February 21st
John 17:1-8 (NRSV): 1After Jesus had spoken these words, he looked up to heaven and said, ‘Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you, 2since you have given him authority over all people, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. 3And this is eternal life that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. 4I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do. 5So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed. 6‘I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. 7Now they know that everything you have given me is from you; 8for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me.
Throughout your journey in life, you will set certain goals to achieve. While reaching those goals, not only will you need others to be by your side praying with and for you, but you will also need to stop and pray for yourself. In this scripture, Jesus recognized that it was time to give his Father a report of all that He had accomplished, the lives He had touched, and the places He traveled teaching people how to live for God. The first and most important factor to notice here is that He makes his prayer personal. He calls him, ‘Father.’ By calling him “Father,” it immediately raises the awareness that this relationship had already been established.
You see, all of us have our birth given names, but our titles for one another describe the type of relationship we have with one another. A friend is described as a person attached to another by feelings of affection or personal regard. A brother or sister is described as being related by one or both parents, but one definition of a father is described as a protector. When Jesus calls out to his Father, God’s attention is draw closer to Him because He knows His child needs Him and desires to protect Him. When we make our prayer personal, we are tuning into that relationship we started with God to help us step over obstacles, reach higher goals and obtain an even higher level in our spiritual relationship. God then, can hear your heart’s desires and give you assurance that He is always with you. Today, when you pray, make it personal. Call Him as your father, your mother, your protector, your Savior, JESUS and He will hear your prayer.
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Prayer
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“I call you Father, your name is Father, you are a Father to me! I call you Father, your name is Father! Father you are and Father you’ll be!
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February 22nd
Ephesians 4:1-6: As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit" just as you were called to one hope when you were called one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
Olympic swimming champion Michael Phelps struggled through childhood with ADHD and other learning disabilities. His mom continued to believe in him and helped him get involved in swimming. She never stopped investing herself in him. As Phelps' eight gold medals in Beijing showed, Mom's investment worked out pretty well!
It's easy to grow impatient with other people. We wonder why others don't grasp what we easily understand. Sometimes we can't figure out why people continue to repeat mistakes and find themselves in the same predicaments. It's easy to write a problem person off and move on to someone easier.
Bearing with problem people is a conscious decision we make to overlook their difficult aspects and focus on their importance as people. It is a choice to view others not as we see them, but as God does. Take a moment and consider all those who continued to be patient with you even when you struggled to grow.
Finally, remember that we aren't just putting up with people, but bearing with them in love. It is a joy to see God's enduring work in others' lives. The way we bear with others' quirks and shortcomings is just as important as the fact that we do it. Lord, grant me patience to see others as you do.
February 23rd
Colossians 3:15-17: Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 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. 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.
Each year, the TV show The Biggest Loser helps overweight people achieve dramatic weight loss and a healthier life. In the program, three trainers work with people to develop new habits and learn new techniques for getting healthy. The season begins with an episode showing the trainers being brutally honest with the contestants about their weight, not afraid to speak the truth in order to help them change their behaviors. Even though the truth can hurt, hearing it is critical for change.
Sometimes we have to speak honestly to a brother or sister about something that can no longer be ignored. These are difficult and often uncomfortable conversations to have. Paul sets the appropriate context for us in that the Word of God should first dwell in us. If we teach and admonish one another according to Scripture, we are standing on solid ground. Sharing admonition with wisdom is a Holy Spirit-led task that calls for much prayer and listening to God.
Confronting ungodly behavior is a necessary task in Christian community. When circumstances demand, honest admonition is the most loving thing we can do to help a brother or sister in the Lord.
Lord, give us the wisdom to know when admonition is appropriate and the courage to act.
February 24th
Romans 15:1-7: We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For even Christ did not please himself but, as it is written: "The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me." For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.
In the movie Sky High, a training school for young superheroes quickly divides the students into two categories: heroes and sidekicks. The heroes are revered and seen as the future saviors of the world, while the sidekicks have second-class status. As the movie progresses, danger is overcome only when the sidekicks come together and use their less-regarded powers for good. Ultimately, the heroes come to respect the sidekicks and see them as equals.
To accept others is to value them without precondition or expectation of change. No matter what differences, quirks, habits, appearances, or status, we are commanded to value all people. There is a place for everyone in God's kingdom, as we are all differently gifted to serve the same God. As Paul points out, we must remember that we were also accepted just as we are by Christ. Such grace is the foundation for the way in which we must treat others.
In a world where people are valued based on performance, looks, and status, God receives glory when his children behave differently. By respecting and valuing each person equally, we validate God's creative design for humanity.
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Prayer
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God, thank you for each person's uniqueness. Help me to accept others as you have accepted me. Amen.
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February 25th
Staying in the First Grade ...forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. --Philippians 3:13,14
There are Christians who grow up and have no relish for anything spiritually advanced. They're preoccupied with their first lessons. The average church is a school with only one grade and that is the first one. These Christians never expect to get beyond that and they don't want to hear a man very long who wants to take them beyond that. If their pastor insists they do their homework and get ready for the next grade, they begin to pray that the Lord will call "our dear brother" somewhere else. The more they hate him the more they bear down on the words "our dear brother." All he's trying to do is prepare them for another grade, but that church is dedicated to the first grade, and the first grade is where it's going to remain.
Paul said some of them went up into the second grade and gave it up, and said, "it's too hard here," and they went back to the first. How long have you been in the first grade, Junior?"
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Prayer
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"Father, I do pray that our church might not get stuck in the first grade. Some of the lessons in the upper grades are pretty hard, Lord, but help us not to shrink from the hard lessons that bring us to spiritual maturity.
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February 26th
For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart--these, O God, You will not despise. --Psalm 51:16-17
There is all around us, however, a very evident and continuing substitute for worship. I speak of the compelling temptation among Christian believers to be constantly engaged, during every waking hour, in religious activity. We cannot deny that it is definitely a churchly idea of service. Many of our sermons, and much of our contemporary ecclesiastical teaching, lean toward the idea that it is surely God's plan for us to be busy, busy, busy - because it is the best cause in the world in which we are involved.
But if there is any honesty left in us, it persuades us in our quieter moments that true spiritual worship is at a discouragingly low ebb among professing Christians.
Do we dare ask how we have reached this state?...How can our approach to worship be any more vital than it is when so many who lead us, both in the pulpit and in the pew, give little indication that the fellowship of God is delightful beyond telling? Whatever Happened to Worship?
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Prayer
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"Oh Lord, forgive me for so often falling into the 'busy, busy,
busy' trap. I pray indeed that the people with whom I come into
contact today might see that for me 'the fellowship of God is
delightful beyond telling.'
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February 27th
Scripture Reading
Exodus 33:7-11, describes how Moses entered the tabernacle to speak with God face to face. When Moses returned to the camp his servant Joshua stayed behind.
The best way to learn anything is to see it modeled.
If you want to go somewhere you have never been before, find someone who has already been there. Someone who can tell you where the pitfalls and false turns are, so you can stay on track. Someone whose brain you can pick; whose knowledge and experience you can take advantage of.
Trial and error is okay, sometimes even essential. After all, failure can be a great teacher for someone willing to learn. How much better, though, to shadow someone who has already walked that road. Someone who can say, “Been there, tried that, it didn't work. Here's what you do.” Failure is a good teacher but experience is even better.
Joshua learned early on the importance of a good mentor. He was a man who wore many hats. Joshua was Moses' personal servant and assistant. He was also Moses' designated successor.
Moses had already been in the inner chambers. Joshua shadowed Moses wherever he went, serving his needs, carrying out his instructions and trying to learn everything he could from the great leader. One of the things Joshua picked up from Moses was a deep hunger for God. He knew that any successor to Moses would have to be more than a warrior and an administrator. Above all else he would have to be a man of God who was totally committed to God's will and ways.
Joshua learned how to get close to God by first spending time with Moses, God's friend. Joshua was in training. He was already skilled as a soldier and a leader. Now he was being trained in the presence of God. To get to that place of intimacy he walked beside someone who had been there before him. By the time Moses died, Joshua was ready to take his place. Joshua knew the inner chambers of the King because his mentor had already been there.
Who do you know and trust that has been where you want to go and could help you get there? Who can show you how to attain the inner chambers of the King? Find that person, and if he or she is willing, stay close at hand and learn everything you can. Let that person model the intimate God-life for you. Then, mirror your model!
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Prayer
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Lord, I want to be intimate with You. Show me someone who can become my model and teach me how to attain Your inner chambers.
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February 28th
4 Keys to Making Right Decisions
How do you define judgment? Webster says: "The process of forming an opinion or evaluation by discerning and comparing; an opinion or estimate so formed; the capacity for judging; discernment; the exercise of this capacity; a proposition stating something believed or asserted."
That pretty much says it all, doesn't it? The truth is, everybody uses judgment every day in the decision making process. It just gets complicated when other people evaluate that judgment. Whether it was good judgment or bad judgment depends on who you ask.
So how do you know who to listen to? Who gets to decide if you're showing good judgment?
The answer comes when you look to God for a solution. Believing and relying on God's Word will shed incredible light on just about any issue. God has an amazing plan for you and your life, and he does all he can to help you find and attain it. So when you work with God, he gives you the grace to make right decisions and show good judgment.
Of course, I'm not so sure that grace extends to that ugly, green shirt you bought just because it was on sale. And it might not cover your decision to shave your head because you lost a bet. I think the consequences of those decisions will ultimately be yours and yours alone!
You do have to be very careful when you start making efforts to improve on this area of decision making and judgment, though. Just because you're working with God to move forward in your own life, doesn't mean you have the right or responsibility to judge what someone else is doing. It's so easy to have an opinion about others because you have no direct responsibility for what other people do or say. But God isn't going to ask you about someone else when you stand before him someday. He is only going to be concerned about what you said and did.
Getting Started on the Road to Right Decision Making
So how do you get started working with God so you can begin making right decisions and showing good judgment? Here are four keys to point you in the right direction:
- Make the decision to let God be God. You'll never make progress in this area as long as you refuse to give up control. It certainly isn't easy, and it certainly doesn't happen overnight, especially if you're a control freak as I once was. It almost drove me completely nuts when I began giving up control of things. But it helped immensely when I realized there was somebody a bit more qualified than me in charge of my life.
Proverbs 16 Wecan make our own plans, but the Lord gives the right answer. (NLT)
- Study the Word of God. The only way you're going to get to know God and his character is to study his Word. It won't take long before you're able to judge situations and circumstances with a new view. Decisions are easier because you already know in advance the direction you want your life to take.
2 Timothy 2:15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. (NKJV)
- Surround yourself with people who are further along in the journey. There is no reason to learn every lesson yourself when you have perfectly good examples right in front of you. As brothers and sisters in Christ, we often counsel one another from what we've learned through our mistakes. Take advantage of this counsel and learn from the mistakes of others so your own learning curve is not so steep. You'll be very glad you don't have to go through every mistake as you learn from observing and listening to others. But trust me, you'll still make plenty of your own mistakes. You can take comfort in knowing that one day your mistakes may serve to help someone else.
Corinthians 11:1 Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ. (NIV)
2 Corinthians 1:3-5 God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ. (NLT)
- Never give up. Be glad about your progress. Let yourself off the hook. You didn't start showing poor judgment overnight and you won't always show good judgment now, just because you want to. Just be happy you're making progress and you're seeing your life improve. Little by little as you gain wisdom from God's Word, you'll begin to see the results reflected in your decisions.
Hebrews 12:1-3 And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up. (NLT)
It takes time to develop good judgment, but once you make the commitment to move forward in this area, you're halfway there. Working with God is continuous, but it is worth the effort.
