Daily Devotions

Without eternity in the centre of our thinking, our picture of life is like a jigsaw puzzle missing a central piece. Read John 5:19-29 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+5%3A19-29&version=NIV One of the themes of these devotions is that all human beings have a theological bent, whether they consider themselves religious or not. Everyone wants life to make sense. Everyone is a committed interpreter. No one leaves his or her life alone. We all pick our lives apart, trying to make sense of them. We all develop our own systems of theology, biblical or otherwise. We all develop particular philosophies of life. We all carry around with us worldviews that shape the way we think, the things that we desire, the choices that we make, the words that we say, and the actions that we take. None of us is passive. We all shape the way life looks to ourselves. So God, knowing who we are and knowing that we are hardwired to make sense of our lives, has given us his Word. In it, he...

Faith in God is more than believing the right things. It’s living the right way because you believe the right things. Hebrews 11:1-7 is a say-it-all description of what faith is and what faith does: Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation. By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks. By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God. And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards tho...

Because he is zealous to rescue you from you, God’s care can be violent. He rips you from what is dangerous to give you what is better. Read Judges 2-3 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Judges%202-3&version=NIV When you think of God’s care, what picture comes into your mind? When you consider God’s grace, what mental images does the term grace conjure up? Could it be that there are times in your life when you are crying out for the grace of God even though you're getting it? God’s grace does not always come in the form of comfort and encouragement. His care doesn’t always mean relief and release. Could it be that the “care” that we often cry out for is not the care that we really need? There was a cycle in the life of the children of Israel that is very instructive. Remember that they were people just like us, and the accounts about them were written for our example and instruction, so that we would not fall into the same errors. In grace, God recorded for us their s...

God calls you to grow in your faith and then feeds you with the growth-producing nutrients of his grace and truth. Read Hebrews 5:11-6:12 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hebrews%205%3A11-6%3A12&version=NIV Are you growing in your faith? Do you care if you’re not? Have you become satisfied with a little bit of Bible knowledge and a little bit of doctrinal understanding? Have you stopped feeding on the spiritual food of God’s grace even though that grace has not yet come anywhere near to finishing its work in you? Do you hunger for the grace you've been given to continue to do its transforming work in the places where there's evidence that there’s more work to be done? Are you satisfied with being a little more religious or a little more spiritual? Could it be that you claim to be a believer, but are satisfied to have parts of your life shaped by other values? Does your relationship with God really shape the way you think about and act in your marriage, in your f...

Corporate worship is designed to make you thankful, not just for possessions and accomplishments, but for what you've been given in Christ. Read Colossians 1 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Colossians+1+&version=NIV We carry all the seductions and attractions of life in a fallen world when we return to gatherings in church.  We need to have our values reoriented and our celebration recalibrated. We need to become, once again, thankful. More specifically, we need to be not just thankful for the ease, comforts, and accomplishments of life, but thankful for things of eternal value. We need to see, understand, cry out for, and celebrate grace once again. We need the sadness of sin and the joy of grace back in our hearts, described in the words of this song: VERSE 1 No list of sins I have not done, No list of virtues I pursue, No list of those I am not like Can earn myself a place with You. O God, be merciful to me– I am a sinner through and through! My only hope o...

Good is not good enough - complete conformity to Christ’s image is the plan of grace. Read Philippians 2:1-18 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Philippians%202%3A1-18&version=NIV Most of us are just too easily satisfied. It’s not that we ask too much from our Savior. We have the polar opposite problem—we are willing to settle for far too little. Our personal goals, wishes, and dreams fall far short of God’s plans and purposes for us. God will settle for nothing less than each of us being completely conformed to the likeness of his Son. He will finally and completely defeat sin and death. He will not abandon his purpose for any reason at any time. Our problem is that often we don’t share his mind or buy into his purpose. Other mentalities capture us: 1. The Consumer Mentality Here we're like religious shoppers. We really don’t have functional loyalty to the plan of God. We're looking for a religious experience that is comfortable and meets our felt needs, and we h...

Hopelessness is the doorway to hope. You have to give up on yourself before you will be excited about the hope that is yours in Christ Jesus. Read Hebrews 4:14-16 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hebrews%204%3A14-16&version=NIV We tend to give ourselves far too much credit: We tend to attribute too much righteousness to ourselves. We tend to think we have more wisdom than we do. We tend to pride ourselves on having the “right” character. We tend to think of ourselves as being more patient than we are. We tend to regard ourselves as perseverant. We tend to think we are submissive and obedient. We tend to believe we are more committed to the kingdom of God than we are. We simply tend to see ourselves as more godly than we are. Here’s the problem with this tendency: when you name yourself as righteous, when you attribute to yourself more maturity than you actually have, you don’t seek the grace that is your only hope. We don’t think we devalue grace, but that’s exactly...