Fools

Would you rather be a fool and believe there is a God
than believe in yourself because you others applaud?
Would you rather be a fool and count your life as loss
than gain the world at the cost of rejecting the cross?
Would you rather be a fool and wholly lean on God's Spirit
than claim a wisdom which has no eternal or godly profit?
Would you rather be a fool and obey God's commands
than spend your days as a slave to sin and its demands?
Would you rather be a fool and turn your eyes upon Jesus
than continue to gaze upon things worthless and idolatrous?
Would you rather be a fool and claim Jesus is your Lord & Savior,
than deny He is because doing so would put your life in danger?
Would you rather be a fool and live only to exalt God's name
than pursue and persist in things to bring about your fame?

Would you rather be a fool for Christ or be a fool for the world?
The reality is: It is one or the other!

Holiness Day-by-Day

Devotional for Thursday, January 10, 2013

God-Centered Holiness

Today's Scripture: 1 Peter 1:16
"You shall be holy, for I am holy."

Read it online at the Bible Gateway: (NIV) (NASB) (KJV) (The Message)

If holiness is so basic to the Christian life, why do we not experience it more in daily living? Why do so many Christians feel constantly defeated in their struggle with sin? Why does the church of Jesus Christ so often seem to be more conformed to the world around it than to God?

Our first problem is that our attitude toward sin is more self-centered than God-centered. We're more concerned about our own "victory" over sin than we are about the fact that our sins grieve God's heart. We cannot tolerate failure in our struggle with sin chiefly because we are success-oriented, not because we know it's offensive to God.

W. S. Plumer said, "We never see sin aright until we see it as against God. All sin is against God in this sense: that it is his law that is broken, his authority that is despised, his government that is set at naught. Pharaoh and Balaam, Saul and Judas each said, 'I have sinned'; but the returning prodigal said, 'I have sinned against heaven and before thee'; and David said, 'against Thee, Thee only have I sinned.'" God wants us to walk in obedience—not victory. 

Obedience is oriented toward God; victory is oriented toward self. This may seem to be merely splitting hairs over semantics, but there's a subtle, self-centered attitude at the root of many of our difficulties with sin. Until we deal with this attitude, we won't consistently walk in holiness.

Victory is a by-product of obedience. As we concentrate on living an obedient, holy life, we'll certainly experience the joy of victory over sin. Will you begin to look at sin as an offense against a holy God, instead of as a personal defeat only? (Excerpt taken fromThe Pursuit of Holiness)

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The text for this devotional comes from the award-winning NavPress devotional bookHoliness Day by Day by Jerry Bridges. For more information or to order a copy, visit theNavPress website.

God is Good

God is good and that's a truth not dependent on me
God is good and that's a truth not held at my mercy
God is good in spite of what I feel or think or say
God is good in every moment throughout each day
God is good even when the nations rage and war
God is good even when things in life are bizarre
God is good in times when people don't treat us well
God is good in times when we're diagnosed as unwell
God is good even when we don't understand His ways
God is good even when we refuse to give Him praise
God is good and that's a truth I am proud to proclaim
God is good and that's a truth as true as His name

Where do you find Jesus?

Where do you find Jesus? This question was asked in a meeting at which I was present. A simple question, but none of our answers, including mine, were correct. Our answers were good, but not correct. Our answers were well meaning, but not correct. An easy question, could be construed as a trick question, but still we did not answer it correctly. How about this: Where do you go know who Jesus is? What is your answer?

Later on it reminded me of the importance of knowing where to find Jesus. Let me be explicit. It is VERY important to know where we must go to know and understand who Jesus is. There must be a trusted source that is not subjected to what we say or experience or think or feel. At best, these things - feelings, thoughts, experiences, words - are only as good and right and true when they align with the truth of who Jesus is. So, where do you find Jesus? Where do and must you go daily to find Jesus? Where can you discover and dive into the truths of who Jesus is?

Can you rely on your feelings? Can you rely on culture? Can you rely on your thoughts? Can you rely on experiences? The answer to these is a resounding, NO! They only teach who Jesus really is when they align with Him - The Truth.

There is grave danger in trying to find Jesus in feelings, experiences etc. It breeds relativity and subjectivity. The result is that we will come to different conclusions about Jesus. The conclusions would be dependent on us. Thus, they would not be absolute. The conclusions would not be TRUE! See the danger yet?

Here is a similar question: Where do you find the sun? In the sky, right? That's obvious because that is where it is. We don't look to our friends or experiences or feelings or thoughts to find the sun. We just go outside and look up at the sky. We have come to know that the sun is always in the sky and always shining, even on days when it is cloudy, dark, etc. Here is a fact about the sun: it sun reveals, by shining its light, many truths about our surroundings or environment. Note, it is not the surroundings or environment that reveals the sun. In the same way, we can only know our true state when we discover who Jesus is. We can only know the true state of our world when we find Jesus. And where do you find Jesus?

The person who asked the question supplied the correct answer. Where do you find Jesus? In the Scriptures. The Bible! We look up to the sky for the sun. If we want to find Jesus we must go to the Scriptures. This is not just a look as when you look to the sky for the sun. This look is a search, an examination, a meditation etc. It is done in a prayerful manner with reverent fear. The search must not be for the sake of knowledge, but to KNOW Jesus. When we come to know Jesus as He is revealed in the scriptures we will better reflect Him. We will better model and instruct others in His way. We will better recognize what He is doing in the world. We will better carry out His mission to the world. We will better love others regardless of who they are or what they have done. So, let's make it our goal to search the Scriptures! For in the Scriptures we find Jesus.

Holiness Day-by-Day

Devotional for Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Holiness and Grace

Today's Scripture: Hebrews 12:14
"Strive for . . . the holiness without which no one will see the Lord."
Read it online at the Bible Gateway: (NIV) (NASB) (KJV) (The Message)

The Holy Spirit's work in transforming us more and more into the likeness of Christ is called sanctification. Our involvement and cooperation with him in his work is what I call the pursuit of holiness. That expression is taken from Hebrews 12:14: "strive for [literally: pursue] . . . the holiness without which no one will see the Lord." .

This pursuit requires sustained, vigorous effort. It allows for no indolence, no lethargy, no halfhearted commitment, and no laissez-faire attitude toward even the smallest sins. In short, it demands the highest priority in a Christian's life because to be holy is to be like Christ—God's goal for every Christian.

The word "pursue" in this context means to strive to gain or accomplish. In Philippians 3:12-14, this word is translated "press on." In the New Testament it is most commonly translated "persecute," carrying the word's common meaning—to track down in order to harm or destroy.

At the same time, however, the pursuit of holiness must be anchored in the grace of God; otherwise it is doomed to failure. That statement probably strikes many people as strange. A lot of Christians seem to think the grace of God and the vigorous pursuit of holiness are antithetical—in direct and unequivocal opposition.

To some, the pursuit of holiness sounds like legalism and man-made rules. To others, an emphasis on grace seems to open the door to irresponsible behavior based on the notion that God's unconditional love means we're free to sin as we please.

Grace and the personal discipline required to pursue holiness, however, go hand in hand. An understanding of how grace and personal, vigorous effort work together is essential for a lifelong pursuit of holiness. (Excerpt taken from The Discipline of Grace)

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The text for this devotional comes from the award-winning NavPress devotional bookHoliness Day by Day by Jerry Bridges. For more information or to order a copy, visit theNavPress website.

A New Year

Awesome God, blessed be Your glorious name! Thank You for another new day. A new day that begins a new year. May Your rule and reign be increasingly evident in and through our lives this year. Not just for a moment or an hour or a day but every day. Yet, help us to trust in You every moment of every hour of every day. Let it be our increasing desire for Your will to be done in and through our lives. Grow in us a hunger and thirst for Your righteousness. Teach us how to daily die to self so that the life of Christ would be increasingly evident in and through us. May we say, "NO!", to the flesh consistently and with conviction. May it be our desire and devotion to live in obedience to Your call on our lives. Thanks for making us salts and lights in Christ. Thanks for giving us Your Scripture and Your Spirit so that we can live as salts and lights. Help us to grow in the knowledge, understanding, trust, and conviction of who we are in Christ. For it is in Him our identity is fixed! In Him we are secure. In Him we are steadfast. In Him we are strong. In Him we are sanctified. We have these and many more blessings in Him. Thank You Lord! Thanks for Your work in us. Your work is awesome! The goal of Your work is to conform us to the image and likeness of Your Son. No other work and goal can compare to it. This is Your work and goal for Your good pleasure and our good. Thanks! So, we surrender and submit today, and pledge to surrender and submit ourselves to You each day of 2013. We pledge to cooperate with Your sanctifying, sure, and skilled work in us. We are immensely and infinitely blessed to have a God like You. Amen!