Light for Today E-Book

Lauren Green

• Herausgeber: BroadStreet Publishing Group, LLC
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2024

Seitenzahl: 452

Beschreibung

God is always with you. When you're feeling overwhelmed or lost in the dark, it can be tough to see the light at the end of the tunnel.   In Light for Today, Lauren Green offers 365 days of hope and encouragement to ground you in God's saving grace and unending faithfulness. Combining stories and wisdom found in Scripture with true stories from Green's personal life and illustrious journalism career, this devotional will inspire you to - strengthen your spirit, - find silver linings, - persevere through turbulent times, celebrate peaceful seasons, and - become a shining beacon of Christ for those around you.   God promises that he will never leave or forsake you. Let these daily messages from his lighthouse brighten your days and open your eyes to see him fulfilling that promise every moment of every day.    

Leseprobe

BroadStreet Publishing® Group, LLC

Savage, Minnesota, USA

BroadStreetPublishing.com

Light for Today: 365 Daily Devotions from the Lighthouse

Copyright © 2024 Lauren Green

9781424567287 (faux leather)

9781424567294 (ebook)

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Devotions inspired by Lauren Green’s Lighthouse Faith: God as a Living Reality in a World Immersed in Fog published by Thomas Nelson, a division of HarperCollins Christian Publishing, Inc.

Unless otherwise marked, all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. Scripture quotations marked ESV are taken from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James Version of the Bible, public domain. Scripture quotations marked NRSVA are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition. Copyright © 1989, 1995 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Stock or custom editions of BroadStreet Publishing titles may be purchased in bulk for educational, business, ministry, fundraising, or sales promotional use. For information, please email [email protected].

Cover and interior by Garborg Design Works | garborgdesign.com

Printed in China

24 25 26 27 28 5 4 3 2 1

To the One whose amazing grace guides me.

To the blessed Trinity:

the One who sees me,

the Lamb who was slain,

and the Advocate who intercedes.

To God alone be glory!

Contents

Introduction

January

January 1: The Divinity of Time

January 2: Perfect Love

January 3: Cain’s Sin

January 4: Trauma Transformed to Treasure

January 5: Twelfth Night All Year

January 6: God’s Word, A Weapon

January 7: The Power of Simple Trust

January 8: Thankful as A Way of Being

January 9: Created from Love

January 10: God’s Tank Warfare

January 11: Be Joyful!

January 12: Living by Example

January 13: Growing in Patience

January 14: The Essence of Faith

January 15: We’ve Come This Far by Faith

January 16: God’s Window into Your Soul

January 17: The Power of A Name

January 18: God Knows Us

January 19: God’s Power Overcomes Our Challenges

January 20: The God of Love and Justice

January 21: Do Only God’s Will

January 22: Cultivating A Heart for God

January 23: A Refuge for You

January 24: Walking in the Light

January 25: Protections Known and Unknown

January 26: Putting Trust Only in God

January 27: God’s Plan Prevails

January 28: A Most Satisfying Love

January 29: Choose Wisely

January 30: Boundaries Bring Freedom

January 31: God Creates the Party

February

February 1: Sacrament of Baptism

February 2: Healing the Brokenness

February 3: Discerning Good from Evil

February 4: Death Is Not Natural

February 5: Questioning God’s Love

February 6: The God Who Is

February 7: Preventing Flabby Faith

February 8: Bearing Our Burdens

February 9: Learning from the Lord

February 10: Our Gifts Are from God

February 11: The Mind of the Heart

February 12: The Value of Wisdom

February 13: The Bible: The Owner’s Manual

February 14: Bitter or Better?

February 15: Hidden Deceptions

February 16: Mercy in Healing

February 17: The Greatest of These

February 18: Honoring God with Our Words

February 19: Being Right with God

February 20: Freedom in Truth

February 21: All A Part of Christ

February 22: Obeying out of Love

February 23: God’s Communications

February 24: The Gift of Salvation

February 25: His Peace

February 26: Strength in Weakness

February 27: No Fear of Hell

February 28: To Be Known and Loved

February 29: The Perfect Beauty

March

March 1: Mile Marker Pointing to Jesus

March 2: The Most Loving Father

March 3: Light in Darkness

March 4: Staying Close to God

March 5: Growing in Wisdom

March 6: God Sees Our Needs

March 7: Blood Transfusions

March 8: Miraculous Miracles

March 9: Helping Our Unbelief

March 10: Being Rooted in Christ

March 11: Spiritual Diagnostics

March 12: Accessing the Tree of Life

March 13: God Is Our Strength

March 14: Painful to Forgive

March 15: Quenching Our Thirst

March 16: He Is with You

March 17: Tell God Your Pain

March 18: Growing in God’s Love

March 19: God’s Natural Healing

March 20: Fearing the Future

March 21: The Riches of God

March 22: Jesus Is Our Lifeline

March 23: God Tools in Marriage

March 24: The Power of Patience

March 25: Love’s Divine Order

March 26: Mastering the Sin Within

March 27: Getting out of Our Ruts

March 28: Truly Known, Truly Loved

March 29: God Watching Over

March 30: Bearing Our Sins

March 31: Two Choices

April

April 1: Opening Our Souls to God

April 2: Forgive

April 3: Perfect Advocate

April 4: Evil Is Defeated

April 5: Author of Our Faith

April 6: Humbled by Holy Love

April 7: The Lord Hears All

April 8: Choose Each Day

April 9: True Lies Distort

April 10: Brothers and Sisters All

April 11: Never Alone

April 12: Putting God First

April 13: Delight in God’s Law

April 14: Gifts Abound

April 15: Preparing for Planting

April 16: Fashionably Praiseworthy

April 17: The Mind and the Spirit

April 18: God’s Everlasting Arms

April 19: Growing Better Each Day

April 20: Your Words Are Your Testimony

April 21: Sudden Death

April 22: He Will Help You

April 23: Divine Superhero

April 24: Giving of Gifts

April 25: Plans to Succeed

April 26: Loving to Please Him

April 27: Rising to Serve

April 28: Heeding God’s Wisdom

April 29: He Gave Us Himself

April 30: He Cares

May

May 1: Whom Do You Serve?

May 2: Spiritual Amnesia

May 3: Strength Even in the Storm

May 4: Sabbath Rest in God

May 5: Living in God’s Time

May 6: Love Songs to Jesus

May 7: God as Our Ultimate Parent

May 8: Landing on Your Feet

May 9: God’s Loving Vengeance

May 10: Perfect Law, Perfect Peace

May 11: God’s Currency

May 12: God’s Simple Light

May 13: Transformed by Trials

May 14: Only One Way

May 15: Healthy and Healing Praise

May 16: Never Forsaken

May 17: Spiritual Justice

May 18: Worship the Giver

May 19: Satan’s Full-Court Press

May 20: Victory over Death

May 21: Prideful Destruction

May 22: Peace and Safety

May 23: Serving God, Not Our Talents

May 24: Amazing Grace

May 25: Conditioned to Obey

May 26: Enemies Become Friends

May 27: Deepest Love Possible

May 28: Unique Paths, Same Destination

May 29: Nature and Nurture

May 30: In God’s Garden

May 31: A New Heart

June

June 1: Problems Solved

June 2: Spiritual Cancer

June 3: A Leap of Faith

June 4: God Is Never Mocked

June 5: Living in Beauty

June 6: Successful Failures

June 7: Clothed in God’s Love

June 8: God’s Precious Children

June 9: God’s Victory Is Ours

June 10: The Heart of the Law

June 11: Riches in God’s Refuge

June 12: Walking Alongside

June 13: God’s Ultimate Promise

June 14: Power in Every Word

June 15: Creation Speaks

June 16: The Real Root of Evil

June 17: Mind, Body, and Soul

June 18: Jesus Is Truly Okay

June 19: True Independence Declared

June 20: Freedom through Restrictions

June 21: Beliefs Have Power

June 22: Faith in God’s Power

June 23: Surely Goodness and Mercy

June 24: Making All Things New

June 25: Listening for God’s Voice

June 26: Celebrate Victory over Evil

June 27: Using Words to Heal

June 28: God Alone Is Our Refuge

June 29: The Gift of Life

June 30: A Firm Foundation

July

July 1: Relationships Shape Us

July 2: Speaking Truth in Love

July 3: Transforming Love

July 4: Life and Liberty

July 5: Building Walls

July 6: Praising What We Become

July 7: Reflecting the True Light

July 8: No Gossiping Here

July 9: Serving as Worship

July 10: Be Careful What You Kill

July 11: Jesus Took the Hit

July 12: Released from Shackles

July 13: We Are His Masterpiece

July 14: Hopeful Even in Death

July 15: Thankful Sacrifice

July 16: The Nature of Sin

July 17: Conceiving Evil

July 18: Seeking to Believe

July 19: Living under the Manufacturer’s Guidelines

July 20: Stay in Your Lane

July 21: A Symbol of Death Transformed

July 22: Transforming Truth

July 23: The Only Real Salvation

July 24: God Is Doing Something

July 25: A Time and Purpose

July 26: God’s Poetry in Motion

July 27: Soul Cleansing

July 28: Weaving Our Lives’ Fabric

July 29: Appearances Can Be Deceiving

July 30: Our Duty Becomes Our Passion

July 31: Working for the Lord

August

August 1: Shields against Spiritual Evil

August 2: Honoring Parents

August 3: Different Purposes in God’s Service

August 4: Freedom in Christ

August 5: Power of Prayer

August 6: Mercy and Justice

August 7: Relationships That Hurt or Heal

August 8: Love God and Be Kind

August 9: Unforgiveness Devours

August 10: Amazing Creation!

August 11: We Are Treasonous Traitors

August 12: Defeating Death with Death

August 13: The Heavens Declare Glory

August 14: Building Blocks of Life

August 15: Acting in True Love

August 16: Our Hope and Joy

August 17: God’s Plan A

August 18: The Heart of Warfare

August 19: Daydreams Directed by Christ

August 20: Love through Faith

August 21: The Character of Christ

August 22: Free Indeed

August 23: Belief and Judgment

August 24: The Heart’s God-Shaped Hole

August 25: Ultimate Truth from God

August 26: Delighting in the Lord

August 27: God’s Self-Help

August 28: All One in Christ Jesus

August 29: The Peace of God

August 30: Lord over the Storm

August 31: Rest and Redemption

September

September 1: Flowing from Love

September 2: Come and See

September 3: Fruitful Submission

September 4: Honorable Work

September 5: Think on These Things

September 6: My Redeemer Lives

September 7: Unshakable Faith

September 8: Desires of the Flesh

September 9: The Healing of Humanity

September 10: Clickbait for the Kingdom

September 11: Good and Faithful Servant

September 12: Don’t Be Led Astray

September 13: Existentially Complete in Christ

September 14: Light Never Failing

September 15: God Controls the Winds

September 16: Our Link to God

September 17: Identity in Jesus

September 18: Jesus, the Eyes of Your Heart

September 19: Each Day A Teachable Moment

September 20: Pure Worship

September 21: We Are Contingent Beings

September 22: Sharing the Wealth

September 23: Peace in Praying

September 24: Know the Truth

September 25: A Joyful Earth

September 26: Hope in Sorrow

September 27: Dancing All Night

September 28: Weapons of Spiritual Warfare

September 29: Encountering the Living God

September 30: Built to Withstand Hardships

October

October 1: God’s Law Written on Hearts

October 2: Loving Our Enemies

October 3: Fulfilling God’s Plan

October 4: The Body of Christ

October 5: An Order to Our Relationships

October 6: Ultimate Power in God

October 7: Our Thirst Is Quenched

October 8: Nurturing Children of Faith

October 9: No Editing Out God’s Truth

October 10: Our Daily Bread

October 11: God Knows You Best

October 12: Our Two Natures

October 13: Wording in Grace

October 14: Peace in Our Hearts

October 15: Our Foolishness Atoned For

October 16: Pride Destroys, Humility Creates

October 17: Letting God’s Word Reign

October 18: Reasons to Obey

October 19: The Holy Spirit

October 20: Tilling the Soul’s Soil

October 21: The One Who Sees

October 22: A Luxurious Love

October 23: Integrity for Love of God

October 24: Jonah and God’s Great Mercy

October 25: Feeding Your Foes

October 26: Serenade Him

October 27: Walking by Faith

October 28: Singing through Sorrow

October 29: The Fabric of Our Lives

October 30: Fitted for God’s Glory

October 31: Words to Live By

November

November 1: Acts of Kindness

November 2: Exposing Our True Heart

November 3: Mighty to Heal and Save

November 4: God’s Way Brings Freedom

November 5: Voting for God’s Will

November 6: Growing the Kingdom of Heaven

November 7: Wisdom’s Worth

November 8: Treasured Vessels

November 9: Let God Take Charge

November 10: Praising Changes Us

November 11: No Fear of This “Evil Age”

November 12: Who Is Jesus to You?

November 13: Light of the World

November 14: Looking Up to the Lord

November 15: The Power of God’s Love

November 16: Our True Home

November 17: Lifted to the Maker of Hills

November 18: The Knowledge in God

November 19: Living Out the Gospel

November 20: Jesus, the Perfect Word

November 21: Reality Check

November 22: To Be Thankful

November 23: The Good of Pain

November 24: The Testing of Faith

November 25: Using Your Gifts

November 26: Faith in the Future

November 27: God with Us

November 28: The Quiet Battle

November 29: Never Forgotten

November 30: A Prophetic Headline

December

December 1: Prepare for the Light

December 2: Payment in Fullness

December 3: He Calms the Storms

December 4: Grace So Wonderful

December 5: Divine Love

December 6: Muscling Faith

December 7: Mary Was Tuned in to God

December 8: A Season of Transformation

December 9: The Hope in New Birth

December 10: Shouting Our Blessings!

December 11: Mary Said Yes

December 12: Word Becomes Flesh

December 13: Magnify the Lord

December 14: God Is in Charge

December 15: There Is Always Room

December 16: Letting Your Light Shine

December 17: Resting in God’s Light

December 18: The Ultimate Smackdown

December 19: The Father Who Stays

December 20: God’s Precious Family

December 21: We Live in God’s World

December 22: Jesus Is the Only Way

December 23: Sorrow in the Midst of Joy

December 24: A Christmas Carol’s Faith

December 25: Joy to the World

December 26: Go Tell Everyone!

December 27: Looking for the Christ Child

December 28: The Golden Rule

December 29: Believing Is Seeing

December 30: Miracles of Birth

December 31: Saved by Grace

Acknowledgments

Endnotes

About the Author

INTRODUCTION

Soon after the publication of my book Lighthouse Faith, I birthed the daily devotionals found in this book. The conception and fruition of Lighthouse Faith took the better part of ten years or more, and after its release, there grew in me an even greater need to be close to God. I hadn’t realized how much he had guided me through the process of researching, interviewing, writing, and editing. And it fostered a closeness to the Creator whose image we all bear. I also realized that I needed to be that close to him continually, not just during a big project but also in the slow, moment-by-moment journey of life.

As I continued the daily routine of reading Scripture, praying, and reading theological treatises and other devotionals, thoughts would come to me, by God’s grace, revealing the wisdom and deeper meanings of words or verses and how they should or could impact daily living. I began to expand on some of those thoughts in a daily writing called “Thoughts for the Day,” which appeared on my Facebook page for friends and family to read. Those thoughts now become the heart and soul of this book, Light for Today.

You see, as most of us tacitly sense, life has an ebb and flow. The constant rhythm of waking, working, eating, and sleeping flow naturally and seamlessly through our relationships, and they hold power over us to mold us, challenge us, and strengthen us. But our most important relationship, with the one who created us, we often leave hidden or even forgotten by our daily tasks and our journeying through life’s twists and turns. We forget, if we ever even thought about it, to read Scripture, to cultivate in our lives the incredible wisdom of God’s Word, which is ironic because “the same mind running the universe expresses itself in the Bible.”1

Lighthouse Faith took on that challenge of seeing God as the Light that is always present, guiding us, beckoning us to follow him. His light is like that of a lighthouse, shining its beacon in a foggy world filled with half-truths, missed truths, or even lies.

But there’s more. The shape of the lighthouse is like the structure of the Ten Commandments, God’s holy law. The first commandment, “I am the LORD your God…you shall have no other gods before Me” (Exodus 20:2–3), reminds us that God is the Light of the World. All other laws depend on us putting God first. It’s a truth that brings order and clarity and, ironically, freedom. When God’s truth and presence is our life’s firm foundation, we cannot be swayed by the various winds of culture or even our own emotions that threaten to weigh us down.

Jesus reaffirms the first commandment’s radiant luminosity in the New Testament when he says, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life” (John 8:12).

Living up to our purpose in life, glorifying our maker in all that we do and say is not an easy task in today’s me-focused world, dominated by a culture that is not centered on God or his objective truth. It takes concerted effort. As Oswald Chambers has said, “We can see God in exceptional things, but it requires the culture of spiritual discipline to see God in every detail.”2

But God is faithful. Every day, nay, every moment of every day, a word of his power holds us up, “for in Him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28). And that is, hopefully, what these daily writings can help you see.

Some of the readings are about people in my life or experiences I have had in the past or things I’ve observed as a journalist. Many of the devotionals are stories from the Bible. You see, every life—your life, my life—is a story expressing the inexplicable need for God’s wisdom. So often we fall short of God’s design for our lives. But God is patient through our stumbles. His light is always present.

I pray that these bits of daily light will help illuminate your life and bring you closer to Jesus, the Light of the World.

January

JANUARY 1

THE DIVINITY OF TIME

Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,

and Your dominion endures throughout all generations.

PSALM 145:13

The start of a new year is a good opportunity to remember that time is also part of God’s created order. He established time, designed it, keeps it. To say, “Thank you, Lord, for this day,” is to express gratitude not just for the now but also for all the days that have brought us this far, the ups and downs, the hopes, the dreams, both fulfilled and unrequited.

In liturgical time, today is the Eighth Day of Christmas. It’s funny that as a culture, we move on from Christmas quickly to the hoopla surrounding the start of a New Year, when in fact, it’s Christmas that holds the greatest hope we have. When our spiritual calculations are off and focused on the wrong things, we’ll never find the true joy we so desperately need and want. It’s like in the movie Raiders of the Lost Ark, when the swashbuckling archeologist Indiana Jones and his friend realize their competitor has the wrong map coordinates, and so they both say enthusiastically, “They’re digging in the wrong place!”

And that means they’ll never find what they’re looking for. The joy of this New Year and throughout the year is in Christ. He is the Light shining in the darkness. You’ll always find your heart’s desire when you seek the King first.

To God alone be glory!

JANUARY 2

PERFECT LOVE

There is no fear in love;

but perfect love casts out fear,

because fear involves torment.

But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.

1 JOHN 4:18

A married couple thought it would be great if their new little kitten had a companion. As luck would have it, a dear friend who was a vet had a rescue kitten about the same age. At first sight, the two kittens did not get along well. And that’s putting it mildly! There was lots of hissing, growling, and hackle raising. The couple had to keep the kittens separated at all times so they didn’t kill each other. The couple both had battle scars from trying to separate the warring kittens in their campaign.

But a couple of days later something changed as the animals’ hatred for each other turned to curiosity. Fierce fighting turned to wrestling. Then they started eating together. Within a few days, they began grooming each other. Then it was certain: the once mortal enemies were best buds. What happened to change hate to love?

The couple believed it was because the kittens no longer feared each other. With ample comfort and their humans’ love, they no longer feared the other’s presence. It’s the same with us and our heavenly Father. To understand what his presence means in our lives, his love guaranteed by Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, is to know a love that not only brings contentment but that also transcends all understanding.

To God alone be glory!

JANUARY 3

CAIN’S SIN

The LORD said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?”

He said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?”

GENESIS 4:9

God’s query to Cain was a rhetorical question. God knew where Abel was, but he was giving Cain the opportunity to confess and repent. Cain’s reply was meant to hide an evil deed, the first murder recorded in the Bible. It was also an attempt to convince himself—the evil doer—that he did nothing wrong. But as in all cases of sin, God already knew what Cain had done. Cain had killed his brother.

God was trying to help Cain, whom he loved, to admit what he had done and to ask for forgiveness so that true healing could begin. It was a little like a soul cleanser. Instead of being wrathful and smiting Cain, God wanted Cain to feel remorse about what he had done, wanted him to hurt from the sin he had committed. But Cain only felt pain about what it was going to cost him.

How we are so still like Cain today, even as we understand this amazing concept called grace. We, on this side of the cross, post crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ, have far more understanding of grace than Cain ever could. But still, we are so like our ancient ancestor. We see it in the man who stops having affairs only when his wife threatens to leave him or the woman who cries before a judge for shoplifting because she’s being sentenced to jail time. We understand how sin breaks God’s law. But grace can help us understand how it breaks God’s heart.

To God alone be glory!

JANUARY 4

TRAUMA TRANSFORMED TO TREASURE

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless,

Christ died for the ungodly.

ROMANS 5:6 NIV

A woman recalls a childhood injustice when her first-grade teacher made the entire class stay after school because some of the boys were badly misbehaving. At six years of age, she had no concept of time. What was probably all of five minutes seemed an eternity. Her child’s mind imagined it was like a life sentence in prison. She thought she would never see her mother or her home again. She began to cry…a lot! She remembers how a classmate called her a crybaby. She felt weak and helpless, wrongly punished, and wrongly mocked.

That moment had a profound impact on her for several years of her elementary school days. As the end of each school day neared, she felt the trauma again. Her throat tightened. The tears came. For years she worked to bury her feelings, fearing being called “crybaby” yet again. But then as a young adult, she began to realize the great benefit of having been through the heartbreak. It gave her the ability to empathize and comfort others. She knows now that what she had been burying was a treasure trove of God’s gift to her.

Sometimes the worst thing that can happen to us could end up being one of the best. That is what the cross teaches us. How could the tragedy of God in the flesh dying on a cross, unjustly sentenced, cruelly mocked, amount to anything good? And yet we know it is the climax of human history that cosmically changed the world and defeated our ultimate enemy, death itself.

To God alone be glory!

JANUARY 5

TWELFTH NIGHT ALL YEAR

Being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod,

they departed for their own country another way.

MATTHEW 2:12

A glorious Twelfth Night! It seems a long time since Christmas. The tree is down, or it’s looking like it should be. Traditionally, this is the time when the church says the wise men reached the newly born baby Jesus and his parents, Mary and Joseph. They brought gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. However, some scholars believe the magi arrived even later—by two years.

Regardless, Twelfth Night gives us an opportunity to reflect on how we can keep Christmas in our hearts the rest of the year. After the snows melt and the spring rains come, the image of the tiny babe born in a manger helps us remember Jesus’ humanity and that his birth means he is just like us in so many ways: vulnerable, breakable, loveable. But unlike us, he is God. And because he lives, we can face whatever is ahead this year and beyond.

To God alone be glory!

JANUARY 6

GOD’S WORD, A WEAPON

Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness

to be tempted by the devil.

MATTHEW 4:1

We can learn so much from the account of Jesus in the wilderness. But one of the most striking things is how to resist temptations. They often come when we are weakest. Jesus was hungry and tired. He was tempted first by the very thing his body was craving: food. The devil offered bread to Jesus. When Jesus could easily have questioned God’s love during forty days of utter silence, the devil promised safety and security. Jesus also could have questioned God’s wisdom in letting him suffer. The devil promised wealth and power. But at what cost? Compromising Christ’s relationship with God.

What’s compelling about the exchange is that the devil uses Scripture to tempt Jesus. But Jesus knows that Satan has twisted its meaning. The devil believes in God and even knows God’s Word. And if he’s not afraid to quote Scripture to the Son of God, he’s certainly not afraid to use it on us. If the Bible offered only solace and comfort, then occasionally reading it would be fine. But if the Holy Scriptures are truly the Sword of the Spirit, a spiritual weapon, then they have power to thwart the devil’s schemes.

The Bible is not an occasional talisman against inclement conditions that pop up in our life but the actual life blood of God’s wisdom. God’s Word is “a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105).

To God alone be glory!

JANUARY 7

THE POWER OF SIMPLE TRUST

Blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD,

whose confidence is in him.

JEREMIAH 17:7 NIV

The best resolutions are the simple ones, like, “I will trust in the Lord.” In its simplicity, it is truly powerful. To see our ultimate fulfillment in serving the risen Savior, we must complete all our other pursuits peacefully and joyfully as we must do all things for God’s glory. Disappointment will not crush us but make us stronger. A bad report will only help us learn to find better solutions to problems. And those problems will only become pathways to greater solutions.

By trusting God, you invertedly teach others around you without even using words. You are the gospel in action for family, friends, coworkers, neighbors. All are changed through an encounter with God’s holy gospel of grace and truth. Along with a resolution to trust is a mindset to help transform a hurting and confused world by being an example of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the grace by which you have been saved.

To God alone be glory!

JANUARY 8

THANKFUL AS A WAY OF BEING

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks;

for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

1 THESSALONIANS 5:16–18

If we’re honest with ourselves, this verse is easier read than done. But make no mistake. It’s a verse for practical living. This is how we are victorious in the world, overcoming its trials and challenges. To be thankful is to be joyful. And when you have harnessed the power of prayer, you have gained the most effective weapon of spiritual warfare.

Lost a relationship? Be joyful that Jesus is still the love of your life. Lost your job? Be grateful that Jesus became poor so we could inherit riches beyond comparison. Suffering the loss of a loved one? Ask the Lord Jesus Christ to comfort you and weep with you, to hold on to you and help you through it.

Meet every challenge in life with the practical tools of spiritual strength: pray, give thanks, be joyful. It’s the trifecta of a spiritual battle hard fought and won. God will never leave us or forsake us. “The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love” (Psalm 145:8 NIV).

To God alone be glory!

JANUARY 9

CREATED FROM LOVE

I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

ROMANS 8:38–39

God created the world by his love. His love is the foundation of everything that we see. It is also the foundation of who we are. All of us are shaped by love and molded by circumstances that are a combination of others’ love, an amalgam of our parents, siblings, extended family, and friends.

But because love is so foundational, we are also shaped and molded by the absence of or the distortion of love. That is why we must look to Jesus Christ as the ultimate relationship. He can love us the way we should be loved. Parents are not perfect, but Jesus Christ is. Siblings are sinful, but Jesus Christ never sinned. Spouses sometimes lie and cheat, but Jesus Christ is your true spouse. He is truth and gracious generosity and love.

He is the Word made flesh, and he made his dwelling among us. Override the world’s distortions of love by loving Jesus Christ first. All your other loves will benefit from the greatest love of all.

To God alone be glory!

JANUARY 10

GOD’S TANK WARFARE

“The turning away of the simple will slay them, and the complacency of fools

will destroy them; but whoever listens to me will dwell safely,

and will be secure, without fear of evil.”

PROVERBS 1:32–33

An episode of a documentary series on World War II focused on tank techniques. Military tanks are a perfect analogy for how God deals with us. The program showed how tanks are big and bold and can cause a lot of damage, but they can’t maneuver well. One strategy for combat tank warfare is to build trenches. This accomplishes one of two things: either the tank will plow into a trench, get stuck, and become vulnerable to enemy assault; or the tank will go around the trench and onto a more desired path, which is God’s real purpose for us.

In war an enemy builds a trench to destroy. But when God builds a trench or puts up a roadblock, it’s to save us. If we all look back on our lives, we see so many times when we cried out to God in anger. Maybe it was the pain of a relationship coming to an end or an opportunity we felt we deserved that passed us by or just general malaise and frustration over life’s circumstances.

But if we see these contradictions as trenches, small and large, in God’s divine tank warfare, we can see his firm but loving hand directing us toward a better path, leading to him and his wisdom.

To God alone be glory!

JANUARY 11

BE JOYFUL!

You will show me the path of life;

in Your presence is fullness of joy;

at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

PSALM 16:11

A funny thing about joy is that the more you express it, the more joyful you become. Joy is like a vivacious virus; once it gets into your system, it never leaves. Even if you don’t feel its effects, it’s still there. It can remain dormant but never disappear.

Faith in Jesus Christ is a lifetime gift of joy. You don’t go out and get it. You receive it. Like a great pastor wrote, “Joy is not a requirement of Christian discipleship, it is a consequence.”3 And like any virus, you can infect others with its power and effects. Being joyful is our special condition as Christians. It’s not about forgetting the problems of life but rather being able to see past them to find solutions.

Jesus Christ “for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross” (Hebrews 12:2). He is our example of joy in the midst of hardship. Be a thermostat of joy and set the temperature wherever you go.

To God alone be glory!

JANUARY 12

LIVING BY EXAMPLE

I will meditate on Your precepts,

and contemplate Your ways.

PSALM 119:15

A middle-aged woman looked back on having to take city buses in her teens. She used to see a lot of interesting characters. But one in particular had a big influence on her. It was a young woman. She was fairly pretty and always had a glow about her. And she always wore a smile. She carried in her lap a well-worn Bible, and she would read a few words then close her eyes as if to memorize what she’d just read. Then she would smile as if she’d just ingested a savory meal. Her eyes would light up.

Back then, the teen used to feel so sorry for the young woman because, being strongly influenced by the liturgy of a secular world, she thought the young woman a little crazy. But the other young woman possessed a positive spirit and a contentment that the teen craved and to some extent probably envied. Today, she thinks about that young woman with only admiration and thankfulness. It was because of her that the teen finally learned how to look upon God’s Word. Now, as a grown woman, she lets Scripture fill her entire being. She daily tastes the savory and sweet meal that nourished that young woman and kept her aglow.

It just goes to show that you never know who may be looking at you at any time. And what you do or say can bring a big change in someone else’s life, even years later.

To God alone be glory!

JANUARY 13

GROWING IN PATIENCE

Be…rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation,

continuing steadfastly in prayer.

ROMANS 12:10, 12

Many times, we pray for patience; maybe it’s through a difficult circumstance or to deal with difficult people. But patience is one of those qualities that we learn through trials. It does not come via a magic wand. God will not wave his hand and instantly bestow patience on us. He will put more obstacles in our path so that we grow patience as we would a muscle. And we can only strengthen that muscle as we encounter difficult people or situations.

In the end, we must learn to have a sort of “passion for patience.” As one theologian said, “We will not learn it by swallowing our sense of outrage on the one hand or, on the other, excusing all wickedness as neurosis. We will do it by offering up our anger to God, who trains us in creative love.”4

Embracing the prospect of patience also means seeing Christ on the cross, patiently accepting his tortuous death in order to give us life. Be patient with others, for God’s patient love has granted us eternity with him.

To God alone be glory!

JANUARY 14

THE ESSENCE OF FAITH

Faith is the substance of things hoped for,

the evidence of things not seen.

HEBREWS 11:1

While evidence is a scientific term based on what we can observe, hope is nothing of the sort. It is not a physical presence. Only God could combine such disparate things to describe faith. But hope has its polar opposite, which can be dangerous for us. As Thornton Wilder said, “Hope is a projection of the imagination; so is despair.” Hope and despair are opposite reactions to suffering. It is not easy to hope in the midst of pain. So what’s the solution?

We can live in hope by training our hearts and minds in the good times to trust in the living God, just like any athlete training for a big race or competition. Try running a marathon without ever having run even two blocks. The stress on those untrained legs will break you and make your lungs feel like they’re burning up. Instead, you have to start slowly, building up your stamina, and keeping yourself healthy. The same is true if you want to remain strong at times when your faith is challenged. As Edward Mote’s old hymn says, our hope is built on “nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.” It is on Christ the solid rock we stand. That is our evidence!

To God alone be glory!

JANUARY 15

WE’VE COME THIS FAR BY FAITH

We walk by faith,

not by sight.

2 CORINTHIANS 5:7

A woman once related to me how, over one holiday season, she experienced much pain along with joy. Right before Thanksgiving, one of her dearest aunts passed away. Two days after Christmas, another beloved aunt died. Her “beloved aunties,” as she says, were elderly, and their passing was not unexpected. But she remembered how they helped shape her life.

It was one aunt, her mother’s sister, who came to her rescue at school when morning kindergarten had been canceled. The school couldn’t reach her mom, so they told the child they had called “Mrs. Johnson.” The child, at such a tender age, was fearful of this Mrs. Johnson until, to her delight and joy, in walked her wonderful auntie! And it was another aunt who coined the woman’s childhood nickname. It was also the voice of this aunt she remembers one evening singing a gospel hymn around the piano, “We’ve Come This Far by Faith.”

For both of these special women, it was a faith built on the foundation of strife and hardship but also joy and hope. They never lost their belief that God would see them through whatever life handed them. The woman says she is so grateful for so much richness of faith her aunts brought into her life; a bountiful harvest of trusting in God’s Holy Word. He’ll never fail you.

To God alone be glory!

JANUARY 16

GOD’S WINDOW INTO YOUR SOUL

[Jacob] was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place!

This is none other than the house of God,

and this is the gate of heaven!”

GENESIS 28:17

One woman told me that God spoke to her through her passion—music. A revelation came to her through music, when God spoke to her in a way that only a musician would understand. There was no doubt that God was making his presence known by using something she knew so well. It’s a reminder that everyone has a gateway, a door, a cracked window through which God comes into their lives and radically changes their understanding of who God is.

Instead of seeking God as an intellectual or academic pursuit you join in once a week as part of organized religion, you can let God transform your whole life and become the center around which your whole life revolves. God becomes the environment through which you perceive your life. He meets you where you are.

For Jacob, it was a stairway that opened the way to heaven. For a musician, the notes on a page. For you, it can be something totally different, such as a bike ride or a backyard garden. What matters is that wherever you open yourself to receiving him, God will be there. The gate of heaven is always nearby.

To God alone be glory!

JANUARY 17

THE POWER OF A NAME

She conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Now I will praise the LORD”

Therefore she called his name Judah. Then she stopped bearing.

GENESIS 29:35

Leah named her fourth son Judah. The first three she named out of her grief over the fact that her husband Jacob did not love her. For he was in love with Leah’s sister, Rachel. But it seems by the time her fourth child arrived, Leah had given up trying to make Jacob love her and instead praised God for his love for her.

Judah, what a name! It means “praise.” It was Leah’s fourth son through which the tribe of Judah gets its name. The tribe that generations later gave birth to King David, Solomon, and numerous great prophets also gave us Jesus, God’s Son and the Messiah.

In the New Testament, Jesus is called the Lion of Judah. Oh, the things God can do! We can be reassured that whatever we feel and whatever we go through, we can confidently give it over to God. He will make something good come from anything. Praise him! Leah did. And look what happened.

To God alone be glory!

JANUARY 18

GOD KNOWS US

O LORD, You have searched me and known me.

You know my sitting down and my rising up;

You understand my thought afar off.

You comprehend my path and my lying down,

and are acquainted with all my ways.

PSALM 139:1–3

Physical challenges just seem to accompany us as we get older. It’s part of the natural path of aging. Doctor visits and perhaps even hospital stays are not uncommon parts of the landscape of life. The funny part is that we never really give our bodies much thought when we’re young. But as we age, the body breaks down, and we become more acutely aware of it. Knees and hips are prone to arthritis. Hands, too, become less dexterous.

We become intimately aware of our body through its pain. But then we should also remember that God knows our pain better than we do. And here’s a thought: Do we know God more than we know our pain? J. I. Packer wrote something that is so helpful through the physical challenges. He said those who know God “never brood on might-have-beens; they never think of the things they have missed, only of what they have gained.”5

We may have pain, but the Bible promises that the love of God is far more powerful. He knows us. And life, even with its pain and suffering, gives us this wonderful opportunity to know God more intimately.

To God alone be glory!

JANUARY 19

GOD’S POWER OVERCOMES OUR CHALLENGES

Your testimonies I have taken as a heritage forever,

for they are the rejoicing of my heart.

PSALM 119:111

People who live in a cold weather climate know that snow is slippery. And after a sizable snowfall, if you want to get into your driveway without getting stuck, you’d better enter at a good clip. If you go too slow, the tires will spin, and your car will slide.

During winters, the entry to a certain alley way would get so rutted with snow and ice that huge grooves formed an odd bobsled track. Veterans of the neighborhood obstacle instructed novice drivers how to get into the alley without getting stuck. You had to speed up prior to entering the alley and let the car’s momentum get you through. The weight of the car in motion overcame the slickness of the ice.

The law of ice and snow relates to the law of God’s power to overcome any of our challenges in life. Brooding over problems is like getting stuck in an ice and snow rut. The solution is always to bring the problem to God. Not only does he have the answer, but we can also have faith that he is greater than the weight of the problem. He turned the greatest problem, the death of his Son, into the greatest triumph: his resurrection and our redemption. There’s no rut too big for God. Trust him!

To God alone be glory!

JANUARY 20

THE GOD OF LOVE AND JUSTICE

Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldeans’ pride,

will be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.

ISAIAH 13:19

We sometimes forget that although God is the source of love, mercy, and patience, he is also a God of justice. That works fine if we only think of the obvious sins, like murder, stealing, or adultery. But many good things can become sins, like idolizing a successful career or a loving relationship. It’s hard to recognize when they’ve crossed over into the “dark side,” so to speak.

Take aspiration versus ambition. They have many of the same qualities but lead to very different goals. As Eugene Peterson said, “Ambition is aspiration gone crazy. Aspiration is channeled, creative energy that moves us to grow in Christ, shaping goals in the Spirit. Ambition takes these same energies for growth and development and uses them to make something tawdry and cheap.”6

Ambition recognizes no higher authority but its own desires. Aspiration desires to serve, not be served. Only a loving God, who knows our hearts and minds, understands how to judge the difference and lead us to understanding it as well.

To God alone be glory!

JANUARY 21

DO ONLY GOD’S WILL

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a

roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

1 PETER 5:8

At any moment of the day, we should ask ourselves, Am I doing God’s will, following my own will, or being a tool of the devil? This is the problem with sin-based creatures like us. Taking our eyes off the Source of Life is like taking our eyes off the road while driving. Many times, nothing bad happens. But then sometimes, terrible things do transpire, and we say to ourselves, How could that happen? I only looked away for a second! That’s why they’re called accidents. They are the unintended consequences of not being alert to the conditions around us.

Failed marriages, discord in the home, dishonest gain, and other unwanted outcomes all come from taking our eyes off the source of hope and happiness. The Bible is our driver’s manual on the road of life. It’s number one edict: keep your eyes on Jesus, God’s Word made flesh. He has ultimate knowledge of the road conditions. Trust in that.

To God alone be glory!

JANUARY 22

CULTIVATING A HEART FOR GOD

“The heart is deceitful above all things,

and desperately wicked;

who can know it?”

JEREMIAH 17:9

In the 1970s, a song by Morris Albert called “Feelings” became a big hit. The lyrics spoke of being consumed by heartbreak in the aftermath of a broken relationship. While it’s easy to be consumed by feelings, from a biblical perspective, it’s not a wise thing to do. Certainly, from God’s point of view, it’s a terrible idea! His Word says, “Those who trust in their own wits are fools; but those who walk in wisdom come through safely” (Proverbs 28:26 NRSVA).

Feelings are important. They can protect against predators and make us wary of dangers. But they can also lead us astray unless they’re accompanied by hard facts. The truth is, “Feelings don’t run the show. There is a reality deeper than our feelings.” And God wants us to “live by that.”7 God wants us to live by the reality that his Son, Jesus, suffered and died on the cross to defeat the evil that constantly bombards us. And evil knows that the best way to attack us is through our feelings.

God is greater than anything we may feel. He is the ultimate source of wisdom and knowledge. And no feeling can change that.

To God alone be glory!

JANUARY 23

A REFUGE FOR YOU

Trust in Him at all times, you people;

pour out your heart before Him;

God is a refuge for us.

PSALM 62:8

A brilliant piano teacher in New York City helps his students understand how to interpret the music of the masters, like one of the famous romantic composers Brahms. Or the powerhouse of the classical era Beethoven. In one lesson, the teacher explained to a student the difference between playing the two composers’ works. Beethoven was like telling a story about something that happened to someone else. But with Brahms, you’re telling the story about yourself. That totally changes how the musician performs a piece. A certain emotional distance exists when the story is about someone else. But when it’s about you, the emotions are raw. There’s no hiding.

This is how Psalm 62:8 can affect us. Substitute your name for “you people.” And at the end say, “God is a refuge for [me].” By doing this you can quickly realize that God is not a distant deity who merely makes sure his subjects are behaving. The reality is that God is a loving parent who wants to hold us and comfort us no matter what we’re going through.

God is the ultimate musical master. He knows when the song is about someone else and when it’s about the person singing the tune. Sing to him.

To God alone be glory!

JANUARY 24

WALKING IN THE LIGHT

If we walk in the light as He is in the light,

we have fellowship with one another,

and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.

1 JOHN 1:7

New York is the hub and home of the Broadway musical. One of the big-time favorites is Hello Dolly. One woman who’s a big music buff says the opening number, “Put on Your Sunday Clothes,” occasionally brings her to tears. It’s not because the song is particularly emotional but because it displays in musical form what happens when we all “walk in the light.” By that she means when we all walk in the same Light.

In the musical, we see all sorts of people joyfully anticipating their excursion into town. They’re all dancing to the tune of the same music, the same composer. They each have their individual reasons for hopping on the train, but they’re moving to the same rhythm.

Herbert Schlossberg wrote that “universals transcend particulars.”8 Whatever differences we have among us—age, race, height, culture, or others—pale in God’s Light. To walk in God’s universal Light helps us overcome our differences. But more than that, it helps us respond with great joy as we’re all cleansed in the blood of the Lamb. It helps us put on our Sunday clothes seven days a week.

To God alone be glory!

JANUARY 25

PROTECTIONS KNOWN AND UNKNOWN

Preserve me, O God,

for in You I put my trust.

PSALM 16:1

I know a couple with several cats, and they explained to me how they’re constantly picking up things around their home that could be dangerous to kittens. The little furry ones seem to enjoy chewing on, scratching on, and chasing around all sorts of items that to humans are just innocuous, inanimate objects. But for kittens, these playthings could be lethal.

If the straight pins my friend uses for sewing become lodged in the carpet, they can puncture a paw; the power cord to the phone chargers can administer an electric shock if a cat chews on it; earplugs, necessary to New York city apartment dwelling, are small enough for a cat to choke on. There are scores of examples, and the felines have no idea the dangers their pet-parents protect them from. It’s exactly the same for us in God’s world.

How many potential hazards does God remove from our lives without our ever being aware of the dangers? How many times has God protected us from untold harm? We’ll probably never know this side of heaven. It’s just good to know that there is a God who loves us enough to be our armor and shield and never ask for credit for all the things he has done to keep us from harm. But one thing he has done that we do know about is sacrifice his Son for us. Thank him for all things. Both known and unknown.

To God alone be glory!

JANUARY 26

PUTTING TRUST ONLY IN GOD

Those who know Your name will put their trust in You;

for You, LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You.

PSALM 9:10

New York City is the mecca of fine dining. It doesn’t necessarily mean five-star and white-tablecloth dining, although there’s plenty of that. There is a plethora of good places to eat; even a hole-in-the-wall diner can have excellent and amazing tasting food. So competition is stiff.

One Thai restaurant tried to entice would-be diners with a sign that said, “In noodles and rice we trust.” It was a lighthearted play on the phrase on our legal tender, “In God we trust.” But it gnawed on the conscience of more than one passerby because trust is such a crucial thing. Declaring our trust in God is appropriate for our money because it’s saying that even something as valuable as the almighty dollar must come second to our need for God.

Making a joke of the phrase could create a tendency to forget the importance of trusting in God. We all have a choice of where to place our trust. Noodles and rice are wonderful but hardly something you can trust. And if you ever eat at that restaurant, it’ll be a good thing to make sure to thank God for them.

To God alone be glory!

JANUARY 27

GOD’S PLAN PREVAILS

[Abraham] believed in the LORD,

and He accounted it to him for righteousness.

GENESIS 15:6