  That is precisely when He scoops us up and cares for us exactly how we need.

Today as you pray and meditate on His Word, praise God for his unwavering ways.  Thank Him for caring for you and carrying you through your trials.  Offer your worries, fears, joys, and cares to Him, and recommit your focus on Jesus as your Lord and Savior.  

Majesty

Psalm 8:1—O Lord, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens.

The beauty and wonder of God’s Creation is all around us.  When the sun shines, when clouds gather, when rain and snow crash down, God’s glory reigns.  The perfection of His Creation cannot escape notice, and in His Grand Design He created a special place for us.  He has entrusted us to care for His Creation, to honor it, and to honor each other.  If He has shown such care in crafting the stars, the heavens, the trees, the animals, and everything else, then what great care He must take of you.

Today as you pray and meditate on His Word, thank God for the beauty of His Creation.  Praise Him for his devotion to you.  Thank Him for caring for you and lifting you up when you cannot find the path on your own.  Worship Him through song today by listening to Phillips, Craig & Dean’s I Am a Friend of God.

It Is Well

James 1:2-4—My brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance; and let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing.

Though we might not always understand, we can always rest assured that we are loved and adored by our Creator. God places upon us not only what we can handle, but what we need to experience to develop into the persons He intends for us to be.  Without trials our faith has no reason to grow, and it would be easy to become complacent and stagnate in our devotion of God. Trials exist to affirm our reliance on God, that we might declare in all circumstances, "it is well," no matter our circumstance.

Today as you pray and meditate, worship God through the words of the hymn it “It is Well with My Soul”: When peace like a river attendeth my way, when sorrows like sea billows roll, whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say, it is well, it is well with my soul/Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come, let this blest assurance control, that Christ has regarded my helpless estate, and hath shed His own blood for my soul. It is well, it is well with my soul.

Ever Present

Psalm 139--O Lord, you have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from far away. You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, O Lord, you know it completely. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is so high that I cannot attain it. Where can I go from your spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there. If I take the wings of the morning and settle at the farthest limits of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me fast. If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light around me become night,” even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is as bright as the day, for darkness is as light to you. For it was you who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; that I know very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes beheld my unformed substance. In your book were written all the days that were formed for me, when none of them as yet existed. How weighty to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! I try to count them—they are more than the sand; I come to the end—I am still with you. O that you would kill the wicked, O God, and that the bloodthirsty would depart from me—those who speak of you maliciously, and lift themselves up against you for evil! Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord? And do I not loathe those who rise up against you?  I hate them with perfect hatred; I count them my enemies. Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts. See if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

 

God has created each and every one of us for a unique, noble, and enormous God purpose.  We have been equipped even since He formed us in the womb to face every obstacle in life, to conquer every challenge presented to us, through our faith and belief in Him.  Our Lord is steadfast and unchanging—He continually reveals Himself to us in increasingly intimate ways.  He knows us better than we know ourselves, and He wants us to know Him to the same depths.  He is always with us, experiencing as we experience—He has made our pain His pain.  We can never be alone because His Presence endures forever.

Today as you pray and meditate on His Word, thank God for His Steadfast Presence.  Rejoice in His perfect love for you, His Creation.  Pray that He would guide you in fulfilling His good and perfect will in your life.  Praise Him for forming you and calling you to a purpose in this life, and pray for wisdom, knowledge, and strength to trust Him to empower you to overcome all obstacles and challenges as you fulfill His mission.

Do Not Fear, Only Believe

Mark 5:36—Jesus said…”Do not fear, only believe.”

Jesus said these words to the leader of a synagogue who had come to Jesus pleading for his daughter’s healing.  While Jesus was enroute to the leader’s home, they received news of the daughter’s death, and Jesus instructed her father not to fear, but rather to believe.  The news of his daughter’s death must have been devastating to this man.  He had so desperately sought after Jesus for His healing power, and he was making all human efforts to save his precious child.  Yet, his efforts were not enough.  Have you ever felt the same way?  Have you ever cried out to God to save a situation?  The futility of our own humanity can be frightening.  That moment when we understand that we truly have no power—no  control—that  is the moment fear takes over.  Our bodies have a physical visceral reaction when it seems like our hopes are dead.  This fear feels impossible to control.  But Jesus tells us not to fear, only believe.  We must believe that Jesus can redeem, restore, and transform any seemingly hopeless situation.  That belief can conquer and tame any fear.  That belief has the power to release fear from within.  When we make the choice to believe despite our fear, we make space for God to make us whole.

Today as you pray and meditate on His Word, consider your fears.  Is there something you are trying desperately to salvage?  Do you fear that your own human frailty cannot save it?  Pray to God for a believing spirit.  Rejoice in His Love and Devotion toward you.  Praise Him for His redeeming power and lift up your fears to Him with a prayer that they be replaced with sincere belief in the redeeming power of the Lord.

True Love Does

1 Corinthians 13:1-3--If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Throughout the Bible, we are guided by commandments, and we are told to keep God’s Word.  When Jesus came, though, He told us that the greatest commandment is for us to love God and one another.  We can easily fall into a trap of “being good” by merely following the rules.  For most, it’s not all that hard to check off the box that says “thou shalt not steal” or “thou shalt not murder.”  And when we are followers of the commandments, it can become easy to distance ourselves from those who do not follow the commandments.  We tend to judge them (even if we say we just disagree and that God is their final judge).  The choice itself to disagree is a judgment of them that interferes with our ability to show them love.  Loving other people has very little to do with the euphoria we feel inside.  It’s nothing at all like what the media portrays when people “fall in love” on screen, emotions that are usually portrayed physically.  We’ve come to believe in a myth that love is about feeling euphoric.  Agape love, God’s love, is about showing kindness and serving others, especially others who would reject us.  Others who aren’t necessarily pleasant.  Love is the only thing that can heal the hurt and voids inside others.  As humans, we are all incomplete.  The joy of Christianity is that we have been made whole in Christ Jesus.  We demonstrate that wholeness and express our love for God when we serve and love others.  That message of whole and complete redemptive love can never be expressed when we take a know-it-all attitude about what is “going to happen” on judgment day.

Today as you pray and meditate on His Word, praise God for His perfect love for you and every part of His Creation.  Rejoice that He fills you with the Holy Spirit so that you may extend His Love to the darkest corners of the Earth.  Pray that He would remove any tendencies toward judgment of others so that you might act in love and service, revealing His true and perfect place in your life.

Complacency is Your Enemy

Proverbs 2:3-5—If you indeed cry out for insight, and raise your voice for understanding; if you seek it like silver, and search for it as for hidden treasures—then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.

Complacency is your enemy.  We are foolish to believe that it’s possible to “arrive.”  So many of us think that life would be perfect if we just had a better job, more income, the perfect spouse, or _____[you fill in the blank]_____.  We think of life as a destination, but really it is all about the journey.  Ask yourself what you are seeking – is it a certain kind of Earthly lifestyle? Do you want to attain a particular standard of living?  What are you goals?  The Lord tells us that when we seek Him, everything else will fall into place.  Our finite minds cannot possibly contemplate the magnitude of God and His magnificent creation.  But if we seek Him and seek to understand our place in it, He will reveal His Wisdom to us.  The treasures of Heaven are not physical like the treasures we know here on Earth, yet they are far more valuable.  We should seek God’s treasures of Wisdom, Love, and Relationship with even more fervor than we seek Earthly success and treasure.

Today as you pray and meditate on His Word, consider what you are seeking.  Be honest about what occupies your heart, your thoughts, and your mind.  Pray that God would fill the voids you feel, and ask Him to fill you with desire to seek Him over other Earthly treasures.  Pray that He would give you insight that you might understand your purpose and essential role in His Master Plan. Rejoice in the energy He gives you to be diligent in your pursuit of Him.

Are You Good?

Mark 10:18-19--“Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honor your father and mother.’”

Our life here as humans is not about figuring out how to be “good.”  That is an impossible task because only God is good.  In this passage, Jesus recognizes that the man talking to Him sees His Divinity—the man could not label Jesus “good” unless He recognized Jesus as God Himself.  For us, though, even when we know and keep God’s commandments we are still incapable of being “good.”  Does that seem disheartening?  To me, it is a wonderfully freeing concept to think that I am loved even though I am not good.  What Jesus is really saying here is that life is not about labeling right and wrong, good and bad.  These labels tend to interfere with our ability to be compassionate and empathetic with ourselves and others.  Demanding goodness of ourselves and others is an impossible burden that leaves us wanting, feeling like failures, and riddled with disappointment.  When we move past the label of “being good,” when we truly know that merely keeping the commandments is not enough, then we are positioned to live compassionately, invested in love for God’s whole creation.  That is when our hearts open to the work of the Holy Spirit.

Today as you pray and meditate on His Word, praise God for loving you for you, free from labels.  Rejoice that He has freed you from the shackles of having to be good.  Pray that the Holy Spirit would fill you with God’s goodness and lead you to live compassionately toward others.  Ask God to free your mind from the labels we so naturally want to place on others – pray for God’s eyes that you may see others as He does, as pure individuals in need of love and kindness.

Be Still

Psalm 46:10—“Be still, and know that I am God.”

We humans can be such busy bodies.  We think we can control everything that happens around us.  To be sure, God wants us to take responsibility for our behavior, and we must learn the natural consequences of our choices.  But there are times when we just need to let go.  Times when God knows best.  Times when we need to just stop trying to control, and we need to let God’s plan unfold. 

Today as you pray and meditate on His Word, prayerfully consider those aspects of your life where you are trying to control every detail.  Ask God to help you see where you are standing in His Way.  Pray for guidance and wisdom in letting go of the things you really cannot control.  Rejoice in the guiding hand of the Holy Spirit.  Ask God to reveal the path you must take and to teach you how to balance doing with letting go.

I Trust You

Psalm 59:16—But I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love; for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble.

What great comfort there is in knowing that at the end of the day, everything is in God’s hands.  It can be easy to feel lost, out of control, or like you are on the brink of failure.  But God is in control.  What seems like failure to us is opportunity to God.  What seems like weakness to us is strength to God. What seems like defeat to us is a new beginning to God.  When we feel broken, that’s when God is just getting started taking us to the next level.  We don’t have to understand all the pieces, we just have to say yes to God and move forward one step at a time.  When we praise God, we essentially say, “Hey God, I don’t have this figured out in the slightest, but I TRUST YOU to take care of me.”

Today as you pray and meditate on His Word, praise God in the midst of your brokenness.  Offer Him the pieces of your soul as a living sacrifice.  Declare that you trust Him completely, in His infinite wisdom, to always lead you to those places where you can live into the best you He designed.  Rejoice in the comfort of His Strength, Power, Unending Love for you, His perfect creation.