The Christian's Guide to a Godly Life

The Christian’s Guide to a Godly Life© A 40 Day Devotional for Spiritual Transformation

By G.W. Martinez

2 Table of Contents: Introduction:

4

Part I:

Our Motivation.

7

Chapter 1:

God’s Unfailing Love.

Day 1 – 4

8

Chapter 2:

God’s Amazing Grace.

Day 5 – 7

18

Chapter 3:

God’s Compassion for His People.

Day 8 – 11

27

Part II:

Our Foundation.

39

Chapter 4:

The Trust of God. Day 12 – 16

40

Chapter 5:

Faith.

Day 17 – 19

57

Part VI:

Our Devotion

68

Chapter 6:

Prayer: Our Response to God. Day 21 – 23

69

Chapter 7:

Honoring God with Worship, Thanksgiving and Praise.

Day 24 - 26

81

Part V:

Our Transformation

93

Chapter 8:

Godly Conviction.

Day 27 – 30

94

Chapter 9:

Growth and Transformation.

Day 31 – 34

116

Part VI:

Our Obligation

133

Chapter 10: Meeting the Needs of Others.

Day 35 - 38

134

Chapter 11: Living a life that Brings God Glory.

Day 39 – 40

155

3 Conclusion

167

4 Introduction: One of the most challenging aspects of our spiritual journey is to fulfill what we and God desire for our lives, namely, to be transformed everyday into the likeness of Christ. The external requirements of obedience to God’s word are difficult enough, but to effect a transformation in our hearts that leads to a permanent transformation of our lives is something that is not only difficult but can be truly said to only come through supernatural intervention.

What this study intends to do is to help us to grow by helping us develop conviction according to the hierarchy of our spiritual needs. The way God has created us we are products of our spiritual perspectives and convictions. God created us with a hierarchy of spiritual needs, where certain needs take priority over others; and by developing conviction and fulfilling our most important spiritual needs, we can build on them, resulting in a faithful and glorious Christian life.

The most important thing that we need to understand is that all spirituality begins within the heart: Prov 4:23 23 Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. NIV Without our hearts, attempting to live the Christian life will be futile. It may serve the temporary purpose of giving us the opportunity of living life by God’s perfect principles, yet unless the heart grows, in the end it will be a vain attempt that will result in living a hypocritical life. Like Jesus said: Mark 7:6-7 6 He [Jesus] replied, "Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: "'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.

7 They worship me in vain ; their teachings are but rules taught by men.' NIV Parenthesis and italics mine.

God has created us to live first by our hearts and then by our actions. When we are fully convinced of God’s truths in our hearts, we live lives of strong faith and love that produce deeds that bring God glory. If we are not grounded fully in the truth, we will find the Christian life a series of rules and traditions that have lost their meaning; resulting in a religious rollercoaster ride, which constantly take us from the heights of spiritual victory, to the depth of spiritual despair. Until our internal selves are full of faith and the love of God, we will be blown here and there by every emotion, idea, desire, and temptation, becoming slaves to our internal nature and powerless against our external circumstances. We will

5 become slaves to anything and everything that competes for God’s lordship in our lives, such as: our jobs, the economy, money, our spouse, our kids, our emotions, our sin, and whatever else competes with our devotion to God. We will become easily distracted, ultimately leading to a fruitless life: As Jesus said in the Parable of the seeds: Mark 4:18-19 8 Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 19 but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. NIV On the contrary, God has designed us so that when our more important spiritual needs are met, we are able to live faithfully and consistently adhering to the requirements God expects from our lives as Christians. What I mean is that if we have weak faith, we will not be able to live faithful lives; but if we have strong faith we will be strong till our last breath. If we struggle in our trust of God, we will be weak in our obedience to Him; yet if we trust God, nothing will be impossible for us. If we lack love, we will not be able to faithfully serve others; but if we love deeply we will be able to share in God’s love, as well as share that love with others. Therefore, we must be transformed in our hearts, if we want to be transformed in our lives.

This study is designed to influence the hierarchy of our spiritual needs, by helping us develop conviction on each spiritual level of our hearts; and by doing so we will be sufficiently strengthened to make lasting changes in our lives. The hierarchy is as follows:

Obligation Transformation Devotion

Living a life that Glorifies God Godly Conviction Walking with God

Foundation

Trust in God/ Faith in God

Motivation

God’s Love

When we build and strengthen one foundation, then can we build on it to sufficiently strengthen the next. As we continue to build, and God helps us to build, we will create a life that will not only stand the test of time, trials, temptation, and trouble, but will ultimately end in the glory of God, both in this life and the next.

6 So I say, strap yourselves in and be prepared for a journey that will last 40 days.

It will be full of joys and struggles, as we wrestle with our hearts to gain the conviction that God wants for us and that will help us to grow ever so close to Him. I suggest that we take time to memorize the scriptures at the end of each day’s study, or at least meditate on them as the day moves on. Each study ends with a decision that we make to ourselves and to God, which will help us commit ourselves to the convictions and principles that God conveys to us in scripture; as well as a practical application of the principle that will help us to begin living these convictions in our daily life. Younger Christians may find it beneficial to do one study per day, while older Christians may find that doing a few studies at a time more beneficial. I have also added additional studies at the end for additional inspiration and growth.

I myself can testify that I am a changed man due to the hundreds of scriptures that you will find in this study; and I continue to review and meditate on them to this day. I hope that they will have a similar or greater impact in your life, and I pray that your transformation will fulfill our ultimate purpose in this life as Christians, namely, to bring God glory in all that we are and in everything that we do, for now and until eternity. To God be the glory, forever and ever, Amen.

7

Our Motivation

8 Chapter 1:

God’s Unfailing Love.

Day 1: God is Love 1 John 4:16 16‌God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. NIV God describes Himself in one word. Even though He has all of His amazing attributes, His amazing abilities and his awesome, majestic, powerful, and omniscient qualities, He describes Himself in one word, and that word is love.

Love is the embodiment of who God is and everything that God does. When it comes to creation, even destruction, it is all manifested out of the love that God has and the loving being that He is.

God created us because of His love for us. His being, out of the overflow of love, created us as objects to love. We would not exist if God was not love, for we would have no reason to exist. This is why we have the capacity to love. As God has created us as the objects of His love He has endowed us with the capacity to love Him back. This capacity is seen very clearly in us when we are born and as children, when we are at the most innocent stage in our lives. We were born out of love and created to love in a symbiotic relationship with our Creator. As the Bible says: 1 John 4:7-8 7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. NIV Without God, there is no love, and without love there is no connection with God. This is why so many people have lived their lives without a relationship with God, because they refuse to love.

One reason it is difficult to love is because of the increase of wickedness in this world. This is the direct result of being the recipients of the consequences of sin in a fallen world. For example, I have been in relationships where other people have been betrayed the love I gave them. When I experienced this unfaithfulness, I hardened my heart to loving in that way ever again. The hardening of my heart developed made it difficult to love the same way again.

Consequently, being in a world with fallen souls with weak morals, being hurt again and again was commonplace, and my heart grew harder and harder. It was only by being exposed to the pure love of God, that my heart could come to life again, and be able to fulfill my capacity to love.

Another reason it may be difficult for us to understand how to love and to grasp the love of God is because many of us have been exposed to parental figures

9 that fared way below any standard of holiness and were not very good examples of God. God’s attributes include unconditional love, and abundant compassion, patience, kindness, gentleness, mercy, grace, providence, security, encouragement, and the like. Unfortunately, our parents, though I am sure they tried, fell short of ever displaying these qualities consistently in our lives. I don’t necessarily blame them, because being part of a fallen world; they are weak in their natural selves to sustain any semblance at godliness. Yet, the unfortunate result of being exposed to these “not so great” parental examples is a much distorted picture of God and a difficulty in trusting Him; and consequentially a difficult time in loving Him due to the hardness of our hearts.

Yet how do we again tap into our God given capacity to love God and accept His love? The Bible has the simplest and the best solution: 1 John 4:19 19 We love because he first loved us . NIV Our capacity to love and the ability for that love to grow is dependent on our exposure to the great and amazing love of God. Therefore, we must be overwhelmingly exposed to God’s great love in order to melt the coldness of our hearts and again breathe life into our souls. The more exposure we have available to us of the love of God the more our hearts will melt at His very presence. Our greatest examples of this are the vast amount of scriptures that testify to the awesome love of God. These first few weeks of this 40 days study, we will embark on an adventure through the Bible in search of the great love of God. We will look at all of the amazing qualities of God’s love, so that by doing so, our hearts will melt and fall in love with our great and awesome God. We will look at how unworthy we truly are of God’s love, to help us to appreciate Him more. And we will look at how God has demonstrated His love to us, so that we will have proof to help us truly believe in how much God truly and abundantly loves us, His children.

Question for reflection: If God were willing to let Jesus die to regain a relationship with us, then what does that say about the extent of God’s love for us?

Decision: I will seek to more deeply understand God abundant love for me.

Scripture Memory: 1 John 4:16 16…God is love . Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. NIV

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Practice: I will reflect on God’s great love for me today.

11 Day 2: God’s Unfailing Love Psalms 33:5 5 The LORD loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love.

NIV The first quality that we see about God’s love is that it is unfailing. Unfailing, means never ending, and everlasting; in other words nothing in this universe can ever prevent or hinder God’s love. Therefore, if God loves us, his love is an unstoppable force that nothing in the world can ever hinder from reaching us, and most importantly, it will never fail us.

When people love it is unsecure and untrustworthy because of our limited ability as human beings to sustain our love. One guarantee of human love is that it will fail at one time or another. The guarantee we have with God’s love is that it will never fail, because God has no limitations, and nothing in the universe can ever stop God. As the Bible says: Rom 8:38-9:1 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. NIV The Bible is full of scriptures of God’s unfailing love. Here are a few that we can reflect on to begin our journey toward spiritual transformation with the right perspective in mind: Psalms 32:10 10 Many are the woes of the wicked, but the LORD's unfailing love surrounds the man who trusts in him.

NIV Psalms 33:18 18 But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love, NIV Psalms 52:8 8 But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God; I trust in God's unfailing love forever and ever. NIV

12 These scriptures only begin to touch the hem of what encompasses God’s great love for us. This is why I have added additional scriptures in the appendix to help us to continue to reflect on the truth of God’s love and begin the spiritual transformation that God so desperately desires of us. Our goal is to know God’s love fully so that we in turn can fully love. It is a pursuit that must never be abandoned and one that we should pray for every day. As Paul says: Eph 3:14-19 14 For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge — that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. NIV Question for reflection: What does God’s unfailing love mean to you?

Decision: I will trust in God’s unfailing love, no matter what my circumstance.

Scripture memory: Psalms 32:10 10 Many are the woes of the wicked, but the LORD's unfailing love surrounds the man who trusts in him. NIV Practice: No matter what today’s circumstances, I will believe that God’s love is always with me.

13 Day 3: God’s Eternal Love Psalms 100:5 5 For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.

NIV God being eternal, has and expresses eternal love for His creation. This means that as long as God lives He will continue to shower his love for mankind and His creation, and because God lives forever, His love endures forever. How many of us questioned how long another person’s love would last, especially when they would eventually discover our shortcomings and weakness and know our deepest darkest secrets? Well, God already knows our deepest darkest secrets, has seen us at our worst and yet continues to deeply love us from the day we were created till now, and well into the future.

The ultimate sign of God’s love was to let Jesus die for us. Jesus did not die because of how good we were, Jesus died because of how bad we are; not because of our devotion but because of our ingratitude. This is what makes God truly perfect, because His love is unconditionally perfect.

Another benefit of God’s enduring love is that because He loves eternally He wants us to love Him eternally and therefore grants us eternal life to do so. God is so driven to love us forever that He would let his son die on a cross to remove what would prevent us from being able to be the objects of his love for eternity, namely, sin. God loves us despite our sin, even though our sin may hinder us from loving Him back. As the Bible says: Rom 5:6-8 6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly . 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. NIV And, 2 Cor 5:20-21 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. NIV God will go to any length to win our hearts back to Him. He sent Jesus to earth to teach us, love us, and to die on a cross to for our sins; because God’s eternal love will overcome any obstacle to His relationship with us.

Therefore, let us take time to reflect on the God’s eternal love so that we can do our part and return that love in an eternal relationship with our Maker

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Question for reflection: How does it make you feel to know that God has always loved you, whether as a sinner, and now as a Christian, and that His love will never end?

Decision: I will fully believe that God’s love for me will never end, no matter what I do, and I will thank Him daily for it.

Scripture memory: Psalms 118:1 1 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever. NIV Practice: I will meditate on God’s eternal love today and thank Him for devoting Himself to me forever.

15 Day 4: God’s Mercy and Grace.

Micah 7:18 18 Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance?

You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. NIV God’s love has many qualities, yet none has a larger impact in our lives than His mercy and His grace. You see, God’s love is unfailing, and God’s love is eternal, yet we, being fallen creatures and limited in our abilities, constantly fail God, hurt God, and take our love away from Him. God’s love is so great that in response to our moral frailties, He takes the high road and provides mercy, forgiveness and an abundance of grace. God’s love is so immense that it is against His nature to not love us because of our weaknesses.

Jesus expressed God’s heart toward our shortcomings best when nailed to a cross he says: Luke 23:33-34 34 … "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing."

NIV As a father looks at his child when the child fails, is rebellious or even takes their love a way, God looks at us with a heart full of mercy and grace, understanding and replying with the phrase “I forgive you, for I know you do not know what you are doing.”

I have a two year old son, who loves to play the game, “I am not going to give you love until you give me what I want” (I actually know many adults like this, but for now let’s stick to the topic of children). Consequently, when I take something away from him that I believed to be dangerous or unsafe, he’ll get angry and want to pull away. I try to explain it to him, but he is angry at me for taking away what he wanted. I try to give him a hug and he runs away from me. I pick him up, and he struggles to get away from me. Does it hurt? Heavens, yes! Yet, what goes through my heart and mind? “I forgive you, son, for you do not know what you are doing.”

God’s overwhelming love for us would determine that God does not want us to sin, not because of what it does to Him, but because of what it does to us, and His heart reaches out to love and protect us. When we do sin, His heart is one of mercy and grace because His love rises to a higher level of understanding of our moral struggle.

16 This is directly contradictory to the world and to traditional religion that uses the threat of eternal punishment as a motivation for us to be obedient. The world and traditional religion says, “Don’t do wrong or you will get punished, and if you do wrong the punishment will be severe.” The God of the Bible says, “Don’t do wrong because you will hurt yourself, yet even if you do wrong I will love you, have compassion on you, forgive you, and help you.”

Though this may be difficult for many of us to grasp, we must accept that God’s love is not determined by our perception. Whether we believe it, feel it, understand it, accept it or not, God’s love is here to stay. The truth is that my feelings change day to day but God’s love never changes. Yet, due to our trust in our perception over God’s truth we battle back and forth trying to believe whether God’s love is real. We are totally convinced one day, and the next day in doubt as to whether God really loves us.

What we must accept what prevents us from accepting what the Bible says about the unconditional love of God, is the same thing that prevents our children from doing what we say that will benefit and protect them; namely rebelliousness. We decide to believe and trust ourselves (our perception), and how we feel (our emotion) over God’s truth. Only when we truly humble ourselves and trust what God says over what we perceive will we truly be able to accept and grasp God’s great mercy, grace and love for us, and receive the incredible blessings that come from this belief.

Here are a few scriptures that testify to the love and mercy of God for his children. When we decide to believe what God says in scripture over our own feelings, will we be able to understand God’s mercy and grace and truly find help in our time of need: Ex 34:5-7 6 And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, "The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, 7 maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. NIV Isaiah 55:7 7 Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts.

Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon. NIV Eph 2:4-10 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions — it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might

17 show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. NIV In conclusion, God’s love is unfailing, eternal, full of mercy and grace, and there is and never will be anything that I can ever do to prevent God from loving me.

God’s love is always waiting for us, and is always there for us because it is impossible for God to deny His nature, because God is love. If we devote ourselves to Him we will be showered with His love, if we turn away He will be waiting in expectation to overwhelm us with His compassion and grace. As the Bible demonstrates in the parable of the Prodigal Son: Luke 15:20-24 "But while he was still a long way off , his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.

21 "The son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.'

22 "But the father said to his servants, 'Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate. 24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' So they began to celebrate. NIV

Question for reflection: What kind of response does God want from us for letting Jesus die on the cross to forgive us all of our sins?

Decision: I will accept God’s forgiveness, mercy and grace no matter what I feel or believe.

Scripture memory: Romans 9:16 16 It does not, therefore, depend on man's desire or effort, but on God's mercy.

Practice: No matter what mistakes I make today, I will claim the grace, mercy and love God has for me.

18 Chapter 2: God’s Amazing Grace.

Day 5: Why We Need Grace.

Jer 2:13 13 "My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water. NIV There is no greater demonstration of God’s great love for us than in His sacrifice of Jesus for our sins. Grace is defined as receiving a gift when one does not deserve it. What we sometimes forget or fail to realize is that we not only did not deserve any gifts from God, but we deserved the most heinous punishment that anyone could ever receive because of our rebellious lives of sin.

God has feelings, as we have feelings, and it is even said that we have feelings because we are made in God’s image. It makes sense that God, being perfect, has emotions that can never be minimized, invalidated, distracted or ignored. In other words, God does not harden His heart to avoid feeling deeply painful situations, nor does He use defense mechanisms, as we do in our attempts to avoid feeling our pain. God feels deeply, passionately, fully and perfectly, and when we sin, the hurt in God’s heart is of the deepest, most painful experiences that any being can ever experience. God, who experiences this heartache, does not keep silent, but communicates these feelings to us through the pages of scripture: Gen 6:5-7 6 The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain . NIV Jer 14:17 17 "Speak this word to them: "'Let my eyes overflow with tears night and day without ceasing; for my virgin daughter — my people — has suffered a grievous wound, a crushing blow. NIV It is no wonder God feels this level of pain. To God, sin is equated to unfaithfulness and abandonment, and therefore our passionate God feels deeply pained by our sinful lives. God constantly compares his pain at our sin to the pain one would feel in an unfaithful relationship: Hos 1:2

19 2 When the LORD began to speak through Hosea, the LORD said to him, "Go, take to yourself an adulterous wife and children of unfaithfulness , because the land is guilty of the vilest adultery in departing from the LORD." NIV Jer 3:20 20 But like a woman unfaithful to her husband, so you have been unfaithful to me, O house of Israel," declares the LORD. NIV Because sin is equal to unfaithfulness to God, then it merits the most severe punishment imaginable, in proportion to the pain that we have caused Him. For example, I have a friend, who I shall call Sarah. She was the picture of absolute joy and radiance on her wedding day. She declared her vows to her love, was married before God, and joyfully committed herself to this one individual for the rest of her life. A few weeks after coming back from her honeymoon, she discovered a new bride’s worst nightmare; she discovers that her Prince Charming, was actually a toad. She discovered that her spouse was having an affair the entire time she was dating, engaged and married (a devastating yet common situation).

Imagine how you would feel being in Sarah’s shoes. Imagine the pain of betrayal and the enduring heartache that accompanies such a traumatic experience.

What we must understand is that God has to endure the feelings that accompany our constant unfaithfulness when we as Christians sin again, again and again, or settle for a half-hearted relationship to him. It is true that God forgives us, but he feels the pain of our unfaithfulness without measure. Though He knows that, “we know not what we do,” He still has to watch, feel and endure as we go through it.

Along with the unfaithfulness of our sins, God also compares sin with abandonment. The pain of being abandoned is a pain that can rival the pain of unfaithfulness, in intensity and depth of despair. When someone you love abandons you there is a sense of lost love and hurt that is very difficult to recover from. The abandonment can be subtle, such as emotional and physical neglect, or physical, when the person leaves you and takes their love somewhere else.

We experience these pains deeply, especially when our level of trust is so great, that it is unimaginable and unbearable to us to ever lose this person we love so dearly. Yet God feels this pain all of the time because of our refusal to love Him, our Father and Creator, and especially when we turn our backs on Him: Isa 59:12-13 12 For our offenses are many in your sight, and our sins testify against us.

Our offenses are ever with us, and we acknowledge our iniquities: 13 rebellion and treachery against the LORD, turning our backs on our God,

20 fomenting oppression and revolt, uttering lies our hearts have conceived. NIV We must soberly understand that like a jealous or abandoned spouse, our sin angers God to no avail. Though this is not a pleasant thought, it is the reality; our unfaithfulness incurs God’s wrath. God will destroy the sinful, because of His righteous indignation and because of His overwhelming justice. Our sin will bring us what our deeds deserve, which is a horrific thought, because God who does not lie will judge those who disobey Him. As the Bible says: Ps 90:11 11 Who knows the power of your anger?

For your wrath is as great as the fear that is due you. NIV Heb 10:31 31 It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. NIV We must see our need for grace by meditating on our deep sinfulness, in order to be grateful for the grace that God has given us. We must see our powerlessness so that we can truly depend on God’s powerfulness and desperately reach out for His mercy and grace. You see, only when we are broken and truly see our depraved hearts and destitute situations can we see our need for God’s grace.

Today we have meditated on our sinfulness and the depravity of the human heart. It was not meant to discourage us, but to sober us to truly be grateful for the amazing gift of grace that God has given to us in Jesus Christ.

Question for reflection: How grateful should we be for Jesus dying on the cross, and saving us from the impending punishment that was brought upon us by our sinful lives?

Decision: I will communicate to God my gratitude daily, in word and action, for Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross for the forgiveness of my sins.

Scripture memory: Eph 2:4-6 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions — it is by grace you have been saved . NIV Practical: I will thank God today for the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross for my sins.

Day 6: God and His Amazing Grace.

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Rom 5:8 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. NIV In all of God’s wondrous love, He found a way for us not to have to receive the full punishment and wrath for our sins; yet it came at a great sacrifice for Him. Because of our rebelliousness and our plight, only the death of someone sinless and perfect could atone for our sinful and self-serving lives, and the punishment that our lives incurred. It would mean that God would have to send his son to earth to die for the sins of the world.

Far be it from me to say that I fully understand what that would be equivalent to.

To leave heaven and come to earth, I can probably imagine it being similar to you or I becoming a cockroach, to live amongst other vile and disgusting creatures and living in the cesspool of your city’s sewer system. For Jesus to exchange His glory for ours, and come to earth, was a true sacrifice: 2 Cor 8:9 9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor , so that you through his poverty might become rich. NIV Phil 2:5-7 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing , taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. NIV Then the sovereign and all powerful creator of the universe sets about living and residing among his creation. He was humiliated, disrespected, beaten, spat upon, ridiculed, mocked, and rejected by His very creation; and He, full of all of the power in the universe, and an unconditional love for His creation, stood there and took it: Isa 53:3 3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.

Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. NIV Jesus, as God in the flesh, being morally perfect in every way, was accused of wrongdoing, of blasphemy, and even declared to be punished by God for His evil:

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Isa 53:4 4 Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. NIV He took the beatings, maltreatment, ridicule and torture designed for the worst of criminals; barely recognizable when they had finished with Him: Isa 52:14 14 Just as there were many who were appalled at him — his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man and his form marred beyond human likeness — NIV Finally, He was given over to death, mocked until His last dying breath: Matt 27:39-40 39 Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads 40 and saying, "You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!" NIV God sacrificed all of this, all in the hope that one day we would return to Him, reestablish our relationship with Him, and live a new life devoted to righteousness: 1 Peter 2:23-24 24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. NIV Therefore, God, because of His unfailing, and overwhelming love for us, when we had turned our backs on Him and became His enemies, sacrificed everything to have a relationship with us. What we must also understand is that God did this only for us, to save us from the impending doom that was hanging over us, rescuing us from a punishment that would soon be discharged against us: Rom 5:9-11 9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! 10 For if, when we were God's enemies , we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! 11 Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. NIV God has demonstrated what true love is, because He laid down His life for us.

When we were His enemies, Christ died for us, truly demonstrating how much of a Father, God, and friend He is to us. Now that we are his children, how much

23 more help do you think we will receive from God? If I do good to my enemy, how much more will I do for my friend? Because of this we know we will be saved, we know we will receive the help we need in this difficult life, and we know God will do whatever it takes to get us to heaven. As the Bible says: Phil 1:6 6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. NIV Questions for reflection: If God were willing to go to these lengths to have a relationship with us, to what lengths will He go to help us make it to heaven?

Decision: I will honor Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross by dedicating myself to a life completely devoted to God. Scripture memory: Rom 5:8 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. NIV Practice: Today I will thank God for Jesus’ sacrifice and show Him my gratitude by striving to be righteous in all the circumstances I face today.

24 Day 7: God’s Grace for the Christian.

Rom 8:32 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all — how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? NIV If God were willing to go to any and all lengths to love us, what will He not do for us? How much am I worth to God, that He would sacrifice so much, all to have a relationship with me? Though it may be difficult to grasp, if God was willing to sacrifice what was most precious to Him to have a relationship with me, to win me back from a life of sin and destruction and to provide me the opportunity to live with Him eternally, will he not also provide me the help that I need to overcome the obstacles that I face every day, the providence to supply what I and my family need, the wisdom to help me make the best decisions, guidance for my life that will benefit me and my family, and finally the strength to persevere through any difficulty until I see Him in heaven?

For example, I was once in a foreign country, and I met a man in the market who wanted to sell me an old, beat up wristwatch for ten dollars. I laughed because the watch was broken, and one of the watch hands was missing. After I laughed, the man raised the value to fifty dollars. I began to laugh harder because it was getting silly. Then the man continues to raise the price to one hundred dollars.

By this time it was not funny anymore and I thought that this man was either confused or a little out of his mind. What I later found out from his wife that this watch was given to this man by his father when he was on his death bed, and the more I laughed the more I reminded him of his father. The more I laughed the more he remembered the true value of the watch, and the price had to match its value. What we must consider, is that if God paid for our lives with the sacrifice of Jesus, how valuable are we to God? Priceless!

There is no greater symbol to remind us of the great love of God and how valuable we are to Him, than the cross of Christ. This is why the apostle Paul took it so seriously and made every effort to keep the cross emblazoned in his heart: Gal 6:14 14 May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. NIV The cross is the culmination of all of the great love of God in one act. It inspires us, challenges us, convicts us, and reminds us of how deeply we are loved by God. Internalizing the great sacrifice God has made for us is difficult at times because of the hardness of our hearts, but internalize it we must.

Once the cross is emblazoned in our hearts, we will begin to see the truth about our present situation much more clearly. You would think that God ended his gift

25 giving by showering His grace to us at the cross; but this is far from the truth. By lavishing us with His grace at the cross He has shown us that He will continue to shower his grace upon us, His adopted children, every day, and will continue in the afterlife: 2 Cor 9:7-9 8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. NIV Heb 4:16 16 Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. NIV Therefore God will provide us with everything that we need in this life, no matter how big, or how small; and he has sacrificed His son on the cross to prove it.

God truly loves us, will truly provide for us, will help us in trouble, will protect us and will get us to heaven, and He has demonstrated that He will do anything for us, by sacrifice His son on a cross for us.

The condemnation that we so rightly deserved is no longer hanging over our heads. God continues to provide for us by showering us with grace on a daily basis to meet every one of our needs. God will continue to shower us with his grace for eternity, as we pass from this life to the next. The important question that we must now ask ourselves is, after all that God has done for us, how can we ever doubt the great love of God and His desire to meet all of our needs? As the Bible says: Rom 8:32 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all — how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? NIV Question for reflection: If God were to put a price tag on your head, what do you think He would write on the ticket?

Decision: I will let go of my worries, and will put my trust in God who loves me, and has proved it by letting Jesus die on the cross for me.

Scripture Memory: Heb 4:16 16 Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

26 NIV Practice: I will meditate on how much I am truly worth to God today and will thank Him for His amazing grace.

27 Chapter 3. God’s Compassion for His People Day 8. Acknowledging the Love of God. God describes himself as having an unfailing love for his people, an ever-lasting compassion for his children, an unending supply of his mercy, and an eternal passion to be close to his treasured possession. God has given everything to his people, even sacrificing his son to convince us that there is no one who has more passion and desire for our prosperity than our Almighty God and Father. He did all that could be done; He has given all that He could give; and He has proven all that needs to be proven. All so that he can convince us of two undeniable truths: that He is God and that He loves us.

Yet, as you may relate, in my day to day life I find it difficult to believe that there is anyone out there who truly cares for my plight, who is really concerned for the daily stress I feel, who would really understand the turmoil I face on a daily basis, and who would truly help me to overcome the mental, physical, emotional, stress-filled challenges that I face every day.

I wonder to myself, “If God’s love is so great, why is it that I still wake up in fear as to the different challenges that face my family and me on a daily basis? Why is it that I am so concerned over the overwhelming details of my life; the ones that I try to control, and which have changed me into a perfectionist, a control freak, a worry wart who truly has no self control, consumed by things that rob me of my joy, hope, love, my relationships and my life?”

Also, I think to myself, “Why am I so worried about so many things? Things such as bills, the weather; worried about my health or the health of my children; my job or lack of job; my future, my retirement, or my nest egg; my business; my spouse or lack of spouse, my parent’s health and needs, my siblings and their problems, my children and their problems; my lack of happiness, how much I hate my job, my guilt, my sin, my life, and so on, and so on and so on…”

If God’s love is truly as great as he says it is, then when life hits, why do I not feel, as if there is all knowing, all powerful, all loving God who has made me the true object of his desire, and who will watch over me during the storms of life?

Either God has lied, or I have refused to believe the truth. Since it is impossible for God to lie, then the trouble, not surprisingly, lies with us; by us, meaning our perception and conviction about the truth. Since what we perceive is usually our reality, it is no wonder that if we do not perceive God’s love in our life we don’t feel it either. As for conviction, we have conviction, even deep conviction, yet unfortunately we believe strongly in that which according to God is not true, namely that life is big, and God is small.

28 What I mean is, if I was truly convinced that God, the almighty and powerful creator of the universe, is full of unfailing, eternal, everlasting love, desire and passion for me, his child, wouldn’t common sense dictate that I would have very little to ever be concerned about, worried about, to fret about, to be unhappy about, to fear about, to complain about, to ruminate about, grumble about, get bitter about, get angry about, sin about, or to curse God about? If I truly believed that God is on my side, fighting my battles, protecting me from harm, providing for me and my family’s every need, guiding me in my decisions, and watching over my every step, wouldn’t I be in an eternal state of joyous celebration, rarely concerned about anything? Yet our lives are wrought with concern, worry, fret, unhappiness, negativity, complaints, grumblings, bitterness, anger and a whole lot of sin!

The problem, of course, lies in our hearts. Though our minds may be convinced of the love of God, our hearts truly dictate our lives and reveal what we are really made of and what we truly believe. In our heads, we mentally acknowledge the “cliff notes” of who God is, His love for us, and what he can do. Yet we forget to connect our hearts to our head and to let it flow to the rest of our lives. It’s like wiring the lights around your house during Christmas time, and forgetting to plug it into the outlet. We do a lot of work yet there is no enlightenment. There is no conviction.

In other words, in my mind I believe that God loves me, He is all powerful, and He cares about my situation. Yet, when I face my big problems it doesn’t seem like God even likes me that much, or that He is strong enough to handle my situation, or that He even cares that much at all.

Yet God does not tolerate this type of double-mindedness. This is why God’s love must never be limited to the mind. God demands that it consume every part of our heart, mind, and soul: Matt 22:37-39 37 Jesus replied: "`Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. NIV Because God will not tolerate double-mindedness we must get our hearts and our minds in line with what God desires and the truth about the God that we serve. God will not accept walking the middle ground. We must decide one way or another: God either loves us or He does not. He either is all-powerful or He is not.

Suffice it to say, being wholehearted in our minds and hearts, will not be easy.

The reason is that Jesus Christ has already died for us, and if that is not enough for us to be totally convinced of the extent God is willing to sacrifice for us and love us, then our hearts have been hardened as a result of living a spiritually double life.

29 To change such a heart will take supernatural intervention. Intervention that can only come about through prayer; prayer because only God can change such a hardened heart: Ezek 11:19-20 19 I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. 20 Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people, and I will be their God. NIV In the modeling process, a piece of glass that hardens in a flawed shape must be broken and again put through the fire to be transformed. Our prayer must move God to break our hearts to reshape us in the image of our Savior. This may mean that God will put us through the fire to refine us. One way or another we will be broken. The level of pain we endure in the breaking and refining process will be dependent on whether we pursue brokenness or if do nothing, and wait for God to break us. As a friend of mine once said, “We can humble ourselves and receive the hand of God, or we can be stubborn, resist and receive the foot of God.” The choice is ours.

Question for Reflection: How can we show God that we truly believe He loves us as much as He says He does and has demonstrated it by His sacrifice on the cross?

Decision: I will wholeheartedly honor Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross by living a life free of worry, fret, and distraction, and proclaim God’s great love for me every day.

Scripture memory: Rom 8:32 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all — how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? NIV Practice: I will deny every thought steeped in doubt and worry from my mind today, and fill my mind with thoughts of God’s great love for me.

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Day 9: God’s Compassion Ps 103:2-5 2 Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits-3 who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, 4 who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, 5 who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's. NIV What is compassion? Is it not a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate that suffering? God’s compassion stems from the feeling God has, of deep sympathy and sorrow for us, His children, who have been stricken with misfortune, and who illicit His deep desire to alleviate our suffering. The following are some scriptures describe the extent of God’s compassion for his people; Psalms 103:13 13 As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him; NIV Isaiah 49:15-16 15 "Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne?

Though she may forget, I will not forget you!

16 See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me. NIV 2 Cor 1:3-4 3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. NIV God has also displayed his unchanging compassion and mercy for his children throughout history as an example for us to put our trust in him: Ex 3:7 7 The LORD said, "I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. NIV

31 2 Chron 30:9 9 If you return to the LORD, then your brothers and your children will be shown compassion by their captors and will come back to this land, for the LORD your God is gracious and compassionate. He will not turn his face from you if you return to him." NIV Luke 12:6-7 6 Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. 7 Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. NIV When Jesus came to earth,his display of compassion was so great and commonplace that it was frequently documented by his followers: Matt 9:36-37 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. NIV Matt 14:14 14 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick. NIV Matt 15:32 32 Jesus called his disciples to him and said, "I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way." NIV Matt 20:34 34 Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him. NIV Mark 1:41-42 41 Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" 42 Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured. NIV Sometimes we may feel as if we are all alone in this universe, with the great responsibility for fending for ourselves and our families. We feel as if we are to face all of life’s challenges with the little strength that we have; a battle that is extraordinarily difficult due to our human limitations and our lack of influence over overwhelming forces, such as death, disease, natural disaster, a bad economy, etc.

What we must realize is that God, who is in total control of the universe, longs for us with a deep compassion, which drives Him to help us and our families through

32 the challenges of this life, no matter how great or small; to ultimately finish the race, and win the prize that awaits us in heaven.

God sees our challenges and our despair, and because of His compassion, He is moved to influence our lives and the lives of those around us whether Christian or not. Our greatest challenge is our lack of perception of God’s work in our lives, and our nature to doubt His great compassion for us. Yet it is our faith in God’s love for us that will give us the strength and hope to persevere through life’s trials and finally receive our reward in heaven.

Therefore, we must persevere, we must have faith, and we must trust in the great love of God that is proclaimed throughout scripture. Only when our hearts are convinced of God’s great love and compassion, will our hearts go through an upheaval, which will influence every area of our lives. If we believe in God’s compassionate love, then we will trust him; if we trust him, we will obey him.

Then all that awaits us, is glory. As the Bible says: Isa 30:18 18 Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion.

For the LORD is a God of justice.

Blessed are all who wait for him! NIV Question for reflection: What do you think inspires God to have so much compassion for you, His child?

Decision: I will wholeheartedly trust in God’s compassion for me, and thank Him for it every day.

Scripture memory: Psalms 116:5 5 The LORD is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion. NIV Practice: Today I will thank God for His great compassion, and fall on His compassion whenever I fall short of His commands.

33 Day 10: Out of the overflow of the heart‌ We cannot deny that God carries an immeasurable amount of compassion for his children. In human history, God has shown his concern about the suffering, the misfortune, the failures, successes, and the salvation of the people of His creation. God has even been concerned with our hunger, thirst, happiness, sadness, health, understanding, jobs, relationships, families, etc. The fact that God is concerned with our concerns, no matter how insignificant, is in line with the depth and breadth of his compassion: Ps 139:1-4,16 O LORD, you have searched me and you know me.

2 You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar.

3 You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.

4 Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD‌ 16 your eyes saw my unformed body.

All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be‌NIV

We have a God that does not change. This means we have a God that is concerned about us, the same way he was concerned for our ancestors. As he was concerned for them and the multitude of significant and insignificant things that plagued them every day, so he has a deep and undying compassion for us; and yes, he is concerned about the multitude of significant and insignificant concerns we face every day.

Why do we continue to fret, worry and fear? Simply, we either forget or neglect that God is with us, and try to matters into our own hands. In other words, though we know that the designer of our universe has a deep love, compassion, mercy and longing for our prosperity as his children, when we face difficult times God, who is invisible, is unfortunately not the first one that we turn to for help.

We turn our attention to what we perceive to be more reliable things, like our intellect, or other the help of other people. Granted, those things are useful, but we neglect God, because an invisible being does not seem, in our minds, to be the most reliable plan when we really need one. That is, until our plans fail, our best advisors abandon us, and we realize that we have no one else to turn to.

What is interesting is that if God were to physically materialize and help us in our every day endeavors, routines, responsibilities, and troubles; and if God were to physically be with us at our jobs, at home, outside, inside, shopping, on the

34 Internet, etc., our lives and hearts would be radically different, our conviction would be solid, and we would live and feel differently.

Yet what we must accept the reality that God is with us, spiritually, everywhere we go, and that He is with us in everything that we do. He is at constant work in our daily lives and completely engrossed in our affairs. He blesses us, and provides for us, helps us and protects us. As He declares in scripture: Isa 43:1 – 3 "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.

2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you ; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.

When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.

3 For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior… NIV When we do not grasp and trust in God’s unfailing love the consequences are obvious: We worry, fret, get angry, get upset, we are impatient, we are rude, we are not gentle, we get obsessed, we grow weary, we grow tired, we are depressed, we become burdened, become bitter, resentful, restless; constantly complaining, envious of others, we whine, we are negative, we are critical, we carry a cloud of sadness where we go; there is little optimism, lots of fear, lots of insecurity, and a whole lot of sin. As this scripture in Jeremiah so eloquently explains: Jer 17:5-6 5 This is what the LORD says: "Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the LORD. 6 He will be like a bush in the wastelands; he will not see prosperity when it comes.

He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives. NIV Yet there are great benefits for the man or woman who trusts in the love of God. As the scripture in Jeremiah also says: Jer 17:7-8 7 "But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him.

35 8 He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream.

It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green.

It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit." NIV The choice to trust in God’s great compassion is a choice that we face every day, and which we must take seriously because it will have far reaching consequences both in this life and the next. Will we depend on the everlasting, immeasurable, unyielding, unstoppable, immense, and exciting love of God and respond by putting our trust in Him? Our actions will reveal our answer.

Question for reflection: Why does trusting God bring such deep security, confidence and joy in our lives?

Decision: No matter how difficult the circumstances I face in life, I will put my trust in God’s compassion and love for me.

Scripture memory: 7 "But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him.

Practice: Today, I will put my trust in God’s compassion by praying to Him and thanking Him for all of the circumstances and blessings in my life.

36 Day 11: Examples and Encouragements.

In our Bible reading we come across many examples of those who grasped God’s immense and unfathomable love and compassion and responded by putting their trust in Him (i.e.: Enoch, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, David, etc.). Of course they were blessed in this life and the next. Or, on the contrary, we have seen examples of those who were too stubborn and hard of heart to accept the humble truth, and were condemned to live a cursed life, (Cain, Pharaoh, Saul, etc.).

The following are some examples from the multitudes in heaven who can attest to the truth of God’s love and who encourage us to trust that love in our daily battles: Jesus: John 14:1 14:1 "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. NIV Matt 6:25-26,33 25 "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?... 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

NIVNIV Matt 11:28-30 28 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." NIV Paul: Phil 4:4-7 4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. NIV 1 Thess 5:16-18 16 Be joyful always; 17 pray continually; 18 give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. NIV Heb 4:14-16 (The Hebrew writer)

37 14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are-yet was without sin. 16 Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. NIV Peter: 1 Peter 5:6-7 6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. NIV We are faced with a persistent and pertinacious choice to make in our lives every day; a choice whose consequences will reach into every aspect of our lives and govern our thoughts. Will we continue to be those who are controlled by the grip of fear and worry, enslaved to a hard heart toward the One who has sacrificed all to have us as his treasured possession? Or will we be stubborn and unyielding toward anything that will deny us from accepting and enjoying the unending and everlasting; the immeasurable and unfathomable; the ever enduring and farreaching love that our great God and Father has lavished on us and which is at our disposal whenever, wherever, and for whoever needs it? After all, Jesus did not die for the angels or the spirits in the heavens. On the contrary only to us does the Bible say: Rom 8:35-39 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written: "For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered."

37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. NIV We have the ability to prioritize, and revolutionize our lives. Yet only if we are doggedly determined to accept God’s deep love for us, not only in our heads but deep within our hearts; putting God first as the greatest obsession of our lives, trusting Him, and making Him the source of our security, satisfaction, fulfillment, protection, love, help and sustenance. It may take years of daily being exposed to God’s love to begin to even grasp the hem of the depth and greatness of the love of God. Yet it is a journey that is worth every second. What we must do now is begin the journey by choosing to accept the truth of how powerless we are

38 without him, and choosing to put our trust, and dependence on Him, relying on the love, mercy and compassion that He has so freely demonstrated for us through the cross of Christ.

Questions for reflection: What are the characteristics of someone who trusts God, even through difficult times?

Decision: I will imitate the spiritual examples of the men and women in the Bible who put their trust in God, in the situations I face on a daily basis.

Scripture memory: 1 Peter 5:6-7 7 Cast all your anxiety on him [God] because he cares for you. NIV Parenthesis mine.

Practice: I will meditate on the life of a person of the Bible that demonstrated an unwavering faith in God, today.

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Our Foundation

40 Chapter 4: The Trust of God Day 12: The Foundation of the Christian Life There has been much research done to discover the basic needs of human beings in the populated world. After much research a model was developed describing a hierarchy of human needs, which describe the four basic human needs in order of human necessity. The most basic and important of our needs begins with physiological needs, such as: food, water, etc.; followed by safety needs, such as: shelter, clothing, security, etc.; then love and belonging needs, such as: family, romance, acceptance, etc.; and last, esteem needs, such as: self worth, self-perspective, respect of and by others, etc. This model describes the human condition, and how these priorities will dictate how humans will respond to life; generally sacrificing lesser needs in order to have their most important needs fulfilled.

There is also a spiritual hierarchy of needs, one which determines the development and growth of the human spirit. At the foundation of all other spiritual needs and the source of our spiritual growth, spiritual knowledge, godly conviction and our pleasing of God is also that which is at the heart of everything we do and everything that we become in the spiritual realm; the only true foundation which influences every area of our spiritual lives, namely, the unequivocal trust of God. Above all else, our trust in God will determine the outcome of all else in our spiritual lives, all of our efforts at godliness and our pursuits at holiness.

Trust is an integral part of our lives, especially because the center of our survival on this planet depends on our relationships with other human beings. And, as most of us have experienced, trust is essential in the building of relationships. It only makes sense that in creating us God has instilled the proclivity toward relationships in our innermost being. God is a relationship, with Him, Jesus and the Holy Spirit as the participants. God also created us with the purpose of having a relationship with Him. We, by being made in his image, are inclined to develop similar relationships with others and with God Himself. Consequently, since we are designed for relationships then we are subsequently wired to trust; either trust in God and/or trust in others.

The Attributes of a Life of Trusting God As a building without a foundation is unstable, so our spiritual stability is dependent on our trust in God. The trust of God manifests itself in different ways, the greatest of which is faith. The trust of God and faith are so similar that they can almost be considered equal, because if we don’t trust God, we will not faith in Him. Consequently, if we do not have faith in Him it will be impossible to please him:

41 Heb 11:5-6 6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. NIV Our spiritual response to faith, such as: prayer, obedience, love, hope, servitude, etc. are also all fueled by an individual’s trust in God: 2 Peter 1:5-8 5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. 8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. NIV Also, the source of all sin can be linked to our lack of trust in the Lord. As a matter of fact, when we sin, we choose to put our trust in another god, the god of self and selfish gratification. By doing so, we choose to turn our backs on God, which to God is out right rebellion: Isa 59:12-13 12 For our offenses are many in your sight, and our sins testify against us.

Our offenses are ever with us, and we acknowledge our iniquities: 13 rebellion and treachery against the LORD, turning our backs on our God…NIV To put our trust in anything else other than God is also the definition of idolatry.

Therefore any trust or obedience to another “god,” in contravention to God’s commands makes us idolaters: Jer 2:5-6 They followed worthless idols and became worthless themselves.

6 They did not ask, `Where is the LORD, who brought us up out of Egypt…? NIV Ultimately, our trust in God is what will determine our steadfast obedience. If we trust we will obey wholeheartedly and He will make our righteousness complete: Ps 37:5-6 5 Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this: 6 He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn,

42 the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. NIV A relationship without trust is a relationship based on illusion. A relationship with God, the mother of all relationships is based fully on our trust of Him. To say that we love God, but not trust Him, is a lie. It is a lie that God will expose in due time to help us see the truth and put our trust fully in Him. God will determine if our level of trust for Him is adequate, by looking at our faith, our righteousness, and our undivided devotion to our loving and faithful God of this universe.

Question for reflection: How can trusting in God improve our relationship with Him and with others?

Decision: I will trust in God by relying on Him for the fulfillment, satisfaction, security, providence, protection, sustenance, etc. of my life.

Scripture Memory: John 14:1 14:1 "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me [Jesus].

NIV Parenthesis mine.

Practice: I will trust in God for all of my needs today, by going to God first in prayer, and relying on His direction for my life.

43 Day 13: To Trust in God Means Acknowledging and Accepting the Truth Ps 22:9-10 9 Yet you brought me out of the womb; you made me trust in you even at my mother's breast.

What is the most interesting and mysterious ideas is that God wants us to depend on him for every need, no matter how high on the human hierarchy of needs, no matter how desperately crucial they are to us. Like babies, God wants us to depend on Him for everything, even our food, water, and shelter: Matt 6:31-32 31 So do not worry, saying, `What shall we eat?' or `What shall we drink?' or `What shall we wear?' 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. NIV God’s has designed human existence with the caveat that only subordinate to him will we experience prosperity, fulfillment and eternal salvation. In other words, God created us and designed our lives to only work right, work correctly and be the most holistically healthy if we are completely and totally dependent on Him. Only with trust can we reach this level of dependence.

Yet, what does it mean to trust? A simple definition is to rely upon or place confidence in someone or something to meet our human needs. It follows that the trust of God is to rely upon or place confidence in God for every human need and desire, no matter how primitive or how high on the chain of human needs.

However, what we must awaken ourselves to is the fact that we rely on God for all of our needs whether we perceive it or not. We are spiritually bankrupt without God, and no matter what imaginary world we create in our minds, the truth is that all food, water, shelter, protection, employment, family, etc., that we need and desire is under God’s control and we have it because God has deemed it His intention for us to receive it and therefore has allowed us to have it. He has provided all things in life for us and allowed all of life to transpire the way that He has inclined to have it. As the Bible says: Acts 17:25 25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. NIV Reflect on this for a moment: The only reason that we are alive to today is that God has allowed us to live another day. Someone that was here yesterday is not here today, and someone here today, will not be here tomorrow. Who is to say it will not be you? It is all determined by the whims and predilections of God.

44 Therefore, whether we perceive it or not, we are dependent on God for every aspect of our existence and every breath that we take. To trust in God is to humbly accept and acknowledge the truth, especially in the deepest part of our hearts: The truth that alone are powerless and completely spiritually indigent and destitute, totally dependent on God’s mercy for our survival and subsistence.

To accept and acknowledge this truth is the mother of all convictions that will motivate us to live a life fulfilling God’s will in all of its forms. He knows best, because he is God and we are nothing: Isa 40:17 17 Before him all the nations are as nothing; they are regarded by him as worthless and less than nothing. NIV The trust of God humbly acknowledges that God is all-powerful, all knowing, all present, and is in total control of the entire universe. It also acknowledges that we are powerless in all areas of life and that we cannot live a life that is worthwhile without our dependence on our merciful and loving God. To trust God is to acknowledge the truth. It is to have a deep conviction that the self-reliance and self-dependence of the world is a mockery and a deceptive belief against what is right, because God is all, and we are nothing. As we are nothing, we have life only in a symbiotic relationship with our Creator, if by His mercy He would accept us. With Him, we thrive, without Him we die.

Question for reflection: What are situations or events in our life that remind us of our powerlessness as human beings and how desperate for God we really are?

Decision: I will acknowledge and accept the truth of how powerless, destitute, and desperate I am without God; and I will fully rely on God for my all my needs, every day of my life.

Scripture memory: Ps 62:7-8 7 My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge.

8 Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge. NIV Practice:

45

I will pray and thank God today because I understand that only with Him can I and my family survive; my life have meaning; and what I do be worthwhile.

46 Day 14: Wholehearted Trust is the Only Acceptable Trust.

Prov 3:5 5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; NIV To trust in God is an all or nothing endeavor. We must devote ourselves to the whole truth, with our whole hearts. If we do not, we will face the battle that ensues when other “gods” battle for a place of worship within our hearts: Luke 16:13 13 "No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. NIV God will never share His throne with another master. He will never compete for a place in our hearts because in reality He knows we desperately need Him whether we accept it or not. For us to double-mindedly struggle over which “god” to follow in our lives at any particular day or moment in time is foolish and a temporary distraction from our acceptance of the truth.

Double-mindedness ensues when we waiver between our devotion to God and our desire to follow other gods. Yet, no matter how sincere it seems, to divide our devotion between God and something else is outright rebellion against God. For example, how would you like your spouse to waiver between his or her affections and intimacy with you and having affections and or being intimate with someone else? The insidious nature of double-mindedness is revealed when we put ourselves in God’s big shoes. Yet, regardless of whether we accept it or not, scripture declares that God will not tolerate a divided heart: James 4:8-9 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. NIV Rev 3:15 15 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! NIV To wholeheartedly trust in God is to put our life in God’s hands. It is to take whatever we treasure and sacrifice on the altar of our faith. It is to let God provide our treasure, our satisfaction, our fulfillment, our sustenance, our subsistence, our joy and our life. God demands pure, wholehearted trust in Him; and He will settle for nothing less. It is to renounce anything that will compete with our love and devotion to our God. It is to acknowledge God knows best and that we will always put His advice over our own. It is to wholeheartedly make Him Lord, and Lord of all. As Jesus so aptly put it:

47 Matt 10:39 39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. NIV

Question for reflection: What are the “gods” that are currently competing with God’s lordship in your life?

Decision: I will wholeheartedly trust God and be wholeheartedly devoted to God and show it by my actions.

Scripture memory Prov 3:5 5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; NIV Practice: I will show God that I trust and love him wholeheartedly by praying for and involving Him in everything that I do today.

48 Day 15: To Trust in God is To Obey Him. 1 John 5:3 3 This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome…,NIV The ultimate proof of our trust in God is our steadfast obedience to Him. If we trust in God, we show it by doing what He says. There are multitudes of opinions that I can follow, and what I do follow will define what I put my trust in. For example, If God says to be pure, and I am impure, I do not trust God but trust something or someone else that tells me it is best to be impure.

In these daily battles for our trust, it is important that we understand that God has placed the decision making power well within our control: Gen 4:6-7 7 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it." NIV 1 Cor 10:13 13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

NIV Rom 8:13-14 13 For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, 14 because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. NIV With God’s help, I can stand up under any influence, because God has given me the power to overcome. Thus who I choose to trust and follow is up to me, which subsequently means that I will be held fully accountable for the decisions that I make.

I cannot escape the fact that I have evil desire. Yet, I do have a choice to trust the enticement driven by my evil desire, or God’s righteous and loving direction for my life. The enticement could have come from Satan, my sinful nature, or from the world; yet what God is most interested in is: when the influences come, who am I going to trust, and who am I going to follow?

What is sad is that a good portion of the time we choose to trust everyone and everything, except God, especially after knowing and acknowledging that God has given us everything, even giving his Son over to be sacrificed to redeem us from our worthless life of sin and destruction. God has created us and provided

49 for our daily needs since our birth; God has nursed us when we were sick, protected us when we were in danger, strengthened us when we were weak and loves us every waking moment of every day of our entire lives. Yet we continue to trust the false enticement that come from the world, the flesh and Satan; enticements that promise much but deliver little. What we must do is to remember the love of God, so that we can think clearly and put our trust in the God that the Bible continuosly testifies has our best interest in mind: Ps 57:10 10 For great is your love, reaching to the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies. NIV Ps 103:11 11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; NIV Rom 8:28 28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. NIV To trust in God is to obey our righteous, powerful, wise, mighty, glorious and loving God; the God who created us, and who knows what is best for us. To not obey, is to not trust God and to call God a liar, for we are declaring that He is not what He says He is in scripture: Ex 34:6-7 6 And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, "The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, 7 maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. NIV On the contrary, if we call ourselves Christians we should be fighting every waking moment to put our trust in God and obey Him. For this reason, it makes sense to read our Bibles often, especially because God has designed it to help us to obey Him and to build up our faith in Him: Josh 1:8 8 Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. NIV Rom 10:17 17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ. NIV

50 Jesus, the Ultimate Example To trust God is to return our love to Him through our obedience. It is to show our love of God through our proclamation that He is what He says He is which we prove by living our lives according to His wishes. We do what pleases Him, and that makes God happy. Because trust and love exist in a symbiotic relationship, then if we love God, we will trust Him; and if we trust Him we will obey Him. There is no better example of this than Jesus: John 8:28-29 29 The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him." NIV John 10:17 17 The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life — only to take it up again. NIV John 14:31 31 but the world must learn that I love the Father and that I do exactly what my Father has commanded me. NIV

Jesus showed his love for the Father by doing exactly what God commanded him to do, even though it meant dying on a cross: Phil 2:8 8 And [Jesus] being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross ! NIV Parenthesis and italics mine.

Therefore, like Jesus, we show our trust in God by obeying Him; and we have the best reasons to obey Him: God’s unfailing love and His deep compassion for us, His children. Also, because of His infinite wisdom, we must obey Him because only He knows the way, the truth and the life that we can live that will please and glorify Him and provide us with an eternal, fulfilling life: John 14:6 6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. NIV John 10:10 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full . NIV

51 What better God to serve than the one who came down to earth as a human being, to meet us at our level; sacrificing himself for our salvation; and being our greatest fan until we meet Him again in heaven? God is truly unique, and we must honor Him by our obedience. To love God is to obey Him, to obey Him is to honor Him, to honor Him is to glorify Him. Questions for reflection: Why is the death of Jesus on the cross, the ultimate foundation of our trust in God, and our greatest motivation for obeying Him?

Decision: I will trust in God’s love and God’s power over anything else, including myself, sin, Satan, and the world, and prove it by obeying His commands.

Scripture memory: 1 John 5:3 3 This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome…,NIV Practice: Today I will thank God for all of the things that He has done in my life that show His power and His great love for me; and I will strive to obey Him in every circumstance I face today.

52 Day 16: Trusting God Above Ourselves.

Ps 131 1 My heart is not proud, O LORD, my eyes are not haughty; I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me.

To many people, our perception is reality. What we see, hear, touch, reason, or understand is what we believe to be true, and what we therefore put our trust in.

Perception is an important human quality, because what we perceive influences our attitude, and our attitude influences our emotions and actions.

Perception

Attitude

Emotions/Actions

Yet, is our perception trustworthy? How many of us have been a situation where we were so sure a situation was one way, and to our embarrassment we discovered it was completely different than we could have ever imagined? For example: has anyone ever waved at you, and you waved back, only to discover they were waving at someone behind you? How ridiculous did you feel? Or how many of us have believed something so strongly that we held it as truth only to look back decades later and scratch our heads in trying to understand why we ever thought that way?

Perception is one of the most deceitful elements we live with as human beings and one of the biggest enemies against faith. Obviously, for a human being to trust in his or her perception of a situation so much that they do not consider or listen to opposing viewpoints is foolish and driven by pride. To take it a step further, I believe, for an individual to completely only rely on his or her own perception in any situation is foolish and destructive.

The reason I say this is for the following reason: A human being is one of billions of people on this planet; and knowledge of the universe is so vast and constantly changing that obviously, all of the knowledge in the world cannot ever be known at a particular place in time by one person. The only individual to ever acknowledge that He knows all and sees all and understands all at whatever place, and at whatever time is God, and for good reason.

On a smaller scale, every individual is different, with a different history, different experiences, different values, different opinions, etc. For one individual to say that what he or she believes is the only right and the only truth is living outside of the confines of reality and completely out of touch. He or she is a speck in this vast universe, a universe based on one undeniable spiritual truth, which is, that the vast majority of life resides outside of every person’s perception.

53 If one person says, “what I see, or what I hear or what I believe is right,” to give oneself that much credit is not only arrogant, and self-deceived but also potentially dangerous, because he or she is getting real close at putting himself or herself in place of Deity.

David understood this and his humility allowed him to accept the powerlessness and limitations of his own perception. This inspired him to utter the words we read in the scripture above: Ps 131 …I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me.

Staying in Touch with Reality Let us consider the statement we described above: “The vast majority of life exists outside of our perception.”

Besides the obvious truth that we all can accept from this statement we can also deduce a few conclusions from it. This statement would explain why God cannot be seen, or experienced, yet can exist in our minds and hearts, juxtaposed in the foundation of our faith. We cannot perceive Him, which is understandable because of our extreme limitations as human beings. Yet, by accepting the truth of the statement above, we can accept Him and what He says to us even though we are restricted in our awareness of Him. As Peter described: 1 Peter 1:8 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, NIV Or let us consider miracles in the Bible that defy the currently accepted physical laws of the universe. We cannot perceive a man walking on water, yet if we humbly accept the statement above, we can still accept it. We can accept it since a miracle resides outside of the confines of our perception, yet within the realm of possibility. We may not understand it, or it may not follow the perceived laws of nature, but if we accept that there are laws at work that we do not know or understand, then accepting the truth about miracles is not that difficult to do.

On the contrary, if we only rely on our perception, then miracles will have no place in our lives; an unfortunate obstacle that prevented some people in the Bible from believing in Jesus: John 10:25-26

54 25 Jesus answered, "I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father's name speak for me, 26 but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. NIV Mark 16:14 14 Later Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating; he rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen. NIV Matt 13:58 58 And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith. NIV This also explains why so many people have difficulty believing in a God they cannot see. Their pride tells them that if they cannot perceive it with their eyes, ears, or their intellect, then it doesn’t exist. They believe that if it exists outside of their awareness, then it cannot be possible. Yet, in order to reach that conclusion, this person has just implied that they have the ability to know all, see all, and perceive all. This is a bold assumption because they have just claimed to be God! Another conclusion that can be drawn from the previous statement is that if the vast majority of life exists outside of our perception, then we, as humans, are very insignificant indeed. We are like specks of dust on the surface of the earth, with very little influence over anything, anywhere or anytime. The idea pertaining to our insignificance is a theme that is consistent throughout the thousands of years of written Scripture and which God constantly has to remind us of. As the Bible says: Isa 40:15 15 Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket; they are regarded as dust on the scales; he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust‌ Job 25:6 6 how much less man, who is but a maggota son of man, who is only a worm!" NIV Ps 39:5 5 You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you.

Each man's life is but a breath. NIV Isa 40:22 22 He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers. NIV

55 Isa 2:22 22 Stop trusting in man, who has but a breath in his nostrils.

Of what account is he? NIV In conclusion, for us to ever trust our perception would be foolish because of our limitations at understanding, our defective intellect, our sinful nature, our deceitful hearts and a host of other reasons; and the truth will always elude us because of our human limitations. We should trust ourselves with less than a grain of salt, because the probabilities that we are wrong greatly outnumber any chances that we can be good judges about anything that is right, anything that we try to perceive as correct, or anything worthwhile.

Only when we accept how limited and powerless we are as human beings can we submit ourselves to the true God of this universe. There can only be one God in our hearts who is truly in control of all existence. To believe otherwise will create a foolish competition for our devotion that will forever rage in our hearts, a battle whose very existence means we have already lost the war: Luke 16:13 13 "No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. NIV As a poet once, very eloquently said, “There are two undeniable truths in this world: there is a God, and I am not Him.” Question for reflection: What are the benefits of accepting the reality of our powerlessness and the submitting ourselves to the sovereignty of God? Decision: I will accept my human limitations and submit myself fully to God’s sovereignty; by trusting God’s principles over my own perception.

Scripture memory: Isa 2:22 22 Stop trusting in man, who has but a breath in his nostrils.

Of what account is he? NIV Practice:

56 Today I will choose to trust in God and his principles above what I perceive, no matter what I think.

57 Chapter 5: Faith Day 17: Faith in a Faithful God Heb 11:1-2 11:1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. 2 This is what the ancients were commended for. NIV God has demonstrated an immeasurable love for His creation as well as shown us that He is both trustworthy and has our best interest in mind. We now have adequate reasons to put our trust in God; and consequently, being able to trust God, we now have a sound and secure foundation in order to put our faith in Him. What is the difference between faith and trust? Though they have the same foundation, they are distinctly different in their application. Trust is the action of confiding in someone or something, while remaining uncertain of the outcome of that trust. On the contrary, faith is being sure of that which we hope for and certain of what we do not see. For example: I can trust in my spouse to love me and be there for me for the rest of my life, yet I cannot guarantee that she will.

In spite of my lack of being sure, I put my trust in her anyway, though I do have the potential of getting hurt. Faith takes it to a greater level where my belief is so strong and my wife so trustworthy that I can guarantee that she will be faithful to me the rest of my life.

Though this would not make sense from a human standpoint, it makes absolute sense with God. This is because to be able to be so sure as to guarantee someone’s trustworthiness you need a completely trustworthy, unlimited, perfect being to be able to have faith in. Therefore, faith is only possible with God, because only God is powerful enough to overcome any obstacle in order to fulfill His promises; and God being perfect, it is impossible for God to make a promise and not keep it. As the Hebrew writer said: Heb 6:17-19 17 Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. 18 God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged. 19 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.

NIV Being perfect in His very nature, God is the only being that we can rationally have faith in. If I try to have faith in a limited, powerless, faulty, morally deficient being, like another human being, I will be greatly disappointed. I can trust another person, but I can only intelligently have faith in God.

58 One aspect of God that makes it possible for us to have faith in Him is His unlimited sovereignty over the universe. Consider these scriptures: Isa 40:22,25-26 22 He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers.

25 "To whom will you compare me?

Or who is my equal?" says the Holy One. 26 Lift your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these?

He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name.

Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing. NIV Jer 10:12-13 12 But God made the earth by his power; he founded the world by his wisdom and stretched out the heavens by his understanding.

13 When he thunders, the waters in the heavens roar; he makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth.

He sends lightning with the rain and brings out the wind from his storehouses. NIV Acts 17:24-27 24 "The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. 25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. 26 From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. NIV God’s sovereignty over the universe is so awesome it makes it possible for us to put our faith in Him. He never lies, and will never die; Doesn’t cease, never sleeps; Never fails, is never frail; Is never weak, and always in His peak; Never fears, always hears; He never changes his mind, and yet always kind. What better God to put our faith in?

Therefore our faith will be determined by how much we believe God to be God, and how much we believe the great promises He has made to those who believe.

What is interesting is that God will continue to be God, whether we believe in Him or not. If we choose not to believe, the ones who will be missing out will be us, when God reveals himself to all mankind in all of His power and glory. Whether we proclaim his lordship, or we stubbornly refuse to put our faith in Him, in the last day every knee shall bow. As the Bible says:

59 Rom 14:11 11 It is written: "'As surely as I live,' says the Lord, 'every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God.'" NIV Question for reflection: Why do we, as human beings, need someone like God in our lives, who is allpowerful, all-knowing, all-present, full of love for His creation, and who is perfect in every way shape or form?

Decision: I will fully put my faith in God’s sovereignty and love, all the days of my life.

Scripture Memory: Heb 11:1-2 11:1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

Practice: Today I will meditate on God’s great power and great love so that I can fully put my faith in Him.

60 Day 18: Faith in God’s Faithful Promises.

Heb 10:23-24 23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he [God] who promised is faithful. NIV Parenthesis and italics mine.

God, being perfect in every aspect of His being, having sovereignty over the universe, and having a desperate love for us, is the only being we could ever truly have faith in. He is infallible, and we can be sure and certain of whom He is.

Being a perfect God, everything that comes from Him is perfect. This means that all of the promises God makes are as perfect as He is because He is putting His own existence on the line to fulfill those promises. As the Bible says: Heb 6:16-19 16 Men swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument. 17 Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. 18 God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged. 19 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. NIV The Hebrew writer explains that when we make a promise, we confirm that promise by our character, and competence. For example, if I were to intelligently invest in a financial project, I would invest it based on the character and competence on the people who were managing the project. I would look at other projects that they have done and how much success they have had in the past, in the hope that they will be consistent with this project. If there was doubt on either one of those characteristics then it would be hard to trust the project will succeed, and it would consequently be unwise for me to invest with them.

God is absolutely perfect in His character, and perfect in His track record of success in whatever He has undertaken. It is impossible for God to lie; therefore, all He has promised must be fulfilled because of the very nature of His existence.

Last, because there is nothing in the universe to stop Him, it is a guarantee that if God promised it, then it will happen. Therefore, with God’s perfect character, perfect competence, and sovereign power, we can be sure that if God has promised it, it will undoubtedly come to pass.

Another reason why God expects us to have faith in His promises is because of the perfect relationship He has with us. In a relationship, love is communicated through promises that those involved in the relationship consistently strive to fulfill. For example, how do I know that my wife loves me? I know because she promised to be with me always, to share life with me, to live with me, to be faithful to me, to make a family with me, to strive to be my close friend all of the days of our lives on earth, and much more. As she attempts at fulfilling all of

61 those promises, I feel her love for me. A relationship with God, the mother of all relationships, is our greatest example of how true relationships work. God makes promises, we make promises. We strive to show God we love Him by fulfilling those promises, and He always fulfills His promises, showing us His perfect love for us.

Therefore, we trust God’s promises because God Himself is trustworthy, and because God’s love is the driving force at fulfilling all His promises; a love the Bible says conquers even death: Rom 8:38-39 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. NIV There are many examples in the Bible of those who trusted God at His promise and were rewarded for their faith. One such example was the patriarch Abraham: Rom 4:18-22 18 Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, "So shall your offspring be." 19 Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead — since he was about a hundred years old — and that Sarah's womb was also dead. 20 Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, 21 being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. 22 This is why "it was credited to him as righteousness." NIV Even in an impossible situation, God expected Abraham to trust in His promise; and by doing so, Abraham became our example of faith. Abraham believed God and His promise over his perception of his situation, and was able to experience God’s glory at the fulfillment of that promise. A fulfillment that strengthened him and prepared him to be tested a second time: James 2:21-24 21 Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God's friend. NIV The question for us is: will we put our trust in God’s promises over our perception of our situation? Will we, like Abraham, continue, in spite of our seemingly impossible situation, to put our faith in our God, who eats the impossible for

62 breakfast? Only then will we truly have faith, only then will we truly see God’s glory, and only then will we, like Abraham, truly be God’s friend.

As a bridegroom showers his bride with promises of love and dedication for their future lives together, so the Bible is full of promises that declare God’s love for us. Here are only a few: Ps 37:3-4 3 Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.

4 Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. NIV Ps 34:19 9 A righteous man may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all; NIV Psalms 16:11 11 You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. NIV Mark 11:24-25 24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. NIV John 3:14-16 14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.

16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. NIV John 6:35 35 Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. NIV John 8:12 12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world.

Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."

NIV John 14:1-4 14:1 "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. 2 In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going." NIV

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2 Cor 4:17-18 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. NIV Phil 1:6 6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. NIV Phil 4:18-19 19 And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. NIV 2 Thess 3:3-4 3 But the Lord is faithful , and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one. NIV 1 Cor 1:8-9 8 He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful. NIV 1 Peter 5:10-11 10 And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. 11 To him be the power forever and ever. Amen. NIV Rev 21:3-4 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." NIV Question for reflection: How does it benefit us to trust in God’s promises over what we think is best?

Decision: I will trust in God’s promises in scripture, over what I think is best.

Scripture memory; Heb 10:23

64 23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he [God] who promised is faithful. NIV Parenthesis and italics mine.

Practice: Today I will meditate and thank God for the great promises that He has made for my life.

65 Day 19: Strengthening our Faith.

Rom 12:3 3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. NIV To have faith is a gift from God, because only with God can we have faith. Only God is perfect enough that we can be certain of what we do not see (God), and sure of what we hope for, (His precious promises). God, in His infinite wisdom gives us a measure of faith, which we start with and are responsible to help grow.

Yet, how do we find the help we need in order to see our faith go from a fledgling mustard seed, to a heart full of faith? The Bible has the answers: Rom 10:17 17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ. NIV First, we see that faith comes from the gospel message. Further research into the scriptures gives us a description of that message: 1 Cor 1:18 18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. NIV The Bible describes a message describing our sovereign God, who has loved us and redeemed us by sending His son to die on a cross for us. Because of this sacrifice, we accept the proof of God’s great love for us and we put our faith in Him, while he continues to fulfill His promises for us. When does our faith grow?

When by constant exposure to that message we believe more in more in the depth of love that God has for us and in his power to fulfill His promises; and we therefore trust Him and put our faith in Him, evermore.

1 Cor 10:11 11 These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come. NIV Also, the Bible gives examples for us to read about, describing faithful men and women who had the courage to put their faith in God. Their inevitable success, serves as a goads for us to put our faith in the Lord.

Faith can also grow from internal and external sources. For instance, internally, faith can be given through the Spirit: 1 Cor 12:7-10

66 7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.

8 To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, NIV The Spirit gives us faith by allowing us access to the mind of God: 1 Cor 2:10-16 10 but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit.

The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. 11 For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. 13 This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. 14 The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. 15 The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man's judgment: 16 "For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?"

But we have the mind of Christ. NIV The Spirit allows us to see things through God’s perspective, from God’s eyes, and therefore, helps our eyes understand more of the breadth of God’s awesome love and His awesome power. The more we understand God’s great love and power the more we are compelled to put our faith in Him. Externally, faith can come from the encouragement of others: Rom 1:11-12 11 I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong— 12 that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith . NIV What do others around us encourage us to do? Put our faith in God of course.

They testify to our wonderful God and his amazing deeds and the rewards for putting our faith in Him. Also, the tangible manifestation of the benefits that come from other people’s example of faith serve as a great inspiration to us, and a motivation to put our faith in God: Heb 13:7-8

67 7 Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith . 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. NIV By hearing the message of the cross, by meditating on the promises of God in scripture and seeing their fulfillment in the lives of our faithful heroes, our faith will grow. By the Holy Spirit allowing us to peek into the mind of God and see things through His eyes, our faith will grow. By the encouragement of others to put our faith in God, and especially by their examples of the rewards for doing so, our faith will grow. God truly, has supplied us with more than we need to see our faith explode into a mustard tree leading to eternal life.

Therefore, we have a perfect God to put our faith in, perfect promises to rely on, a perfect message in the scriptures to remind us, and the perfect Spirit inside of us to guide us every day of our lives. Our pursuit of faith is without excuse, and is blazing a trail of excitement and adventure at our every step. Yet, this will mean taking full responsibility for the growing and strengthening of our faith by choosing to place our faith and trust in Him. We need to ask the question that Jesus asked two thousand years ago, yet still rings true: Luke 18:8 However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?" NIV Question for reflection: What rewards did the examples of faith in the bible, or our lives, reap from putting faith in God? Decision: I will put my faith in my perfect God, His perfect promises, His perfect message, and rely on the help of His perfect Spirit within me.

Scripture memory: Rom 10:17 17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ. NIV Practice: Today I will seek to strengthen my faith by reading about His perfect promises, hearing his perfect message and praying to God that His Spirit will continue to help my faith to grow.

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Our Devotion

69 Chapter 6: Prayer: Our Response to God. These past few weeks, we have seen what God’s love really is. By accepting his love and accepting his sovereignty, we have the foundation to trust Him. If we trust Him and we humbly accept our limitations and powerlessness, and correctly forsake our trust in own perception, submitting ourselves to the power and mercy of God, then, we can put our faith in Him. When we see our desperate need for God in our daily lives, we reach out to Him, and respond to Him in prayer.

Day 20: Access to the Father Deut 4:7 7 What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the LORD our God is near us whenever we pray to him? NIV God has created us with the need for a relationship with Him. In other words, to be able to live a holistically healthy and fulfilled life is only possible through a symbiotic relationship with Him. It is as if there is a missing piece inside each and every one of us, and only through a relationship with God can we be complete.

We have all been created with a need and desire for eternal things, as the writer of Ecclesiastes says: Eccl 3:11 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.

NIV God has provided a way to get to Him, whenever we need Him, whenever we want Him, and whenever we desire Him. That way is through prayer.

The Obstacle It took a lot for God to provide this because we damaged God’s original plan of being with us in the Garden of Eden: Gen 3:22-24 22 And the LORD God said, "The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever." 23 So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. 24 After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life. NIV Also because of our disobedience, we created a barrier between us and God due to our propensity and perpetuation of sin and rebellion:

70

Isa 59:1-2, (12-23) Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear.

2 But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear…

God, who deeply desires a relationship with us, demolished the barrier by coming down in the form of man and dying for the sin of the world: 1 Peter 2:24-25; (2 Cor 5:21) 24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. 25 For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls…

21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. God removed the barrier that kept mankind from having an intimate relationship with Him, as demonstrated metaphorically in Matt 27: Matt 27:51-52 51 At that moment [Jesus’ death] the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. NIV Parenthesis and italics mine.

Later on, the Hebrew writer explained to us what this meant: Heb 10:19-23 19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. NIV The curtain blocked the way to the Holy Place, from anyone except the high priest, who had to be purified in order to enter. God tore the curtain in two at Jesus’ death, and through the tearing of Jesus’ body, provided purification for us, allowing us to enter the Most Holy Place. Through Jesus’ death we now can all have access to the Father wherever, whenever, and however we need Him; and we access Him through prayer.

71 Therefore, because of God’s mercy we have access to a relationship with Him. The almighty creator of the universe is eager and attentive whenever we pray, to listen to our concerns, and to hear our requests. He has sacrificed much in order to make it possible. We need to honor Him for what He has done by devoting our lives to the one thing that He has provided that gives us the direct line to his undivided attention, namely, prayer.

Question for reflection: How does it make you feel to know that we have access to the ear and attention of the creator of the universe whenever we pray to Him? Decision: I will devote myself to a life of prayer, showing God how deeply grateful I am for His love for me.

Scripture memory: Deut 4:7 7 What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the LORD our God is near us whenever we pray to him? NIV

Practice: I will pray today, every opportunity I get, because I am grateful and excited for the opportunity I have to spend time with God.

72 Day 21: Walking with God. Gen 5:21-24 21 When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah. 22 And after he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters. 23 Altogether, Enoch lived 365 years. 24 Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away. NIV We, as powerless human beings, and now as Christians, have unlimited access to the loving, compassionate, kind, and awesome, powerful, omniscient, omnipresent, Creator of the universe. Yet, what should we do with that knowledge? Well, when we are thirsty we look for water, when we are hungry, we look for food, when we are sick we look for medicine, when we are tired, our bodies long for rest. Spiritually, we are thirsty, hungry, sick, and we are tired, and common sense would say that we should look for what spiritually fulfills all of these needs in our lives; and that is and will only ever be, God. It follows that our lives should be filled with the overwhelming desire to seek God. Prayer is the automatic response when we fully understand our powerlessness and see our desperate need for God to meet our daily needs, wants and desires.

Prayer is more a state of being than an action; a state that we are in when we truly acknowledge the reality of how destitute we are without God, how desperate we are for Him, and how we will not go through life without Him. When we have this perspective, we are compelled to pray, because we see our need God for the wisdom to make every decision and for help in times of need.

It only follows that as destitute as we are we need to desperately cling to God every second of every day. This is what the Bible describes as walking with God: Mic 6:8 8 He has showed you, O man, what is good.

And what does the LORD require of you?

To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. NIV Before my son was two years old he clung to his mother every single minute of his life when he was awake or asleep. It was tiring for my wife, yet God never tires of our desperation for Him. God never sleeps, never tires, never stops loving us, and will never leave us.

Like newborn babies, we need to desperately cling to God in a daily walk with Him. What does this look like? Well, since we all have daily needs, it only makes sense that we go to God to have those needs fulfilled. On the other hand, if we can meet our own needs, we must understand it is because God has put it within our reach; therefore we need to thank God for putting it within our reach. If it is not within our reach, we need to ask God to bring it within our reach.

73 Therefore, to walk with God means that our lives are filled with repeating two basic actions: asking and thanking. If we don’t have it, we ask, if we do have it, we thank Him for it.

Also, in the book of Micah it says walking with God is dependent on one very important component, humility. The Bible says we are to walk humbly with our God. This means that we are to trust in his unfailing compassion for us; we are to trust in his omnipotent sovereignty; we are to have more faith in Him than in our own perception, and we are to acknowledge the truth: that we cannot live a life that is worthwhile without Him. For example: try to imagine being at the lowest level of poverty and being completely destitute. Yet, you also have a kind and generous Father who is rich beyond belief; a father who has always demonstrated His love and generosity in your life over and over again. What will you do in your difficult situation? Will you go to others, or go to other things to help you? Will you go to addictive behavior to forget your pain? Will you run away from your problems? Will you reject His help, even though He offers it to you every day?

The question we need to ask ourselves is, “Do I walk humbly with God?” The best questions to judge ourselves by are asking, how much do I pray? How often do I engage in asking of God and thanking God? How often do I go to the Bible to help me to make decisions in my life? We call ourselves Christians, and we say we have a relationship with the Father, yet where do we truly go to first when we need help? And when we have things that we need, do we thank God for it daily, acknowledging that we would not have anything without Him? Other signs to look for to determine if we are humbly walking with God are asking ourselves, “Do we worry or are we at peace?” “Are we frustrated or are we faithful?” “Are we impatient or are we grateful for what we have and hopeful for what God has to offer?”

God looks at us as that kind, generous and wealthy Father, who has compassion for us and is saddened by our plight. God may wait to help us to allow us to receive the humbling consequences of our actions to bring us back to our senses and help us stay in touch with reality. Yet, God is a patient and loving God, whose door is always open for us to go to Him in our time of need. As the Hebrew writer says: Heb 4:15 16 Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. NIV

Question for reflection:

74 How has God demonstrated to us that He so desperately wants to help us in the challenges we endure as human beings?

Decision: I will acknowledge my powerlessness and walk humbly with my loving God. Scripture memory: Mic 6:8 8 He has showed you, O man, what is good.

And what does the LORD require of you?

To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. NIV Practice: Today I will go to God in prayer, acknowledging how desperately I need Him; walking humbly with Him throughout my day.

75 Day 22: The Power of Prayer James 5:16 The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. NIV What we may have overlooked is the incredible and amazing power that is at our disposal whenever we pray to our God. If we have access to the Father, and the Father is all powerful, all knowing, all present and the Master of the universe, it consequently means that we have access to that kind of power in our lives every second of every day. Jesus puts it best when teaching his disciples he eloquently said: Matt 19:26 26‌ "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."

NIV Jesus tried, ever so hard, to communicate to his disciples that though man is limited, when you tap into God, everything becomes possible, because nothing is impossible with God. For example, if your life was that of a car, then God is the designer. God has designed some ordinary, yet dependable cars and He has designed other sleek and beautiful cars; He has made big cars and little cars, some slow cars and some fast cars. The problem with these cars is that once created they have no life to get them from one place to the next. They only have potential that is useless unless driven by someone else. They have no direction as to their next destination, and they have no ability to decide when they should go. In other words, they have no power and no direction, and therefore, useless.

God is the designer, God is the manufacturer, and God is the one who puts gas in our tank to get us going, as well as directing us to where we need to go.

Consequently, He is the one that maintains us and takes care of us. Only with God will our lives to go anywhere, and only with God can we get to where we are going.

We also have the special privilege of tapping into, not just power to help us in our daily lives, but power to do miraculous things; things that go against the laws of this universe. God, who created the laws of this universe, can break them whenever He pleases. How else could a man walk on water, or more importantly be raised from the dead? Yet, we have access to this power: Eph 1:18-22 18 I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, 20 which he

76 exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. NIV The same power that raised Jesus from the dead is at our disposal because of our access to the Father. This means that there is no situation or challenge that we face in our lives that we cannot overcome, with the help of God. The possibilities are endless for the potential that we have. Therefore, we should always go to God first with our issues and problems, because with God, if He deems it so, will help us with all of the power of the universe.

Is there something that we feel powerless against? Then we should pray. Is there a sin that we are having trouble giving up? We should go to God for help.

Is there a difficult situation, a troublesome experience, a challenging encounter, or an impending fear we do not want to come to pass? Then we need to put our faith in God, because only He has the unstoppable power to come to our aid.

If you have trouble believing this, consider these scriptures: Isa 40:12, 22, 25-26 12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens?

Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on the scales and the hills in a balance?... …22 He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers.

He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, and spreads them out like a tent to live in… …25 "To whom will you compare me?

Or who is my equal?" says the Holy One. 26 Lift your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these?

He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name.

Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing. NIV There would not be a universe if it wasn’t for God. There would not be a you or me if it weren’t for God. How can we doubt that God will be able to help us, when He created us? Not only so, but God also has a deep desire to help His children and not even death can stop Him. As the apostle Paul said: Rom 8:38-39

77 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Question for reflection: Since nothing is impossible for us when we tap into God through prayer, what should we be praying for?

Decision: I will claim the power and might that God provides for me as His child in this world, by putting my faith completely in Him in prayer.

Scripture memory: Matt 19:26 26‌ "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."

NIV Practice: Today, I will pray for all of the concerns in my life that are impossible for man but possible with God.

78 Day 23: Responsibility in Prayer Eph 6:18 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.

With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. NIV We must understand that, “With great power comes great responsibility.” Our access to God’s power was not meant for us to attain all that we need and want and then go on our merry way. It was also meant to help others on this planet, that go through desperate and troubled times. And our Christian brothers and sisters are undergoing the same troubles and hardships that we are going through: 1 Peter 5:8-9 8 Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.NIV God has ordained that we help our brothers and sisters by interceding to God to come to their aid: Eph 6:18 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.

With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. NIV The best and ultimate help that we could ever give someone is to pray. When we pray, God’s amazing power is unleashed, and provides what people desperately need, especially that which is beyond our influence. As the apostle Paul demonstrated, we share in our brother’s and sister’s struggle when we pray to God for them: Rom 15:30 30 I urge you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me…NIV Jesus also encouraged us to pray for the desperate and destitute to receive help from God, because only God could come to their aid: Matt 9:35-38 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field." NIV

79 You see, God’s gift of immeasurable power for us, was given to provide all we need for our lives; but it also came with the responsibility to provide for the needs of others. When we think about it, If God is abundantly wealthy beyond belief, and we are also because of our access to Him; should we not be as generous with that wealth to others the way that God has been to us? I think for this reason we can live blessed lives, because like Paul said: Acts 20:35 35 In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'" NIV On the other hand, to not help someone by not praying for them potentially violates the principle the Bible espouses concerning our responsibility of helping others that we see are in need: Prov 3:27-28 27 Do not withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is in your power to act.

28 Do not say to your neighbor, "Come back later; I'll give it tomorrow" — when you now have it with you. NIV Because we have it in our power to act, thanks to tapping into God’s power in prayer, we have a responsibility to pray for others in need. Even Samuel considered it a sin to not pray for his people: 1 Sam 12:23-24 23 As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by failing to pray for you. And I will teach you the way that is good and right. NIV God has ordained that His love be shared with the world through those that believe in Him, and call themselves His followers. And there is no greater way to share that love than to intercede for others, and unleashing God’s power in their lives. Though we may be limited in our influence, by relying on God, and petitioning Him to come to the aid of others, we step into a different realm, where all is possible, and the miraculous is inevitable. Yet this great power is available to help the world, only if we humble ourselves, fall on our knees and go to God, and pray.

In conclusion, because we accept our plight, and we know we have a loving Father, we go to him in prayer. He desires for us to walk with Him, humbly accepting our desperate need for Him in our lives. We walk with Him, living a life of asking and thanking, until we can be with Him forever in Heaven. We have unlimited access to God’s incredible power, and we can use that power to help us in our lives, as well as fulfill the responsibility to help others in theirs. Humility

80 in accepting our desperate situation is the one thing that will drive us to our knees in prayer. Once there, we can see God in His true light and He will provide the help we need in the journey and the continual pursuit of faith. As the Bible says: Ps 62:11-12 1 One thing God has spoken, two things have I heard: that you, O God, are strong , 12 and that you, O Lord, are loving.

Surely you will reward each person according to what he has done. NIV Question for reflection: What needs from: Christians, your family, and the world, do you know about that you can bring before God in prayer?

Decision: I will devote myself to praying for the needs of others around me, whether Christians, my family or the world.

Scripture memory: Eph 6:18 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.

With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. NIV Practice: Today I will pray for God to fulfill the needs of my family, my spiritual family and the needs of this world.

81 Chapter 7: Honoring God with Worship, Thanksgiving and Praise.

Day 24: The Worship of God. John 4:24 24 “…God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.” NIV The awesome and powerful God that we serve created us to have a relationship with Him. The interaction between us and God is one where God loves us as our father, and we as honor Him as His children. The similarity stops there because part of our relation to God entails something that can only be conveyed to a majestic, perfect, awe inspiring and holy being like God; namely, the act of worship.

Worship is defined as a profound fear, respect, love and devotion accorded to a deity. Why is God the only one that can be worshipped? Because only God is above everything, has created everything, knows everything, is everywhere at all times, is perfect in every way, and is holy. Worship can only be given to those who deserve it; and when we worship God we are declaring the fact that He does deserve it, because He is God. God not only wants for us to worship Him, He expects it, because this is part of His requirement of engaging in a relationship with Him. As the Bible says: Ps 29:2 2 Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness. NIV Ps 96:9-10 9 Worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness; tremble before him, all the earth.

10 Say among the nations, "The LORD reigns." NIV Ps 100:2 2 Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. NIV Luke 4:8 8 Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.'"

NIV John 4:23 23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.

NIV

82 We are to render ourselves before God, bowing to His every need and desire; confessing our ungodliness and honoring His holiness. Why do we do this?

Because God is everything that we want to be. God is all that we were created to be, and because of our powerlessness, and our sinfulness, we have fallen short of being all that God truly is. We say, “God is what I want to be, but it is impossible for me to be.” Yet for God we say, “God is all that I long to be, and is impossible for me, but totally possible with God to be, because He is much greater, stronger, more powerful, more pure, more holy, and more perfect, than I; and for that I honor, praise and worship Him.” The Bible says that we are to worship God in spirit and in truth, yet how does that translate into our spiritual life? One aspect of worshiping in spirit is the worship of God with all of our hearts; something that the Pharisees failed to do: Mark 7:6-7 6 He replied, "Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: "'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.

7 They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.' NIV Yet something that Jesus taught us as the only way to truly worship God: Matt 22:37-38 37 Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. NIV Our love for the lord and therefore our worship is to consume our entire heart, soul and mind. God is to be placed as the most important thing in our life, and the devotion to everything else forsaken. As Jesus so plainly explains to us: Luke 14:32-33 33 In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple. NIV To worship God in spirit we must serve God with all of our heart, mind, soul and strength, devoting all of ourselves to fulfilling any act of obedience that He requires of us. What does the Lord require of us? The lifestyle that God expects from us is a life in continual pursuit of truth, fulfilling the other half of our act of worship toward God. To worship God in truth is to worship God by His true standards and His true direction for our lives as Christians. This would seem like a simple pursuit, since the Bible is available to just about everyone on this planet. Yet, even with the availability of the Bible, the world has devised countless ways of following God,

83 and countless interpretations of His expectations for our life. Regardless, we must search for the truth, follow the truth, and uphold the truth.

Yet where do we find the truth. We begin our pursuit, with the source of everything that we know about God, and the wellspring of truth, namely, the Bible: John 17:17 17 Sanctify them by the truth ; your word is truth. NIV Col 1:4-6 5 the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth , the gospel 6 that has come to you. NIV In the word of truth we are to learn and rely on the principles espoused by our Lord and savior, Jesus Christ: John 18:37 Jesus answered, "You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth . Everyone on the side of truth listens to me." NIV John 14:6-7 6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. NIV To live the truth is to apply the principles that Jesus taught us in our daily life.

Does He ask us to walk on water, drive out demons, perform miracles like raise the dead? No, but He does ask us to imitate the spiritual qualities in His character and life that are inspired by the Spirit of God: Gal 5:22-23 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. NIV Col 3:12-14 12 Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another.

Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. NIV Therefore, we find the truth in the word of God, we learn the truth from the principles that Jesus taught us, and we live the truth by imitating the life of Christ.

All this must be accompanied by a whole hearted devotion that encompasses the

84 mind, the soul and all our strength; as we honor God for being the perfect, holy, and awesome God that He is. Needless to say, this will take sacrifice, and sacrifice of the type that we only see in Jesus; yet a sacrifice that will truly end in the fulfillment of our worship of God in spirit and truth: Rom 12:1 12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God — this is your spiritual act of worship. NIV Question for reflection: What are some obstacles that prevent you from worshiping God in spirit and truth; and what are you going to do to remove these obstacles?

Decision: I will worship God wholeheartedly and pursue truth all of the days of my life.

Scripture memory: John 4:24 24 “…God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.” NIV Practice: Today, I will give my whole heart to imitating Jesus in all of the circumstances that I face today; proclaiming all of God’s greatness, in spirit and truth.

85 Day 25: Giving Thanks to God. Phil 4:6-7 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. NIV Consequently, the acknowledgement of God’s sovereignty and His grace leads to giving God thanksgiving for all that we have. We thank Him because without Him we would have nothing, or we would have a whole lot of everything bad.

Also, we thank Him because we are unworthy of anything good He has given us, because we truly only deserve what is bad.

It is an undeniable truth, that a person who truly trusts God, and who truly acknowledges how truly powerless and indigent he or she is, is a thankful person. When one fully accepts the reality of his or her desperate need for God, and God’s gracious response of salvation through the blood of Christ, the heart’s overwhelming response is gratitude. This is why the Bible exhorts us to thank God at all times and in all circumstances, because by doing so we will acknowledge and stay in touch with the reality of God’s providence and truth about our subsistence: Psalm 105:1 1 Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done. NIV 1 Thess 5:18 18 give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

NIV Col 3:17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. NIV To not thank God reveals a heart that does not trust or believe God. When our hearts are convinced of the truth of our desperation and indigence, and of our complete dependence on God for our survival, sustenance, and at the chance at a full life, the overwhelming response of our hearts is to give thanks. On the contrary, when the heart is deceived into thinking that we subsist by our own merits or by the help of other things; we tend to forget to give thanks to Him who is truly the source of everything that meets our needs in this life. Why would we ever thank God, when we believe what we have is provided by our own strength, or the strength of something or someone else?

According to scripture, a lack of thankfulness is evidence of our pride and idolatry, and it is the spark that begins the fire of sin and rebellion that eventually leads to our ultimate destruction. As the Bible describes:

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Rom 1:18,21 18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, …

21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened… NIV Italics mine.

Lack of thankfulness reveals a lack of trust in God that prevents growth in conviction and in true godliness: 2 Peter 1:7-9 8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins. NIV Italics mine.

The deceptive idea that we have provided for ourselves, or that some idol (money, fame, resourcefulness, assets, business, etc.,) provides us with all of our needs, is the same destructive force that chokes the truth out of us, makes us ungrateful, sinful and hardens our hearts toward our loving and faithful God: Heb 3:12-13 12 See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. 13 But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness. NIV If we are not in a state of constant thankfulness it reveals what is truly in our hearts, namely, that our hearts are not truly convinced of God’s love for us, His sovereignty in our lives, His sovereignty over the universe, and our powerlessness without Him. In other words, we don’t really believe the truth that God loves us with an undying love, He provides everything in our lives, and that we are desperately dependent on Him for everything; because if we did believe it, every other word out of our mouths would be used to thank God. By thanking God we are acknowledging his sovereignty and His unfailing love for us. We are saying that yes, God truly is the source of every great and worthwhile thing in this planet and in our lives. We are declaring that only God so loves, that He is abundantly generous with his gifts; and that only God is so powerful that He can provide us with whatever we need, whenever we need it, to meet all of our needs. As Paul says: 2 Cor 9:7-8 8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. NIV

87 And as the writer of Hebrews says: Heb 4:16 16 Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. NIV All that we have is by God’s providence, because we cannot provide for ourselves. We are unworthy to have whatever we have, and we thank the Lord for it. And we thank Him, and thank Him, and thank Him‌

Questions for reflection: What has God done in your life that He deserves daily, abundant thanksgiving for?

Decision: I will strive to thank God, everyday, for the rest of my life.

Scripture Memory 1 Thess 5:16-18 16 Be joyful always; 17 pray continually; 18 give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. NIV Practice: Today I will thank God for giving me another day at life, for the cross of Christ that forgives my sin, His abundant love and friendship, and for the hope at one day being with Him in heaven.

88 Day 26: The Praise of God. Ps 100:4-5 4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise ; give thanks to him and praise his name.

5 For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations. NIV While thanksgiving is the acknowledgement of what God has done, praise is the acknowledgement of who God is. Praise is the declaration of the mighty and holy characteristics of God, who deserves acknowledgement for being God. We, as Christians, exist for this purpose because God deserves acknowledgement; and the world needs to know who He is. As the Bible says: 1 Peter 2:9 9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. NIV Italics mine.

As Christians, it is now our responsibility to declare the praises of God to the people of this world. We declare the glory of God through our lips, and through our lives: Ps 47:6-7 Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises to our King, sing praises.

7 For God is the King of all the earth; sing to him a psalm of praise. NIV Heb 13:15-16 15 Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise — the fruit of lips that confess his name. NIV Phil 1:9-11 9 And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10 so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ — to the glory and praise of God. NIV What should we be praising God for? Everything that is good in our lives or in the existence of this planet is from God, and is a testament to His character.

Therefore, we praise God for everything: God is loving, good, patient, peaceable, joyful, kind, gentle, compassionate, generous; He is pure, holy, and righteous; He is omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent; and He is powerful,

89 amazing, miraculous, wondrous, majestic, mind-blowing, jaw-dropping and just flat out awesome!

We must understand that the praise of God is not optional. Throughout the Bible, we are commanded by those who have served Him and walked closely to Him, to praise God for His wonderful character. Even in the book of psalms, there are over 200 references to the praise of. Here are just a few: Ps 9:1-2 I will praise you, O LORD, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonders.

2 I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High. NIV Ps 18:49 49 Therefore I will praise you among the nations, O LORD; I will sing praises to your name. NIV Ps 22:22-23 22 I will declare your name to my brothers; in the congregation I will praise you.

23 You who fear the LORD, praise him!

All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!

Revere him, all you descendants of Israel! NIV Ps 30:4-5 4 Sing to the LORD, you saints of his; praise his holy name.

5 For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning. NIV Ps 33:1 Sing joyfully to the LORD, you righteous; it is fitting for the upright to praise him. NIV Ps 66:8-9 8 Praise our God, O peoples, let the sound of his praise be heard; 9 he has preserved our lives and kept our feet from slipping. NIV Ps 92:1-3 It is good to praise the LORD and make music to your name, O Most High,

90 2 to proclaim your love in the morning and your faithfulness at night, 3 to the music of the ten-stringed lyre and the melody of the harp. NIV Ps 100:4-5 4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise ; give thanks to him and praise his name.

5 For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations. NIV Ps 103:20-22 20 Praise the LORD, you his angels, you mighty ones who do his bidding, who obey his word.

21 Praise the LORD, all his heavenly hosts, you his servants who do his will.

22 Praise the LORD, all his works everywhere in his dominion.

Praise the LORD, O my soul. NIV Ps 145:3-7 3 Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise ; his greatness no one can fathom.

4 One generation will commend your works to another; they will tell of your mighty acts.

5 They will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty, and I will meditate on your wonderful works.

6 They will tell of the power of your awesome works, and I will proclaim your great deeds.

7 They will celebrate your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness. NIV

Ps 150:6 Praise the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens.

2 Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness.

3 Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre, 4 praise him with tambourine and dancing, praise him with the strings and flute, 5 praise him with the clash of cymbals,

91 praise him with resounding cymbals.

6 Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD. NIV To devote ourselves to God is to devote ourselves to meeting his needs and desires. We must understand that praise is part of our relation to God, and we are able to commune with Him only if we come to Him in praise. Like a spouse that is showered with compliments and encouragement, so God is encouraged by our declarations of His mighty being and the acknowledgment of the splendor of His existence. Without praise, we cannot maintain a strong, growing relationship with God. As a matter of fact, if we truly understood and had a good grasp of the amazing gift we have been given, to be able to walk with the sovereign and merciful creator of the universe, all of our thoughts and all of our words would be overwhelmed with the praise of God. You see, praise comes from a heart that is engrossed in God, a heart that is overwhelmingly grateful for the opportunity to commune with our creator, and a heart that thoroughly understands how unfathomable it is that God would want to have a relationship with us.

Also, a side benefit to praising God is that it reminds our hearts of whom we are serving and how amazingly awesome He is. Unfortunately, with all of the influences that are competing for the attention of our hearts, like Satan, the world, our sinful nature, etc., we can be distracted from the reality of the glory of our God. By praising God, we are reminded of the truth of who God is, and we are humbled by the realization of how unworthy we are to be in His presence.

Therefore, though are hearts may be dull, we can continue to come to God in praise; and just the act of giving God the glory that is due Him can help break the hardness of our hearts. As the prophet Isaiah discovered when He was confronted by the glory of God: Isa 6:5 5 "Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips , and I live among a people of unclean lips , and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty." NIV We will praise God because we understand how immeasurable unworthy we are to have a relationship with God. We will praise Him because we acknowledge the immeasurable qualities of our Lord. We will praise Him because we were created to declare His wonders to the world. And we will praise Him, even if our hearts our hard, because we understand that by praising God, we will again be exposed to the splendor of His holiness, which will render our hearts before Him. As the Bible says: Ps 147:1 How good it is to sing praises to our God,

92 how pleasant and fitting to praise him! NIV

Question for reflection: Why is it that by praising God, our relationship with God grows?

Decision: I will praise God, everyday, for the rest of my life; and forever in the afterlife.

Scripture memory: Ps 147:1 How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and fitting to praise him! NIV Practice: Today, I will recount all of God’s amazing qualities, and praise Him for them all.

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Our Transformation

94 Chapter 8: Godly Conviction Day 27: The Power of Conviction.

Conviction is a common word that carries very uncommon implications. As a word it has merit and may even inspire, but can be quickly forgotten. As an idea that is buried deep in the heart of an individual, it can become an unstoppable force that can make an individual accomplish feats that can only be considered superhuman.

What is conviction? It is the act of being totally convinced of something to the point that it leads to a change of perspective, a change of emotion, a change in behavior, and ultimately a change of life.

It is an indispensable tool for a Christian. If one could be totally convinced of the ultimate truth, namely, God’s truth, one would develop deeply rooted beliefs that will compel an individual to strive for an outstanding godly life that will reach into the afterlife. As Peter puts it: 2 Peter 1:5-11 5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. 8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. ..10 Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, 11 and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. NIV Or how Paul describes: Col 1:22-23 22 But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation- 23 if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel. NIV Unfortunately, as one has the ability to develop conviction on what is right and good, one also has the ability to develop conviction that will lead to the Dark Side. These type of convictions are just as powerful, and can direct individuals to accomplish supernatural feats, even give their lives for they believe is right.

This because they are convinced, beyond doubt, that what they believe is the ultimate truth.

95 We have all heard stories, or read the news about individuals who are so convinced that what they are accomplishing is the ultimate right that they will give their lives in an effort to kill as many people as possible, so that their message of truth can ring throughout the world. They will destroy themselves, their families, and others over what they believe is an idea that is more important, and more sacred than any other in the world.

In a subtler and less extreme display of distorted conviction, we can live lives convinced of things, which God holds to be altogether untrue. The result is that we live double minded lives which wage a daily war for our loyalty between what we believe in our hearts and what God says to be true. The sad truth is that one will always win out, and true faith cannot be fulfilled with a divided heart: Luke 16:13 13 "No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. NIV For example, all of my life I have been bombarded with the propaganda of the world that says, “There is no one you can rely on but yourself!” And to an extent, in a world without God, this may be true. On the contrary, as a Christian, God has taught me that I am powerless without Him, and the only way to live a fulfilling life that is worthwhile is to depend solely and completely on Him and not my own strength. An example that Jesus demonstrated so eloquently: John 5:19-20;(John 5:30; 8:28) 19 Jesus gave them this answer: "I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. NIV Our lives as Christians are plagued by the immoral proclivities of our hearts, caused by corrupted conviction which has been influenced by the cesspool of a world that we have lived in the many years of our non-Christian lives. Our efforts must now be to develop the right convictions, based on God’s truth, that will destroy and overshadow the old, and compel us to live a truly righteous life.

As a small amount of radioactive material can power an entire city, it can also destroy the same city. Similarly, conviction is a powerful substance that must be handled with extreme care. Conviction’s power comes from its ability to cause a human being to change his or her perspective, which leads to a radical change of life direction. There is nothing more difficult than to change a person’s mind to start living a completely different life. This is especially true in areas a person holds most dearly in their lives. Yet to be convinced of a belief to the level of developing a deep conviction, a person’s priorities are reorganized to the point that there is nothing of greater importance than fulfilling one’s purpose.

96 Conviction leads to change of perspective, which leads to a change of action, and then leads to a complete change of life pattern. It is not an action that happens a few times, but one that persists years after the conviction was developed. The convictions grow stronger with the repeated actions, as the benefits or consequences of such actions are experienced by the individual and more deeply convinces the individual of their validity.

Conviction also provides the courage to accomplish things that we in our natural selves would be unlikely to attain. The reason for this is that our conviction is so strong that we are willing to die for what our belief proclaims. By not fearing death, all other minor fears fall to the wayside of our purpose. We are unashamed of what we are doing, because shame holds very little control over the person who is ready to sacrifice self. Pain no longer deters us, because pain holds nothing over the person willing to endure the ultimate suffering for their cause.

Conviction’s power is immeasurable because of its ability to thrust an individual into superhuman levels not understood by philosophy or science. We have all heard of the adrenaline driven woman who heaves a car in an attempt to save her dying child.

Conviction also brings a determined, unstoppable, relentless, tenacious attitude that rises above obstacles, criticism, rejection, and fatigue. The purpose is deeply rooted and cannot be dissuaded from its goal. The head and nose become hard, the neck becomes stiff and the fist becomes like iron in the constant breaking of barriers and limitations that keep their ideals from their ultimate goal. If the belief is not of God, the person can be jeered as being hard headed, hardnosed, stiff necked, and iron fisted. If the belief is right, than the insults just fan the flame that propel an individual to greater and greater heights of faith and eventually result in the glory of God. What we must understand is that conviction is the impetus that drives the Christian life. Conviction is also what will help us to remain true to the faith, by developing roots that grow deeper and deeper, helping us be firmly grounded in what is right and true; with the ultimate goal to become like Jesus in all of his glory: Eph 4:12-13 ‌ 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

NIV Question for reflection: Why must we be careful about what or who is influencing our and our family’s lives and the belief system that we are developing?

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Decision: I will pursue strong conviction in what is true and right, namely, God’s truth.

Scripture memory: Col 2:6-7 6 So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, 7 rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. NIV Practice: Today I will meditate on God’s truth, and commit myself more to fulfilling it in my life.

98 Day 28: Godly Conviction vs. Worldly Conviction.

The power of conviction cannot be denied, but it can be impersonated to the point of deceiving those who claim to have it. I have experienced firsthand examples of this in various churches, of which I will take a liberty to use myself as the ultimate example.

I, a converted atheist, have been going to church for more than twenty years. For the first 15 years of my Christian life I never missed a day of reading my Bible, I never missed a church service, and I was late to church only twice in that 15 year period. I shared my faith with strangers just about every day, of which one week I invited over one thousand people to church. I gave contribution consistently, and I increased my special yearly missionary contribution every year. I helped lead hundreds of people to Christ and taught tens of thousands of people. I eventually became a minister serving the church with all of my heart. As a single man I maintained absolute purity, and I eventually married a Christian woman, by the age of 31, with the joy of knowing that I was going to the altar, a virgin.

The church I am a part of, as many others, underwent a radical change in structure. The ultimate change that resulted was the rapid decline of any attempts at accountability. For one reason or another, accountability was the first to go, and it was very evident that it was gone. People suddenly felt as if accountability was an intrusion on people’s privacy and no longer felt it was their place to question or counsel. Some felt, that unless the advice was solicited they would not share it, thinking “who wants to hear unsolicited advice anyway?”

I considered myself a man full of conviction, with a strong belief that my motivation was pure, and that after being a Christian for as long as I had, that I had left the milk and was on a strict diet of solid spiritual food. The lack of accountability, so I thought, should not make a difference in my life because my convictions ran deep. I thoroughly felt that external motivations had little to do with the devoted life that I spent so many years building, to the glory of God. Well, after the loss of accountability, the first thing to go was my Bible study. I stopped studying my Bible every day. I believed that God had never commanded us to read it every day, only to obey it daily, therefore I was no longer tied to that rule, since in my mind it was a gray area anyway. By that time, I must have read the New Testament about one hundred times, and read the Old Testament half as much, so I reasoned there is enough in my head to last me a few decades. Yet, after the changes, I thought, “If I read the Bible a couple times a week, that should be fine.” It eventually became a couple times a month, and then, even less than that.

The next thing to go was evangelism. I thought, the Bible never commands how often I should share my faith, only that it is a good thing to do. Well, if I don’t have to do it daily, then I don’t have to get up the courage everyday to meet

99 strangers, or to share my faith every time I rode the train, went to work or was around new people. I went from sharing every day, to sharing a few times a year. I went from having a few Bible studies with potential new converts, every day, to having one study every few years.

The next to go was my discipline. I no longer made it to church early, but rather late. I felt, lateness was never condemned in the Bible; it was a humanistic expectation therefore it did not matter anyway.

The last thing to go was my fellowship. Though the Bible did exhort me to encourage other disciples, and even to do it daily, I reasoned that my wife is a Christian, and I automatically encourage her daily, therefore there is no need to reach out to my brothers and sisters to see how they were doing and inspire them toward love and good deeds. The fifty phone calls I made daily were whittled down to about ten, then to about one, then to none. I stopped calling at all and I stopped returning calls. I encouraged people at church only when it was convenient, and eventually, I stopped that as well, going to church only once or twice a month. When at church, the five minutes before church was over was my time to leave, because I did not want to be bothered hearing about people’s lives and their many problems.

Where years before I was the poster child for a committed Christian, in a few months I became what I had always condemned. Would I consider myself lukewarm? I think I was worse, especially when I was exposed for what I really was. I always felt I had a deep love for God, and I had demonstrated it by my radically devoted life. Yet, after the accountability was gone, my actions revealed something that I always dreaded: that although I had done many things, this scripture rang true in my life: Revelation 3:1-2 ‌ I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. 2 Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God. NIV No matter how devoted I felt, and how strong I believed I was, or how close I believed I was to God, once the accountability was gone, I became a completely different person. The shameless truth that is revealed by my actions was that after fifteen years of a radically devoted life, I did not have true godly conviction.

I still believe I had some conviction because I did things I normally would not do, I reached heights I never thought humanly possible, and accomplished much few others could have achieved. Nevertheless, if my convictions could not last the test of time or the change of environment then my convictions were based on the wrong things.

100 How shameful do I feel to know that all that worked so hard for was built on the wrong foundation? Though I gained wisdom, and habits that I still carry today, the foundation was made of sand and came crashing down around me. After all that I did, I had nothing to show for it. As the Bible says: 1 Cor 13:1-3 13:1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 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 have not love, I am nothing . 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. NIV Though I do regret much, I am grateful for what God has exposed in my life. I am grateful because God saved me from the ultimate consequences that have befallen those who did not take warning: Matt 7:21-23 21 "Not everyone who says to me, `Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, `Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' 23 Then I will tell them plainly, `I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!' NIV I use myself as an example, but I know hundreds whom I have spoken to who have shared of their lack of devotion, lack of Bible study, lack of prayer, lack of fellowship, etc., and the alternate lifestyle they created for themselves after accountability had disappeared.

The ultimate truth is obvious and needs to be proclaimed from the roof tops: If our lives have made a significant change from our previous level of devotion to an alternate, different, less devoted, and ultimately lukewarm lifestyle, due to a change in external circumstances, then I dare say: WE SERIOUSLY LACK GODLY CONVICTION!!!

Or if we are one way in front of others, at church, at social gatherings, etc. but we are a completely different person when we are alone; indulging in sins that we know are wrong but that we have again become slaves to, then I dare say: WE SERIOUSLY LACK GODLY CONVICTION!!!

Jesus, who sees the heart, had this to say about those who claimed to be godly people but were not; a situation that, unfortunately, may be true of Christians today:

101 Matt 15:8-9 8 "'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.

9 They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.'" NIV Any Christianity that is based only on external displays of piety, external motivations, goads, requirements, external expectations, or accountability, and which cannot stand on its own two feet on a foundation of deep conviction, sincere, and genuine inside and out, is not of God and will be put to the test and shown for what it really is: Matt 7:24-27 24 "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash." NIV 1 Peter 1:6-7 6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that your faith-of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire-may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

NIV Even entire churches will be tested: 1 Cor 3:10-15 11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, 13 his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. 14 If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward.

15 If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames. NIV

Therefore we must be honest with ourselves, and honest with God about where our convictions lie. Then and only then can God create an upheaval in our lives that will establish a foundation of true godly conviction; which will last us for eternity.

102 Question for reflection: Was there ever a time when you were more devoted than you are now? What convictions do you need to develop to make sure you are not distracted from that level of devotion?

Decision: I will pursue true, godly conviction all the days of my life.

Scripture memory: Matt 7:21 21 "Not everyone who says to me, `Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

Practice: Today, I will honor God by striving to fulfill His will (holding to His principles) in everything that I do.

103 Day 29: Building Godly Conviction.

Now that we have made the effort to expose our true motivations we can begin to live life building true godly conviction. We should not feel sad because of the truth of where our hearts are, for we are not the first to be exposed for building on the wrong foundation; as the Hebrew writer said: Heb 5:12-14 12 In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! 13 Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. 14 But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. NIV The Hebrew church was close to thirty years old when Paul said this, and it must have hurt!

The question we need to now turn our attention to is: What builds conviction?

To build conviction is not as difficult as we think. If we were to look introspectively we would see that we have developed much conviction in our lives without necessarily being conscious of the process. Nevertheless, one of the simplest ways to develop conviction is through repetition.

Much of what we believe is because we have heard or seen examples in our lives repeated over and over again. Many of our traditions, we adhere to just as strongly as our parents do because we have experienced those traditions year after year till these traditions became part of us. Our ideals are based on ideas that have served us over and over again with consistent results that have convinced us of their validity.

Let’s face it, if someone were to tell you that the president was assassinated, you would find it hard to believe, but after ten people were to tell you the same thing, with similar details, and you see it on the news, and read it in the newspaper, you begin to start spreading the news yourself. You have been convinced, by the testimony of many people, even though you were not there yourself. Your new conviction compelled you to speak up about what you now believe to be true.

In order to develop godly conviction, what must I repeatedly expose myself to?

Godly principles of course. This, consequently, means that to gain spiritual conviction we must be constantly exposed to the source of all of our knowledge of God, namely, our Bible. What I mean is, if conviction comes from repetition, then the more I am exposed to something spiritual the more convinced I would be of it. Common sense would then say that if in the Bible I find truth, the more I read my Bible the more convinced I would be of the truth, and therefore the more godly conviction I will possess.

104 When you survey the Bible, it is obvious that there is no scripture in the Bible commanding Christians to read the Bible every day. Yet, there is no denying God’s command toward obedience and his exhortation to utilize the Bible to help fulfill that daily obedience: Josh 1:7-8 8 Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. NIV Ps 119:9-11 How can a young man keep his way pure?

By living according to your word.

10 I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands.

11 I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. NIV Deut 17:18-20 18 When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the priests, who are Levites. 19 It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the LORD his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees 20 and not consider himself better than his brothers and turn from the law to the right or to the left. Then he and his descendants will reign a long time over his kingdom in Israel. NIV 1 Cor 15:1-2 15:1 Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. NIV Col 3:16 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. NIV Heb 2:1 2:1 We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. NIV Heb 11:5-6, Rom 10:17 6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek

105 him… 17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ. NIV James 1:25 25 But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it-he will be blessed in what he does. NIV It is undeniable that God has encouraged us to be exposed to the Word because by doing so we will deepen our godly conviction, which will consequently compel us to a steadfast obedience.

Reading the Bible is not a command, but it is a tool that God uses to help us develop spiritual conviction, which in turn will make us be more rooted and help us to stay faithful till death, providing more guarantees that we will reach our place in heaven.

For example, if we eat healthy, then our health will improve. If we eat healthy on a daily basis, then consequently, we will be at our best physically. Similarly, if we read our Bible our godly conviction will develop, and consequently, if we read our Bible daily then our godly conviction will grow astronomically.

If I miss a day of reading, I am not in sin, but it will invoke a basic principle of life: the more you do something the more habitual and easy it will become; the less you do something, the harder it is to do, and the harder it is to start doing again.

If I don’t read I am building habits that will work against my desire of building deeper spiritual conviction, and if I read daily, I am building habits that will get me to heaven.

I will strive to read daily because then I will become stronger spiritually. I will be in tune with God Almighty: exposed to His love, His power, His compassion and His strength, which will help me be a more obedient child of His, which will ultimately bring Him glory.

Seeing that the only truthful information we have about God and Jesus are found mainly in the Bible, it only makes common sense that we go to scripture to hear the truth. The world bombards us with lies, Satan bombards us with lies, and our sinful nature bombards us with lies. In the midst of all the lies, we should cling to the only truth that we have in this world; the truth that people have given their lives throughout history to protect, namely, God’s word.

Do you want godly conviction? Read your Bible. Do you want a lot of godly conviction? Read your Bible a lot. Do you want a conviction that grows daily, building a solid foundation that will make you immovable to Satan’s attacks, and more guarantees you finishing the race to receive the crown of life? Then read

106 your Bible every day, and stand back and watch what God does with your life.

As God says: Isa 55:10-11 10 As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, 11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty , but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. NIV Question for reflection: What are the blessings and benefits that come from reading the word of God daily?

Decision: I will strive to read and meditate on God’s word every day of my life.

Scripture memory: James 1:25 25 But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it-he will be blessed in what he does. NIV Practice: I will make time in my day, today, to read my Bible and meditate on what I am learning.

107 Day 29: Training Ourselves to be Godly.

1 Tim 4:6-8 7 Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives' tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. 8 For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.

NIV Imagine that there were no church. Imagine there were no Bible conferences to attend. Imagine there were no mid-week service, or spiritual devotionals; no revivals, no Sunday school, no prayer meetings, and no Christian lunches.

Imagine that you were the only Christian on this planet. Would you be able to maintain your spiritual fervor, strengthen your godly conviction, grow in your understanding; keeping a single-minded, wholehearted spiritual perspective on life, and ultimately make it to heaven?

I dare say that some of us would, and some of us would not. A very few of us would keep our spiritual fire even though we would have no help from anyone outside of ourselves. Many of us, though, would let our spiritual fire die out, and settle for a mediocre, double-minded, traditional Christianity, that eventually leads to unfruitfulness.

Jesus expounded on these same principles when he explained the meaning of the Parable of the Sower: Luke 8:11-15 11 "This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. 12 Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. 13 Those on the rock are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away. 14 The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life's worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature. 15 But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.

NIV Here Jesus describes the lives of people who receive the word, their response to the word in their lives, and the consequences of their responses. He mentions a person’s responsibility (response – ability), regarding their response to the word of God. 15 But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop. NIV

108 The noble and good-hearted person, who hears the word, did not, like the others, allow external circumstance to dissuade them from developing the conviction that allowed him or her to retain the word of God. The Bible says that they persevered, meaning, that they continued in their pursuit regardless of the external (and internal) obstacles that they faced. Their convictions were developed independent of their external circumstances, and by persevering produced fruit that brings God glory.

What we must understand is that our spiritual conviction and growth cannot be dependent on people and things around us. We demonstrate our convictions to people and situations around us, yes, but the development of those convictions and the internal transformation into the likeness of Christ must never be determined by our external circumstances.

We as Christians, are fully responsible for getting ourselves to heaven by developing our own deep, godly conviction, and with the help of God and His Holy Spirit, maturing ourselves in Christ. We must train ourselves to be godly, by taking all of the resources God has given us; and with prayer and the Holy Spirit, grow our own convictions, persevering regardless of the obstacles, and ultimately make it to heaven.

For example, when children are born they are fully dependent on their parents to meet their basic needs such as being fed, sharing love, and having their diaper changed. As children grow up, though they become more independent, they are still dependent on their parents to teach them and guide them to develop their own values, standards, beliefs and habits. As they get to young adulthood they seek to use the foundation provided by their parents and build upon them, or adapting them, adding to them, or even exchanging them to fit their own perspectives on life. When they reach full adulthood, they no longer depend on their parents, but rather choose to involve their parents in their lives, even to take care of their parents who have reached their frail years.

How weird or sad would it be for a healthy adult man or woman to continue to be dependent on their parents for their basic needs, when they are fully capable of doing it on their own? Or how sad would it be for a healthy man or woman to choose to be dependent on others around them in order to meet all of their other needs, that they should be mature enough to maintain themselves?

Then why do we tolerate it as Christians? Many of us depend on others to feed us spiritually, either through a church service or through Christian counseling.

Yet we refuse to pick up our Bibles and train ourselves to be godly. We know what we need: to read the Bible more, pray more, thank God more, etc., yet we refuse to do it ourselves. Then we wonder why we are weak spiritually; we wonder why we are so vulnerable toward sin; we wonder why we have such a proclivity toward a hard heart; and we wonder where our passion and motivation has gone.

109

Not suprisingly, similar things happened to the Christians in the Bible: Heb 5:12-14 12 In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers , you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! 13 Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. 14 But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. NIV The Hebrew church was over 30 years old, and Paul rebuked them for their lack of conviction! What was their problem? Though they had been in church and around church for over 30 years, they did not mature because they did not devote themselves to utilizing all of the resources God had put at their disposal that would mature them in Christ. They did not train themselves to be godly.

Training Ourselves to be Godly God has placed ample and sufficient resources to help us train ourselves to be godly. Yet, these resources, though many, are useless without a willing spirit.

We must be willing to pursue godly conviction if we are going to grow and mature in Christ. That willingness is translated into making every effort to do all that we can to grow, in order that we could make it to heaven: Luke 13:24 He said to them, 24 "Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. NIV 2 Peter 1:5-8 5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. 8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. NIV 2 Peter 3:14 14 So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. NIV Our willing spirit will also help us undergo the suffering, that, like exercise, we need to undergo to truly grow stronger in our spiritual conviction: Rom 5:3-4

110 3 Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. NIV 1 Peter 4:1-3 4:1 Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin. 2 As a result, he does not live the rest of his earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God. NIV James 1:2-4 2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4 Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. NIV Heb 12:11 11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. NIV Once we have a willing spirit, and are committed to persevering through the external and internal obstacles that we encounter along the way, then we must commit ourselves to training ourselves to be godly.

The dictionary defines training as, “the process of bringing someone to an agreed standard of independent proficiency by constant practice and instruction.� Those are a lot of words, but the keys to training are repetition in practice and instruction, with the goal of being able to accomplish the task independently, and proficiently. In other words we need to repeatedly expose ourselves to God’s resources, such as: the word, prayer, the Spirit, etc., (instruction), and then repeatedly put to practice what we learn until it becomes natural for us (proficiency).

The good thing is that God has made it easy for us by putting all of the resources we need in one place, namely, His word: 2 Peter 1:3-4 3 His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. NIV 2 Tim 3:15-17

111 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. NIV Col 3:15-17 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. NIV And Paul declares, that the need for constant practice is the road to maturity in Christ: Heb 5:13-14 14 But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. NIV Paul was one of the greatest biblical examples of what it means to train ourselves to be godly. He demonstrated the attitude and dedication needed to grow his conviction, so the he too could make it to heaven: 1 Cor 9:24-27 24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training . They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26 Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. 27 No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. NIV Therefore we have a responsibility as Christians to get ourselves to heaven.

God will not judge us together based on our support group, rather He will judge us on our own. He will not look to others to judge our faithfulness, but rather, He will look to see how you or I utilized all of the spiritual resources He provided for us to help us make it to heaven. God has truly made it simple. As the song goes, “Read your Bible, pray every day and we grow, grow, and grow. Don’t read your Bible and pray every day, and we (our convictions) shrink, shrink, shrink…”

Question for reflection: If your life physically depended on you reading your Bible, what efforts would you make to read it?

Decision

112 I will commit myself to making every effort to train myself to be godly; utilizing all of God’s resources to do so.

Scripture memory 1 Tim 4:6-8 7 Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives' tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. 8 For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.

NIV Practice: Today I will read my Bible, pray and utilize God’s resources, to help me practice applying God’s principles in my life.

113 Day 30: Holding to the Word of God Luke 8:15 15 But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop . NIV To truly hold to the Word of God in spite of all of the obstacles that we face internally and externally is one of the greatest challenges of the Christian life. To persevere regardless of the tempting excuses that we would like to use to justify our actions, while resisting Satan’s attempt at trying to distract us from our daily exposure to the truth is a very hard thing to do. Many of us have fallen by the wayside while others have forsaken the truth altogether. And it is never a random and sudden change of behavior; we drift little by little from reading the Bible until our hearts grow hard and we lose the desire to hear the truth and we use excuses to justify our behavior until our faith weakens and we either succumb to the worlds influence or we repent and recommit ourselves to our devotion to the Word of God. We must always remember that it was the Bible that originally taught us the truth and the reason we are saved Christians today. To ever think that we are going to make it to heaven without consistent exposure to God’s word is a proud and self-deceived attitude. It comes from an immature and naïve perspective that we have placed over everything that we know is true; one that persuades us to take the control of our life out of God’s hands and to try to do things ourselves. As the Bible says: Gal 3:2-3 3 Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort? NIV How can one win a spiritual battle that is beyond our earthly powers to overcome, without the help of the spiritual weapons God has provided for us in Scripture?

As Scripture says: Eph 6:10-17 10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all

114 the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. NIV Our entire spiritual armor: truth, righteousness, gospel, faith, salvation and the sword of the Spirit, all have their foundation in scripture. Believing we can make it to heaven without the help of God’s word makes no common sense, and is a belief that can only be accepted by those who are determined to commit spiritual suicide, by returning to a life of slavery under sin: Gal 4:9 9 But now that you know God — or rather are known by God — how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again? NIV We need to come to our senses and remember that Satan’s ultimate ploy is to distract us from the truth and to do all that he can to lead us away from it: Rev 12:9 9 The great dragon was hurled down-that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. NIV Satan works very subtly in distracting us with the ultimate goal to steal or choke God’s Word out of us. What better way of doing this than by helping us justify our excuses as to why we don’t read the Bible, making it more and more difficult to ever pick it up? As the Bible says: Mark 4:15,18-19 15 Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them…18 Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 19 but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. NIV No matter how many excuses we use: laziness, lack of motivation, no time, etc., the heart of the matter is that we do not see the seriousness of our situation. The Bible is the only source of truth in this world and therefore our lifeline. By letting go of our lifeline, it is only a matter of time before we meet our impending doom and lose our soul to Satan’s schemes.

On the other hand, if we think that without reading our Bible on a constant and continual basis we will be able to continue in our faith strong and firm; to rise above the humanistic and external influences to our faith; to be able to be more devoted in your love for God, his people and this lost world; to avoid the external influences that are constantly bombarding our life; and evade Satan, who has made us his target, then I must share that we are truly deceived. Even the greatest men in the Bible (Abraham, Moses, David, the Prophets, the Apostles,

115 etc.) stumbled greatly without the help of God’s word and its influence in their lives.

Therefore, we need to watch out, because Paul’s warning always ring true: 1 Cor 10:12-13 12 So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall! NIV For the rest of Christendom: the hundreds and thousands of Christians, like myself, who are not as strong and who have a desperate need for God and His word to help us make it to heaven; for us this scripture rings true: Heb 10:23-25 23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. 25 Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another — and all the more as you see the Day approaching. NIV

Question for reflection: What is it going to take to help us to truly commit ourselves to reading and meditating on God’s word on a consistent basis?

Decision: I will cling to God’s word as my life line in this world.

Scripture memory: John 8:31-32 31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." NIV Practice: Today I will proclaim my desperate need for God by reading my Bible to find out what His direction is for my life.

116 Chapter 9. Growth and Transformation.

One of the greatest challenges that face us as Christians is the difficulty in growing spiritually and changing our habits to those that more reflect the likeness of Christ. This challenge stems from the hardness of our hearts in developing the conviction that we need that will lead to a change of life. True change needs to begin with a transformation at the heart level which in turn is followed by an external change of life. Yet, in order for that inner transformation to occur, our hearts must adhere to a new perspective and a new way of thinking. As Jesus says: Luke 5:37-38 37 And no one pours new wine into old wineskins . If he does, the new wine will burst the skins, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. 38 No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins.NIV We must throw away our old way of thinking, and now adhere to a new perspective, namely, God’s perspective, seeing things through His eyes. This means prioritizing what is really important in life, focusing our minds on spiritual things, understanding that there is a spiritual battle that rages around us, and putting our trust in God’s Spirit that dwells inside of us. Only then can we truly be able to fully realize the transformation that God has in store for us; the transformation that He is effecting right now, even as you read this book. As the Bible says: Phil 1:6 6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

NIV

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Day 31: Spiritual Priorities.

Mark 12:29-30 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' NIV The Bible says that our love for God should consume all of our heart, all of our soul, all of our mind, and all of our strength. Yet, what does this look like? The Bible gives us a few examples: Ps 73:25-26 (Asaph) 25 Whom have I in heaven but you?

And earth has nothing I desire besides you.

26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. NIV Ps 63:1 (David) O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water. NIV Hab 3:17-19 (Habakkuk) 17 Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, 18 yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior.

19 The Sovereign LORD is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights. NIV Phil 3:8 (Paul) 8 What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things.

I consider them rubbish , that I may gain Christ‌NIV Here we see four men, Asaph, David, Habbakuk, and the apostle Paul, all men made of flesh and blood as we are, yet they demonstrate that it is possible and it

118 is beautiful to be completely consumed with a relationship with God. Asaph said, “There is nothing I desire on earth beside you‌â€? David was so consumed with God that his soul desired God as his body desired food and water! He felt he could not live without God, and he desperately needed God as if he was in the desert with no water. Habakkuk did not care of the calamities of life surrounding him (and they were serious calamities); his joy was not in anything of this world, but solely in his God, who is beyond this world. Paul considered everything in this world as rubbish (a.k.a. garbage) compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ. These men were true, positive examples of what Jesus said: Matt 6:21 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. NIV A treasure is something of great importance to us; it only makes sense that we consequently place our hearts there. For these men, their treasure was truly in God, and therefore their hearts were with Him. They realized what a great treasure they truly had in God that their hearts were not only with Him but their hearts became consumed with Him. Is that how we feel? Does this describe us? Out of all of the various situations we are involved in, can we truly say that there is nothing on earth we desire more besides God himself? Can we truly say that everything is garbage compared to being in a relationship with God? Or, are we consumed with our everyday situations and problems; consumed with our ambitions, such as our desire for success, riches or the comforts of life; or relying on them for our security, satisfaction and fulfillment? Maybe it is an earthly relationship that we desire that is consuming our hearts and minds, or it could be that we are consumed by anger, resentment and bitterness. It could also be that we are attempting to be in control of a situation that is beyond our control and we are consumed with worry, anxiety and fret. Whatever it is, if it is not God, then we are on a path away from God, which will only end in fruitlessness, and ultimately, death: Mark 4:18-19 18 Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 19 but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. NIV It all begins by deciding where our treasure will be. Are we looking for our treasure in things of the earth or is it truly stowed away in heaven? What is of the greatest importance to us? Is it our families, our health, our career, our future, our comfort, our success, or our happiness? Or is it our great and loving, powerful, strong, amazing and awesome God?

119 How will we know what is most important in our lives? Our actions will reveal the truth. As the Bible says: Prov 27:19 9 As water reflects a face, so a man's heart reflects the man. NIV Or, Luke 6:45 For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks. NIV What do our actions reveal about us? We have already seen the lives of men who were consumed with God. Are our actions similar to their actions? If we need more examples here are a few more to stimulate our hearts: Gen 5:22-24; Heb 11:5 (Enoch) 22 And after he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters. 23 Altogether, Enoch lived 365 years.

24 Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away‌ For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. NIV Ex 33:9,11 (Moses) 9 As Moses went into the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and stay at the entrance, while the LORD spoke with Moses... 11 The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend. NIV Ps 42:1-2 (The sons of Korah) 42:1 As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. 2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? NIV James 2:23-24 (Abraham) 23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God's friend. NIV Do our actions come close to the previous eight examples that we have read about? If they do not, then we have to take a serious look at where are treasures are and consequently where our hearts have been.

How do we begin to grow in our spiritual lives? By putting our treasure where it belongs, with God; by loving God with all of our heart, mind, soul and strength; by being passionate toward God and not sharing our passions with anyone or anything else. When God takes the center of our life, then there will be spiritual change in our lives.

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Do we really want to know the secret of how to grow our spiritual life? Make God our life, and then use everything else, our family, our career, our future, our relationships, our hobbies, and our ambitions, as opportunities for us to glorify God. And with this, the Bible declares: 1 Cor 10:31 31 So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God .

NIV Question for reflection: What will help us to have a deep, consuming passion for God, the way the men and women of the Bible had, and which God is looking for?

Decision: I will have only one all consuming love in my life, and that is God and God alone.

Scripture memory: Ps 73:25-26 25 Whom have I in heaven but you?

And earth has nothing I desire besides you.

26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. NIV Practice: I will devote myself today to prayer, meditating on God’s word and on His creation, so that I can fan into flame an all encompassing and passionate relationship with God.

121 Day 32: Inner Spiritual Victory.

Matt 23:25-26 26… First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean. NIV In order to achieve spiritual transformation, once our priorities are set straight, we need to turn our attention to what God requires of us. Some things are self evident such as our continual love for God and walk with God, which we have spoken about. Also, as Christians we also know that we are to somehow love and render service to others. Yet, before delving into the external things we need to do, we have more internal spiritual victories to achieve. This is because only when we are aligned with God on the inside can we express true Christianity on the outside. In other words, only when our minds, our spirits, and our obedience is aligned with our heart’s desire to please God can we overcome the internal obstacles created by our sinful nature, and the external influences from the world and Satan.

I would admit that without our sinful nature, the world and Satan’s influence, growing and showing our true godliness and holiness to the world will be as easy as breathing or blinking our eyes. This is what it will probably be like in heaven, where we will have all of the motivation (desire) without any opposition (Satan, the world, our sinful nature, etc.). Yet, on earth, we do face these obstacles, both externally and internally and we need to be able to protect against the spiritual attacks that we face in order to continue in our efforts at living a transformed spiritual life. The good thing is that God has armed us for these attacks: Eph 6:10-18 10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. NIV God has given us spiritual armor to protect us against the onslaught of spiritual attacks from the heavenly realms. The Bible says that flaming arrows will come as well as evil days. We protect against them with righteousness, the gospel,

122 faith, salvation, and prayer to protect ourselves and those fighting a similar battle around us. Unless we rely on these spiritual weapons we will fall prey to the onslaught of Satan’s attacks, and we will never be able to see God’s glory.

Let us consider our spiritual armor: Righteousness Righteousness is our willingness to do what is right in all circumstances.

Contrary to popular belief it is not perfect obedience to God’s law because it is impossible for us to obey God perfectly due to our sinful nature. The heart of our righteousness as Christians is our willingness and our attempts to do right, and where we fall short, God steps in to complete our righteousness: Rom 8:1-4 8:1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, 4 in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit. NIV Yet, it begins with our willingness. If the willingness is not there, it is only a matter of time, until our hearts will drift away from the Lord, hardened by sin’s deceitfulness and eventually turn away from God: Heb 3:12-13 12 See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful , unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. 13 But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness. NIV Righteousness, has at its core the hatred of sin: Prov 8:13 13 To fear the LORD is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech. NIV Rom 12:9 9 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. NIV Heb 1:9 9 You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy." NIV

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Matt 5:29-30 29 If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell. NIV And, our continued practice at righteousness will mature us in Christ: Heb 5:13-14 13 Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. 14 But solid food is for the mature , who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. NIV The Gospel, Faith, Salvation and Prayer The gospel, faith and salvation are all anchors for our souls that help us put our trust in Him. Consequently, all three are found in the Bible: 1 Cor 15:1-2 15:1 Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. NIV Rom 10:17 17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message , and the message is heard through the word of Christ. NIV Prayer is our ability to intercede for ourselves and for others. It is one of the greatest weapons we have in our battle for our personal righteousness, because when we are tempted, through prayer we receive direct help from God: Matt 26:41 41 "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak." NIV Heb 4:15-16 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are — yet was without sin. 16 Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. NIV

124 Our salvation gives us the hope that we need to protect our hearts and minds, which motivates us to stronger faith and love: 1 Thess 5:8 8 But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. NIV Col 1:5 5 …the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth…NIV And, if being armed was not enough, God also watches over us and protects us when we are attacked: 1 Cor 10:13 13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted , he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

NIV We have armor to protect us, spiritual weapons which to fight with, and God’s protection for battle. The last thing we need is the spirit of perseverance: 1 Tim 4:15-16 16 Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers. NIV Heb 10:36-39 36 You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. 37 For in just a very little while, "He who is coming will come and will not delay.

38 But my righteous one will live by faith.

And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him."

39 But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved. NIV Perseverance is the ultimate key to getting us to heaven because if we do not give up, God will never give up on us. He will do all in His power to give us the strength to overcome any obstacle, sin or struggle, and the inspiration to continue the race until we make it to heaven. With God’s help, there is no temptation, sin, struggle, force, power, obstacle or being that can stop us from making it to heaven, if we persevere.

125 Therefore, we have everything that we need to win the spiritual battle that ensues around us. To fail is inexcusable and to prevail is inevitable. The key to ultimately winning this war is the understanding that, with God, we have the mother of all secret weapons. As the Bible says: Rom 8:31-32 31 What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? NIV Question for reflection: How can we show God that we will persevere in running the spiritual race and making it to the finish line in heaven?

Decision: I will use all of the spiritual resources God has provided to me to stay faithful all of the days of my life.

Scripture memory: Rom 8:31 31 What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? NIV Practice: Today I will strive with all my might and God’s power to stay faithful to my God and live a life pleasing to Him; persevering, even in difficult circumstances.

126 Day 33: Winning the Battle of the Mind Matt 12:34-36 35 The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. NIV Though, we have all that we need for life and godliness, we are unfortunately still overcome by many temptations, and we succumb to many of Satan’s schemes.

Why is this so? It is because our foundation is weak, and we allow things in our minds and hearts that destroy what is good, ultimately spreading like a virus: Matt 6:22-23 22 "The eye is the lamp [window] of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

NIV Parenthesis and italics mine.

You see, the battle begins by what we allow in our minds and can be either won or lost in the mind. This is why God exhorts us to prepare our minds so that the battle will be to our advantage: 1 Peter 1:13-14 13 Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. NIV Rom 8:5-8 5 Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6 The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; 7 the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. 8 Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God. NIV Though there are many things beyond our control, the one thing God has allowed within our control is our mind. What we think is what we have allowed ourselves to think. If we allow ourselves to think thoughts of the kind God expects us to think, then we will make a decisions based on godly truth: Phil 4:8 8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy — think about such things. NIV And our lives will reflect the godliness in our thinking: Rom 12:2

127 2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind . Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will. NIV On the contrary, if we allow our thinking to be distorted and become depraved, our lives will reap the consequences of such a mindset: Rom 1:21-23 21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. NIV Eph 4:17-19 17 So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking . 18 They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. NIV Matt 12:33-35 33 "Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. 34 You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. NIV If we allow our minds to believe in that which is not true; if we allow ourselves to doubt God’s love and his power; if we entertain the thought that temptation will fulfill that which only God can fulfill, we will reap a life separated from God. On the contrary, if we persevere, and only believe that which is true, namely, the great love and sovereignty of our great and mighty God and Father, then we will bring glory to God. As the Bible commands us: 2 Cor 10:5 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. NIV Col 3:1-4 3:1 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. NIV

128 2 Cor 4:18 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. NIV How are we supposed to think? I can take the perspective of many different people, and I will see things differently. Yet, as a Christian, I need to seek God’s perspective on the way I perceive every situation in my life; because only God’s perception is truly reality.

The great thing is that God has given us the ultimate resource to firmly keep our minds on His perspective and show us when our minds go astray, namely, His word: Heb 4:12 12 For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. NIV Therefore, my life needs to be devoted to seeking to understand God’s perspective, so that I will be able to make true and godly decisions in every area of my life. I need to keep my mind on things above, because only then can I keep God’s perspective. I need to continually expose myself to the source of spiritual things, which obviously means that I need to read the Bible and pray on a consistent basis. I need to meditate on things above such as: God, heaven, the angels and the spiritual realms, because only then can I truly have the right perspective on the earth, and be an ambassador for Christ for the ultimate glory of God. Question for reflection: How can you utilize spiritual sources in order to fill up on godly thoughts and things that come from God’s perspective?

Decision: I will set my mind only on godly things and take captive every ungodly thought and make it obedient to Christ.

Scripture memory: Col 3:1-2 3:1 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.

Practice:

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Today I will reflect on God’s perspective of things, and reject every ungodly, untrue, and destructive thought that tries to enter my head.

130 Day 34: Godly Principles and the Fruits of the Spirit.

Rom 5:5 5 And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. NIV With our passion for God ignited, and armed with the gifts God has given us to live victorious spiritual lives, our next step is to grow our spiritual lives toward the continue pursuit of being like Jesus. When we became Christians we received the gift of the forgiveness of our sin; yet, we are still in need of transformation.

This is because there is a great disparity between our faith, understanding, trust and wisdom, and that belonging to Jesus. It would have been nice of God to provide us with all of these things at the time of our decision to follow Him; yet, God decided it was sufficient enough to provide for us with His Holy Spirit to produce in us the changes that we needed, during the period of time that we have while we live on the earth.

God has given us His Holy Spirit to be able to work internally in our hearts to develop certain fruits of his character that do not come naturally to us: Gal 5:22-23 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

NIV Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control are all descriptions of who God is, and by giving us of His spirit it makes sense that the spirit will produce these fruits in us as well.

Yet, the Spirit of God, though powerful, will not overpower us and force us to become these things against our own will. It is in association with our decision to pursue these qualities that God Spirit effects these changes; yet only if we are willing. As the Bible says: Rom 8:14 14 because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.NIV Gal 5:25 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit .NIV Eph 4:30 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. NIV These scriptures do show that the decisions we make have an influence on the work of the Spirit in our lives. Therefore, our lives must be focused on growing in

131 all of the fruits of the Spirit, which means the pursuit of a life that is more loving, patient, joyful, kind, gentle, etc. We also need to pray for God to effect these changes in our lives as often as possible, as well as, expose ourselves to scriptures that show us the faithful examples of the men and women of the Bible, especially Jesus. Though our efforts will not create the change, our willingness will facilitate the Spirit’s work in our lives to transform us into the likeness of Christ: 2 Cor 3:17-18 18 And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. NIV Where we fall short, the Spirit will take up the slack and align our desire for change with God’s will. This creates a supernatural transformation in our lives: Rom 8:26-27 26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit , because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will. NIV As the Spirit intercedes to God for us in prayer, it is our responsibility to align our decisions and actions in line with that of His holy spirit, by pursuing a life of true righteousness and holiness: Rom 8:5-6 …but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. NIV …Ridding ourselves of all things that go against God’s purpose for our lives: Rom 8:13-14 13 For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, NIV …And, pursuing a life motivated by the purpose of pleasing the Spirit of God: Gal 6:7-8 8 The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. NIV

132 Therefore, with the help of God’s Spirit to help us in our daily pursuit of a holy life, we cannot fail in our desire to live a life that is pleasing to God, and one that will end in our eternal salvation. Where we fall short, the Spirit prays for us; where we fight to stay righteous, the Spirit will give us the power to overcome. Again, with God’s help there is no defeating us, as the Bible says: Prov 21:30 30 There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the LORD. NIV In conclusion, we have all we need to arm ourselves to win the spiritual battle: we have the pursuit of righteousness and God’s completion of it when we fall short; God’s message of salvation through the Bible’s declaration of the gospel; and faith, to shield us from Satan’s daily attacks. We pray in the Spirit for God to come to our aid, relying on God’s love and protection of us; preparing our minds for action, by taking captive every thought until it aligns itself with Christ, and setting our minds and hearts on things above until we see the Lord. Last, we keep in step with the Spirit by pursuing the godly qualities that describe God in all of His righteousness and holiness. Only then can we truly have an internal victory, establishing a foundation of true godly conviction, which will effect a true spiritual transformation in our lives; setting the battlefield to our advantage, and leading us to the glory of God, which we, as Christ’s ambassadors, so desperately and passionately desire, deep within our hearts.

Question for reflection: What resources can you utilize to help you keep in step with the changes the Holy Spirit is trying to make in your life?

Decision: I will live a life devoted to keeping in step with God’s Holy Spirit, by pursuing the fruits of the Spirit in my daily life.

Scripture memory: Gal 5:25 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. NIV Practice: I will set my mind on what God’s Holy Spirit desires, and strive to live the fruits of the Spirit in every circumstance I face today.

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Our Obligation

134 Chapter 10: Meeting the Needs of Others 1 John 4:12 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. NIV One of the greatest ways that we can glorify God is by exposing this world to the great love that he shares with us as Christians. As the scripture says, no one has ever seen God, but by sharing His love with others, people receive a clear picture of who God is, and how amazing He is, and they are more motivated to put their trust in Him. As a matter of fact, God’s love is the crowning display that proves that we are disciples of Jesus: John 13:34-35 34 "A new command I give you: Love one another . As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." NIV You see, since God no longer speaks directly to the world, and Jesus no longer physically walks the earth, God has put it on us to demonstrate to the world who He really is. We do this by sharing His amazing love with other Christians, the poor and destitute and to a spiritually lost world; the love that drives men to their knees in praise of God.

135 Day 35: Sharing God’s Love with the Family of Believers.

John 21:16 16 Again Jesus said, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me?"

He answered, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you."

Jesus said, "Take care of my sheep." NIV What is amazing about a relationship with God, that is different from most of the other pagan religions, from the time of Abraham till Jesus, is that our relationship with God is not only vertical but horizontal. In other words, it is not only enough to please God and worship Him, but, He wants us to demonstrate our love for Him by our love for our fellow man, especially those that belong to the family of believers. As John so eloquently says: 1 John 4:7-18 7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. ‌ 16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. 17 In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. 18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

There is no escaping the absolute responsibility that we have as Christians to love our brothers and sisters who are believers. As a matter of fact, as John put it, God says that we cannot even say that we love Him unless we love His children: 1 John 4:19-21 19 We love because he first loved us. 20 If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. 21 And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother. NIV

You see, it is in our nature to be selfish, and to keep our relationship with God a personal affair. Yet, this is not the relationship that God is asking for, and to live this selfish life is to deny that we truly love God at all. No, the kind of love God

136 asks is that of a life devoted to our love of God, and the demonstration of that love by loving others, especially his people. Consider these scriptures: Gal 6:10 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. NIV Phil 2:1-4 2:1 If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4 Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. NIV Gal 5:13-15 13 You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. 14 The entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love your neighbor as yourself." NIV Eph 4:2-3 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.

3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. NIV Eph 5:1-2 5:1 Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children 2 and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. NIV Col 3:12-14 12 Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another .

Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. NIV Rom 12:9-10 10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. NIV The heart behind all of these scriptures is a life driven by a love for God that is demonstrated by a love for His people. We can understand this, if we put ourselves in God’s big shoes. For instance, if you were in a relationship with someone you would expect them to love your children. Also, in your family, you would expect for your children to love each other. How would feel if you discovered that your children simply hated each other? God feels very strongly

137 about those who do not love His children as much as he does; as well as feeling very strongly about the way we love one another. Not only is it ungrateful and arrogant on our part to not love others, but we are saying that we are better and deserve more than someone who was just as much a sinner and as lost as we were.

To not love our brother of sister, is to say to God that He is crazy or stupid to love everyone as much as He does, and to love us all the same; because in our minds, some of us deserve more love than others. As harsh as this sounds there is no escaping the truth of our arrogance and pride when we do not love others, which completely goes against everything that God stands for and the sacrifice on the cross that was made for us all.

True devotion to God means a complete devotion to His people, serving them in all possible forms. We must show God that we are truly His disciples by loving one another, demonstrating these characteristics in our Christian lives: Acceptance: Rom 15:7 7 Accept one another , then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. NIV Service: Gal 5:13-14 13 You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. NIV 1 Peter 4:9-10 10 Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms. NIV Submission: Eph 5:21 21 Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. NIV Encouragement: 1 Thess 5:10-11 11 Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. NIV Heb 3:12-13

138 13 But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness. NIV Inspiration and fellowship: Heb 10:24-25 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. 25 Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another — and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

NIV Avoiding slander and gossip: James 4:11 11 Brothers, do not slander one another . Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him speaks against the law and judges it. NIV Hospitality: 1 Peter 4:9 9 Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. NIV Humility: 1 Peter 5:5 All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another , because, "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." NIV Not passing judgment: Rom 14:13-14 13 Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another . Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother's way. NIV Harmony: Rom 12:16 16 Live in harmony with one another . Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. NIV Carrying each other’s burdens: Gal 6:2 2 Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. NIV

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Teaching and admonishing: Col 3:16-17 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. NIV Honesty: Col 3:9-10 9 Do not lie to each other , since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.

NIV Peacefulness: 1 Thess 5:13 13 ‌Live in peace with each other. NIV Confessing and praying: James 5:16 16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. NIV And finally, love: 1 Peter 4:7-8 8 Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. NIV We have been called by God to show our love and devotion to Him, by sharing His love, in all of its form, to our fellow brothers and sisters. In other words, whatever way God has been to us, we are to be to other Christians, because we are overflowing with gratitude for the love mercy and grace God has shown us.

Jesus’ words still ring true when He conveyed what the greatest commandments were in the entire Christian religion, and we will do well never to forget them: Mark 12:29-31 29 "The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' 31 The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these." NIV

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Questions for reflection: What are some practical ways that you can show other Christians God’s love for them?

Decision: I will devote myself to sharing God’s love with my brothers and sisters in Christ.

Scripture memory: 1 John 4:12 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. NIV Practice: I will think of ways to meet the needs of my brothers and sisters in Christ, and today I will fulfill at least one.

141 Day 36: Sharing God’s Love for the Poor and Destitute.

Gal 2:10 10 All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do. NIV Throughout history God has consistently demonstrated his concern and compassion for the poor and destitute, and He has urged us, as His people, to take on His heart by helping those in need: Deut 15:4 4 However, there should be no poor among you, for in the land the LORD your God is giving you to possess as your inheritance, he will richly bless you…NIV Deut 15:7-8 7 If there is a poor man among your brothers in any of the towns of the land that the LORD your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward your poor brother. 8 Rather be openhanded and freely lend him whatever he needs. NIV Deut 15:11 11 There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land.

NIV It only makes sense that a god like our God, who is so deeply driven by overwhelming compassion, should have such a deep concern for the poor and needy. Throughout scripture we see a God who is constantly rooting for the underdog and for those who have a great difficulty helping themselves.

Let’s put ourselves in God shoes for a moment: Imagine you have been endowed with abundant wealth and you discover that many of your children throughout the world are sick and starving; unable to help themselves due to the overwhelming challenges of their situation. Would it not prick your conscience to help those who have difficulty helping themselves, when you have the abundant ability to come to their aid? Though they may be estranged from you, are they still not your children who still have the potential to rekindle a relationship with you in the future? Like God, wouldn’t we have compassion on our children, filled with the understanding that they truly do not know what they are doing?

Well, God is truly concerned for the plight of the poor and destitute and He charges us, as His messengers to show them His true love for them in all of its glory. God’s wants us to show the world of His love for them, so that one day they too will put their trust in Him; and He shows His love by meeting their need through us. Jesus is truly the greatest example of this:

142 Mark 1:32-34 32 That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demonpossessed. 33 The whole town gathered at the door, 34 and Jesus healed many who had various diseases. NIV Mark 1:40-42 40 A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, "If you are willing, you can make me clean." 41 Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" 42 Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured. NIV Matt 14:14 14 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick . NIV Mark 6:33-34 34 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things. NIV Mark 8:1-3 8:1 During those days another large crowd gathered. Since they had nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples to him and said, 2 "I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat.

NIV Matt 9:35-36 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. NIV Jesus’ compassion drove Him to meet the needs of those around Him. Because Jesus is no longer around, and there are still people in need, His compassion for them continues to drive Him to meet their needs, through us, His people. This is a very serious charge God gives us, one that will be used as a standard for judging us on the last day: Matt 25:32-46 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

34 "Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited

143 me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

37 "Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

40 "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

41 "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'

44 "They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'

45 "He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'

46 "Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life." NIV Therefore, we do not have the option of neglecting our responsibility of helping those in need, whether in the family of God or in the world. To not do so would mean we do not have God’s interest in mind. Yet to do so we will demonstrate to God and the world our true love of God and God’s true love for us. As John says: 1 John 3:16-19 16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. 17 If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? 18 Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. NIV Helping Those in Need There will always be people in need. It can overwhelm us when we acknowledge the needs that are everywhere around us, whether in our families, in the family of God; in our neighborhoods; in our cities, in different states, in different countries, and throughout the world. If we have the heart of God the needs of those around us will be of great concern to us. Unlike God, we have little influence of how to help everyone. Yet, God has given us all that we need to truly unleash His

144 power to help as many people as possible, no matter what the circumstance or how near or far away they are. This power is with us through prayer. As Jesus said: Mark 10:27 27 Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God." NIV Where we are limited in our influence to help another person that is ten thousand miles away, we have unlimited power to help them by interceding for them before God in prayer. Therefore, the first and most important thing that we should do to help others is to pray for them, because by praying for them, God’s amazing and unlimited power is unleashed to help meet their exact need in the perfect way.

As the apostle Paul said: Phil 4:20 19 And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. NIV Once we have unleashed God’s power to help those in need, we can also utilize our talents and abilities in our attempts at helping meet the needs of others. As Peter said: 1 Peter 4:10-11 10 Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms. 11 If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen. NIV Consider all of the abilities and opportunities that God has bestowed on you, whether skill, wealth, relationships, etc. If God was gracious enough to bestow them on you, how are we going to utilize the blessings that come from those gifts to help meet the needs of others?

In conclusion, God has a concern for the poor and needy and He is determined to help them because of His overflowing compassion. Yet, God has put it on us to go through the world and help those who cannot help themselves. He has equipped us with everything that we need to do so by giving us the special gift of prayer and bestowing upon us great opportunities and wonderful gifts. Last we must take our charge seriously because we will be judged by how much we take on God’s heart and fulfill His desire to help those in need. Fortunately, we have the best example to help us, namely, our big brother, Jesus: 2 Cor 8:8-9

145 9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich. NIV Questions for reflection: What talents, gifts and opportunities has God bestowed upon you that you can use to help the needy throughout the world? How are you going to translate those abilities into action that will help others?

Decision: I will devote myself to fulfilling God’s desire to help the poor and needy around me and throughout the world.

Scripture memory: 18 Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. NIV Practice: Today I will pray for the needs of the people around me and the needs of the world, and I will consider how to use my abilities to help others, taking action on the plans that I make.

146 Day 37: Sharing God’s Love with All People.

Gal 6:10 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people… NIV God’s love is so perfect and complete that it is not restricted only to those that follow Him. No, the Bible says that God loves all of mankind and eagerly desires for all men to receive His love. This is why His love is perfect, because He perfectly loves everyone the same, both believer and unbeliever, and He is just as eager to share His love for those who don’t follow Him as much as those that do.

God desires to share His love with a fallen world, and again, He uses us, His followers, to share that love with believers and unbelievers alike: Matt 5:43-48 43 "You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'

44 But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. NIV God showers good on those who are unbelievers as much as to those who are believers. God asks us to follow His example by doing good to all people, not only our friends and family, but everyone; even our enemies. Only then will we be loving perfectly and completely, the way God loves perfectly and completely.

God also explains that to show our love for others is so important to Him; it is the second and greatest commandment: Matt 22:37-40 37 Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." NIV We sometimes only want to show love to those who we like, or those who we trust, or those who are like us, etc. Jesus had to denounce a similar attitude from a man who wanted to justify this type of lifestyle: Luke 10:27-37

147 27 He [An expert in the law] answered: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"

28 "You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live."

29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"

30 In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan , as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.'

36 "Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?"

37 The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him."

Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise." NIV Parenthesis and italics mine.

By sharing the parable of the good Samaritan, Jesus conveyed that we are to do good not only those who: we respect, or those we trust, or those we care about, or those we know, are our neighbors. Jesus is declaring that, “all people are our neighbors.” In other words, we cannot live life in a bubble, only associating and taking care of those in our inner circle. We cannot be an island, nor have a secluded island only associating with those who we like. Though this may be the standard way of living in our society, it is unlike God, who truly loves anyone and everyone who has ever walked on this planet.

How are we to show God’s love to all those around us? God show his love for us by meeting our needs. How are we to show our love for the people of this world?

By meeting their needs, of course. We know that human beings have immediate basic needs such as food, water, health and shelter, but they also have deeper needs such as the need for love, security, acceptance and belonging. Then they have the long-term, deeper spiritual needs such as a relationship with God, spiritual encouragement, spiritual understanding, and the hope of eternal life.

148 To truly share God’s love to a lost world, we are to meet the needs of others the way God meets the needs of others. If people need food, water, and shelter, we help provide these things. If people need love, acceptance and belonging, we provide that too. If people need a relationship with God, we point the way; if they need spiritual encouragement, we provide the words; if they need spiritual understanding, we preach and teach; if they need eternal life, we teach them the truth.

This will take sacrifice, yet this is what we signed up for when we became Christians. As the Bible says: 2 Cor 5:14-15 14 For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. 15 And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. NIV We no longer live our lives devoted to our own needs; we live for God now.

Jesus died to redeem us from a worthless life, and now we work for Him. We are to be Jesus’ disciples here on the earth, representing him in all of his glory.

Jesus, like God, was compelled to meet the needs, both physical and spiritual, of those in this world. It is Jesus’ sacrifice, to meet our need, which now compels us to go out and be Jesus to the world.

I will not put a priority on which needs are most important in the grand scheme of things, because it seems when you read scripture that Jesus was meeting people’s needs in every way that a need existed. One thing that is clear, though, is that a main driving force for Jesus, to meet the needs of others, was the overwhelming compassion that he felt for the people of this world: Matt 9:36 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. NIV Matt 14:14 14 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick. NIV Matt 15:32 32 Jesus called his disciples to him and said, "I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way." NIV Matt 20:34 34 Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him. NIV

149 Mark 1:41-42 41 Filled with compassion , Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" 42 Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured. NIV Mark 6:33-34 34 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things. NIV Luke 19:41-42 41 As he [Jesus] approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it… NIV Parenthesis and italics mine.

Like Jesus, It follows that our driving motivation should be our overwhelming compassion for the people of this world. Unfortunately, our hearts have been hardened, due to living in a hardened and depraved world. Yet with the help of God we can regain our soft hearts again: Ezek 36:25-26 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. NIV God has shown, on numerous occasions, His power and desire to help our hearts to be softened so that we can love and share our love the way that He shares His love for us. As we live life on this earth, doing good to all people, meeting the needs of those around us, whether physical, emotional or spiritual, we need to pray to God to continue to soften our hearts in order that we can truly convey the love that God so eagerly desires to shower on this lost world.

Therefore, we must accept our role as those who have been endowed with the responsibility to share God’s love to all people of this world. We are to love perfectly and completely, the way God loves perfectly and completely. We are to break out of our inner circle to shower the world, friends and enemies alike, with the love that God so eagerly wants to convey to everyone. Finally, our driving motivation will be Jesus’ motivation, compelled by His sacrifice and the compassion that drove Him to meet every need in every form in every way.

Question for reflection: Why do you think God shares His love with everyone on the planet and not only to the select few who follow Him? Decision:

150 I will love more perfectly and completely by sharing God’s love with all people in this world.

Scripture Memory: 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. NIV Practice: Today I will pray that God fill my heart with the compassion that He has for the people in this world.

151 Day 38: Sharing God’s Love with a Spiritually Lost World.

1 Tim 2:2-4 3 This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. NIV God wants to share His love for all of mankind, by meeting their needs in all forms. One of mankind’s greatest needs is their need for a relationship with God. God created us, and designed us to only be truly be fulfilled, and be holistically healthy by having a relationship with Him. On the contrary, to not have a relationship with Him, would create in a human life a major void or chasm that men and women alike, will strive to fulfill, but will fail, because it was only meant to be filled by God. Therefore, all of man’s needs would never be fulfilled unless man has a true relationship with God. It follows then, that as Christians, one of the greatest ways which we can share God’s love for mankind is by introducing men and women to God. Not only so, but we also share God’s love by helping men and women to understand God’s love for them, helping them to put their trust in God, which in turn will strengthen their faith in God, which will lead to their devotion to God, and ultimately lead them to glorify God both in this life and the next. This was Jesus’ mission on earth: Matt 1:20-21 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."

NIV Luke 5:31-32 31 Jesus answered and said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance." NKJV Rom 5:6 6 For while we were still sinners, Christ died for the ungodly. NIV Luke 19:9-10 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost." NIV And, He, consequently, passed this mission on to us: Matt 28:18-20 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations , baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and

152 teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." NIV Like Christ, we share God’s love with this world by helping men and women know God. And like Christ, we are to convey the good news of God’s love for mankind, in the hopes that men will wholeheartedly devote themselves to Him. As the Bible says: Acts 17:25-28 26 From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. 27 God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. NIV God being the Father of us all, is desperately searching for us and greatly desires to rekindle a relationship with us by redeeming us from a life of sin. We are lost because our sins have separated us from our perfect God. As the Bible says: Isa 59:2 2 But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear. NIV And our sins have, consequently, plunged us into a life of darkness: Matt 4:16 16 the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned." NIV Jesus’ sacrifice was made to pay for our redemption: 1 Peter 2:23-25 24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. 25 For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. NIV 2 Cor 5:21 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. NIV

153 Now God has called on us, like Paul, to be the ambassadors of his message of peace to the world and help others to know the great love that God has lavished on us: 2 Cor 5:18-20 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ's ambassadors , as though God were making his appeal through us... NIV To share God’s love for this world is to share God’s message of love by helping men and women to know the God who would go to any length to have a relationship with them. It is to share the message of a God that longs for the people of this world, and that sheds tears until He is reunited with them. It is to share God’s desire to take every man and woman that ever lived to heaven, to live an eternal life in a relationship with their maker, who truly loves them with every ounce of His being. It is the message that will fulfill the heart of every person, and will allow them to live a life of true righteousness and holiness. It is the message that many are searching for, yet few find because of the obstacles placed before them by the forces of evil in the spiritual realms. It is the message that God has given us, His ambassadors, to share with a lost world, that shines a light of hope for all men and women to see. As the Bible says: Matt 5:14-16 14 "You are the light of the world . A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. NIV Questions for reflection: Why is it that the greatest gift we could ever share with mankind is to introduce them to God, and help them, attain a relationship with God? Decision: I will devote myself to helping men and women have a relationship with God, and help them understand the great love He has for them.

Scripture memory: Luke 19:9-10 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost." NIV

154 Practice: Today, I will help someone get to know God and the great love that God has for mankind.

155 Chapter 11: Living a Life that Brings Glory to God. When we think of an obligation we think of something that we are compelled to do because we feel the need to show our appreciation by reciprocating the generosity someone has displayed toward us. It only follows that because we have been given such a great gift in the forgiveness of our sins, a relationship with God, and the chance at salvation, we feel obliged to respond by showing God our appreciation for what He has done. The way that God ultimately wants us to do this is to live a life that brings Him the glory He deserves: Isa 43:6-7 Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth — 7 everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made." NIV God has created us and designed a life for us that will bring Him glory both on earth and in Heaven. God wants us to glorify Him in everything that we do: 1 Cor 10:31 31 So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. NIV Among all of the things that can be done that bring God glory, there are three distinct areas stand out among the many. They are: our continual transformation into the likeness of Christ; meeting the needs of others by sharing God’s love to a fallen world and our daily examples to this world of the love of God and the character of Jesus.

We have spoken previously about the transformation that we must undergo in order to bring the glory that God deserves. We see examples of this spiritual transformation and the ensuing glory that it brings to God: Gal 1:22-24 23 They only heard the report: "The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy." 24 And they praised God because of me. NIV The Bible also conveys how we bring God glory by sharing his love to the world, unifying all of His people, under one voice: Rom 15:5-6 5 May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, 6 so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. NIV

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Now we shall turn our attention to the outward responsibility that we have of bringing God glory through our spiritual example, which results in demonstrating to world the existence of God, and His desire to have a relationship with them.

By our example, He wants us to convey that His love is real, unfailing, and abundant and that He is ready and willing to share that love with all who would seek Him; sharing all this, through us, the people of His glory.

157 Day 39: Glorifying God as an Ambassador for Christ.

2 Cor 5:20 20 We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. NIV An ambassador is a representative for someone else; an agent that represents the needs of another person. The apostles considered themselves as representatives of God, and took on the mantle of being the examples of Christ for the world. Paul, in particular, took this responsibility very seriously, and he taught others to do the same: 1 Cor 11:1 11:1 Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ. NIV Phil 3:17-18 17 Join with others in following my example , brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you. NIV 2 Thess 3:7-8 7 For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example . We were not idle when we were with you, 8 nor did we eat anyone's food without paying for it.

On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you. NIV 1 Tim 4:12 12 Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. NIV Titus 2:6-8 7 In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness 8 and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us. NIV Though we are not apostles, we are called by Jesus to imitate his life and be the light to this world that brings glory to God: Matt 5:14-16 14 "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. NIV John 13:12-16

158 13 "You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. 15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. NIV 1 Peter 2:21-24 21 To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example , that you should follow in his steps.

1 John 2:6 6 Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did. NIV Ultimately, our Christianity will be based on how well we imitate Christ in this world: John 13:34-35 34 "A new command I give you: Love one another . As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." NIV What are we to imitate in Christ to help us live lives that ultimately bring God glory? Are we to walk on water, heal the sick, drive out demons or perform miracles? Though these seem like powerful testaments, God has conveyed in scripture that these things are futile: Matt 7:22-23 22 Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' 23 Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!' NIV It is the heart of Christ that God wants us to imitate, whose qualities encompass the spiritual life: Gal 5:22-23 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

NIV Col 3:12-14 12 Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another.

Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. NIV 2 Peter 1:5-8

159 5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. 8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. NIV Also, we are to live a life of such purity, and such a life that is above reproach, that those around us will not be able to say anything bad about us: Col 4:4-6 5 Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. 6 Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. NIV Eph 5:3 3 But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people.

NIV 1 Peter 2:11-12 11 Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. 12 Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us. NIV The Bible describes us as God’s workmanship, to be displayed for all of the world to see. We are to represent Him by conveying to the world His heart, and his mind, doing so without using any words. It is our lives that are God’s tablets, where he inscribes the undying love that He has for this lost world. And it is our lives that will testify to the world that there is a God and that He longs to share His eternally love to all who will come to Him. It is a badge of honor to be considered an ambassador for Christ, yet it is a role that carries great responsibility. You see, we must consider whether our examples are drawing others to God or pushing people away from Him. By carrying the name of “Christian” we have stepped onto a new playing field where we cannot ride the fence when it comes to our convictions and certainly when it comes to our example. We are either the solution to the problem or a problem to the solution.

For example, if you call yourself a Christian, and are not wholeheartedly pursuing a life imitating Jesus in all of His spiritual qualities, then the only badge we will be labeled is that of a hypocrite, and God will be rejected because of it. Yet, if we are making every effort, to love as Jesus loved, to give as he gave, to feel as he felt, and to sacrifice as he sacrificed, then the world can only experience, that

160 which was experienced when the son of God walked the earth, namely, the glory of God. Therefore, to bring God glory in this world we must live lives imitating Jesus in all of his spiritual qualities. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, self-control, humility, and compassion should overflow from our lives the way that it did from his. With all that God has given us to help us live the godly life, our continual pursuit of these qualities will only result in true glory to God; and will ultimately produce in this world the glory that is due Him. Question for reflection: How does it make you feel to know that you are God’s ambassador here on the earth, representing God in all of His glory?

Decision: I will devote myself to being an example of Jesus and his spiritual qualities to the world, to bring God the glory that He deserves.

Scripture memory: 1 John 2:6 6 Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did. NIV Practice: Today, I will seek out living a life imitating Jesus’ spiritual qualities so that I can set the best example of Jesus to the world.

161 Day 40: The Ultimate Purpose of the Christian Life.

Mark 12:30 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. NIV Most of our lives, we have been searching for a purpose for our lives, one that has a deeper meaning than just existing on this planet. We felt that our lives were meant for something; something meaningful and worthwhile that would give us a true reason to live. We searched for this purpose in things like relationships, a career, a job, a hobby, in school, and in many more things, only to find disappointment at every turn; because though these things could preoccupy us for a moment, they would ultimately fail at fulfilling our spiritual desire for a meaningful life.

Then we find God, and we feel that we see our purpose clearly. We are full of excitement, and we are hopeful to see what God will do with our lives. The overwhelming joy and excitement that drives us, motivates us to share the good news with everyone around us; telling them of the great purpose that God has in store for our lives. We devote ourselves to learning more, growing more, and doing more for God. We surround ourselves with more and more people who call themselves Christians to glean as much as we can from them, astounded at the miraculous experiences they recount of God’s work in their lives. We are at the pinnacle of our joy, and we feel that we have what we have always been looking for. Never again will we feel lost; never again will we feel empty; never again will we feel confused because we have found the ultimate treasure in Christ.

Fast forward, five, ten, or even twenty years. We have been doing, and learning, and experiencing, changing and growing. Yet, we begin to feel a slight hint of an old feeling that we thought would never return. We begin to feel unfulfilled, and maybe a little empty. We quickly disregard it, knowing full well that such a feeling is impossible now that we have found God. Then the feelings begin to grow. We start thinking of the repetitive things that we are doing as Christians: going to church every week, giving contribution to the church and to the poor, sharing our faith, reading our Bibles, praying, going to Bible study, attending revivals and conferences, etc.; and then we begin to think, “ Is this it?” Or, “Is this what I have sacrificed my life for?”

Now our lives are at a crossroads. We have been living the Christian life, yet we are as empty and unfulfilled as we were before we became Christians. “What happened?” we ask. “Is it me?” we consider. “Or could it be that Christianity is not what I expected it to be?” We are busier now than we have ever been, yet nothing that we do can bring us the fulfillment that we so desire. All of a sudden the world begins to entice us. A career, fortune, fame, success, a relationship, etc., begin to look very appealing, and actually begin to convince us that they will

162 help us be fulfilled. Or other things such as drinking, drugs, sex, pornography, an illicit affair, etc. seem to offer us an exciting alternative to feeling the gnawing feeling that is eating us up inside. We know this path is wrong, but what are we to do? We are at the worst place imaginable: now that we are Christians, we are still stuck living a life of complete emptiness, but now we are not even able to even temporarily gratify our inner cravings by the indulging in the sins of the world. We feel confused, we feel lost, we feel miserable, and utterly hopeless.

The Heart of the Matter John 6:35 35 Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry , and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. NIV When we read this scripture, we see a promise from Jesus of complete spiritual fulfillment; one that promises to satisfy the cravings of our soul. And not only this, there are many others: Ps 37:4 4 Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. NIV Ps 63:5 5 My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; NIV Ps 73:25 25 Whom have I in heaven but you?

And earth has nothing I desire besides you. NIV Phil 4:19 19 And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. NIV John 10:10 I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full . NIV The Bible promises, and God delivers, a fulfilled life; one that fills the empty void that fills our hearts. Then why do we, as Christians, still feel as empty and as we did when we were lost? Why do we feel like if there is no possible way to have God in our lives, and maintain the joy the He promises with this relationship?

The answer is simple and lies in the center of this scripture: Rev 2:4-5 4 Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. 5 Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If

163 you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lamp stand from its place.

NIV Similar to our experience, the church in Ephesus was doing what they were required to do, yet they lost their true purpose and motivation for doing it. They began with an excitement similar to ours, and they ended up confused and lost, similar to us. What happened? Plain and simple: Just like us, they had forsaken their first love.

Yet, how can this be, since we still love God, still worship Him, do things in His name, and have made God the center of our lives? It is an interesting paradox.

Yet Jesus clears the confusion when he says: Rev 2:5 5…Repent and do the things you did at first…NIV Do you remember what God required from us in exchange for our salvation, when we were first introduced to Him? Do you remember what we proclaimed as we committed our lives to Him at our conversion? Do the words, “Jesus is Lord” help us recall the depth of the commitment that we made when we first came to know God? The following scriptures may help jar our memory: 2 Cor 5:13-15 14 For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died . 15 And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.

NIV Luke 14:33 33 In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple. NIV Luke 9:23-25 23 Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. NIV Or did we forget what Jesus required of every person whom he ever called to be his disciple: Luke 5:11 11 So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him. NIV Luke 5:27-28 "Follow me," Jesus said to him, 28 and Levi got up, left everything and followed him. NIV

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Luke 18:22 22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him [Rich young ruler], "You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." NIV Parenthesis and italics mine.

Phil 3:7-8 7 But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8 What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. NIV When we first met God, and understood His love, grace and mercy, we gave up everything, because we knew that God’s treasure was worth far greater than everything that we had. Also, God would not settle for anything less, so when God said give up everything, he meant everything, including: our desires, dreams, ambitions, aspirations, talents, comfort, opinions, money, material possessions, relationships, etc. Jesus wanted us to put our old self to death, so that it would never return and compete against our devotion to Christ.

When we began this race, we crucified our old life, putting it to death, and devoted ourselves to Christ. The overwhelming gratitude that we had, motivated us and filled us up with an inexpressible and glorious joy, a joy that filled our hearts and all of our days. Our lives were still challenging, but that was overshadowed by the overwhelming fulfillment that we experienced at understanding our unworthiness of having a true relationship with God. What happened between then and now? Before God was awesome; before God was amazing; a life with God was the greatest treasure on earth. Now we feel unfulfilled, we are bored, we are not joyful and we are struggling with emptiness in our hearts. Before, “God” was the center of our life; now “we” are the center of our thoughts. How did “we” get to be more important than “God?” It is unclear when it happened, or unclear why it happened, but it is obvious that it did happen: our self has been resurrected and is now trying to share the throne with Christ. We feel hopeless and unfulfilled with our Christian walk for this simple reason: Christ will not bless our lives, because he refuses to be part of a life that shares his throne with the god of self. As the Bible says: Matt 6:24 24 "No one can serve two masters . Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money. NIV Here Jesus speaks of money, but it could be anything. The item is not the issue, our hearts are the issue. Jesus refuses to share his throne with another God; and until we put ourselves to death, we will live Christianity without Christ. How

165 ironic that we complain that the world has taken Christ out of Christmas, when we have the audacity of taking Christ out of being Christians.

Only when we die to ourselves, can we see the true glory of God, and experience a fulfilling relationship with Him. You see, fulfillment, joy, love, satisfaction, security, etc. are all secondary byproducts of having a wholehearted, and singleminded relationship with God. Having God is the entire pursuit, and because we have God, we will reap all of the benefits of a relationship with Him. Once we understand that God is all that we want, we will feel as if we have received the world, because we understand that we have the best this world could offer in Him. If God is not enough for us, we might want to consider why we are pursuing God in the first place. God is not just enough, He is all, and He is greater than all.

God is immeasurably more than we could ever ask or imagine. God is searching for the men and women who will love Him, and pursue Him with this heart, sacrificing everything in order to have Him; the way He has sacrificed everything for us.

What is our ultimate purpose in our Christian life? God is our ultimate purpose.

Seeking Him, knowing Him, loving Him, pleasing Him, understanding Him, walking with Him, glorifying Him and being downright passionately engrossed in Him is the entire purpose that consumes the true Christian life. We may as well get used to this on earth, because this is all we will be doing for eternity in Heaven: Rev 7:11-12 ‌They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying: "Amen!

Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever.

Amen!" NIV Questions for reflection: What do you need to give up in order to allow Jesus to truly be the Lord of your entire life?

Decision: God will be the consuming passion in my life; and I will die to myself and make Jesus Lord of my life always.

166 Scripture memory: 2 Cor 5:13-15 14 For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died . 15 And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.

NIV Practice: Today I will die to myself, and live a life completely and passionately engrossed in God.

167 Conclusion I hope that these past forty days have given us a new perspective, which will begin the spiritual upheaval of our character and ultimately our lives. Change begins with the mind, and with the accurate perspective, a sound foundation, and a passionate heart, it is only a matter of time until God transforms us more and more into the likeness of his son, and we are able to partake in the blessings of the sons and daughters of God. Heaven awaits, and I and you, both plan to be there. Yet it will take a herculean effort on our part to remain steadfast to the word of God, holding onto the principles of God with all of our heart, mind, soul and strength. My hope is that this study was a beginning of laying the foundation of deep and true conviction that will lay the stage for all that is to come. With that, I bid you farewell, and god speed toward your goal of attaining that for which the world trembles and falls prostrate in awe: namely, the crown of glory that will be given to us when Jesus is revealed in all his splendor and holiness. To him be the glory, forever and ever, Amen.