God has given spiritual and physical gifts to each member of His family to be used in serving others.  We steward His grace by using our “time, talent and treasure” to extend His help and express His love to the people in our lives.  God graciously does at least six things as we receive and use what He blesses us with:  He gives us these gifts, brings us enjoyment as we use these gifts, fulfills a divine purpose with these gifts, blesses others by these gifts, brings about eternal results from these gifts, and glorifies Himself through these gifts.  Therefore, let us aspire by grace to do the very best we can with what we have been given.

God has mapped out our lives in such a way that we can be all that we were made to be, do all we were made to do and enjoy all that we were made to enjoy in Him.  Our problem is that we often follow a map of our own design instead of His.  We detour away from the narrow road He has called us to and spend too much time traveling the myways of life.    Ours is truly a road that leads to nowhere.  At least nowhere that is good for us when we get there.  But here’s good news:  God allows u-turns!  There is grace for misguided people like us.  Today, seek God, and He will make your path straight to where it needs to go.

Temptation often invites us to sin in two ways.  The first is like a carny barking at us to “Step right up” for a chance to have a thrilling experience or win a desirable prize that is never worth it in the end.  The second is like a boat at sea gently rocking us back and forth until we have drifted to sleep in indifference to God’s better ways.  Whether it shouts or whispers, temptation beckons us to look away from Jesus, love something more than Jesus, and live for a substitute for Jesus.   By grace, we can resist by reminding ourselves that the biggest thrills and the best prizes are enjoyed by those who are anchored to Him.

An incredible burden is lifted when we rest in the forgiveness that is ours in Jesus.  We can apologize for our shortcomings and admit our wrongdoings because His grace covers them all.  Every wrong thought.  Every wrong attitude.  Every wrong motive.  Every wrong word.  Every wrong action.   We’re not perfect, and we don’t have to pretend to be.  Yes, we strive by grace to grow into the new people Jesus is remaking us into, but we don’t have to fake it, hide it or rationalize it when we fail.  We can own it because of this glorious truth:  it is forgiven. Move on from sin and shame… We did it, but Jesus died for it.

Entertainment has an agenda, and it’s often not just to entertain.  While Christians have varying convictions on what they should and should not be entertained by, all of us need to be cautious of the influence that movies, music, books, podcasts and so forth have on us.  Much of the events and content that is available to entertain us glorifies sin and desensitizes us to sin.  It makes… Wrong things look right.  Holy things look comical.  Forbidden things look acceptable.  Godly things look foolish.  Bad things look good.  So, let us consider turning off those influences that turn us away from loving and following Jesus.

As Christians, what we do needs to be grounded in what Jesus graciously has done, is doing and will do for us. Otherwise, it will become a joyless, hopeless burden on us.  It’s not just “be strong,” it’s “be strong in the Lord.”  It’s not just “rejoice,” it’s “rejoice in the Lord.”  It’s not just “hope,” it’s “hope in the Lord.”  It’s not just “boast,” it’s “boast in the Lord.”  It’s not just “have faith,” it’s “have faith in the Lord.”  It’s not just “stand fast,” it’s “stand fast in the Lord.”  Self-confidence and self-effort will sooner or later lead to self-despair and self-destruction.  Remember: It’s not about trying really hard; it’s about relying on the Lord.

Most people don’t like to be told what to do.  Our immediate response is usually pushing back or pulling back from those who are giving us unwanted instruction or information.  We want to make our own choices for what we will and will not do based on what we like and do not like.  But as we trust Jesus more fully, we increasingly… Like to hear His voice.  Like to receive His guidance.  Like to have Him tell us what to do.  Why?  Because we know that He loves us and will speak to us about what is best for us.  Let us follow Him in faith today, knowing that whatever He has us do, we will like it very much in the end.

They may not listen.  They may not care.  They may not believe.  But the people in our lives need to hear us bear witness to what Jesus has done for us.  We have been summoned to take the stand and testify to what we know to be true.  How?  One way is by pointing to Jesus as the source of everything bragworthy about our past, present and future.  He forgives, restores and guides us.  He gives us peace, strength and rest.  He is our security, hope and joy.  He fills our lives with purpose, confidence and blessing.  By God’s grace, may it not be that others do not know of Jesus because we did not tell what we know of Him.

The enemy wants to convince you that God isn’t using your life to make much of a difference in this world, but nothing good you do for others in the name of Jesus is ever wasted.  What you do matters! Even the small stuff counts, for a tiny spark can start a wildfire and a tiny seed can birth a mighty tree. In your home, at your workplace, throughout your neighborhood, across your community, around the world… Keep doing what you were made to do even when it is hard, unpopular, tiring, inconvenient, thankless, lonely or unnoticed, trusting that God will work through you to fulfill His purposes.

Some storms build slowly.  Some storms develop quickly.  Some storms end quickly.  Some storms disappear slowly.  But… No matter how great or lasting the storm that arises in your life, Jesus rules in absolute control over when it rages and when it ceases. It doesn’t get in the way of His plan working out; it’s a way of working out His plan. Even storms serve His purposes for good! Listen… If you trust Jesus for eternal life, then trust Him during everyday life.  And if the storm doesn’t scare Him, it shouldn’t scare you either.  Because you are in the boat together, and He’s already promised to get you to the other side.

Hard times can cause people to harden their hearts against God, but good things in life can make us just as unfeeling toward Him.  When things go wrong, we are tempted to blame God; when things go right, we are tempted to ignore God.  Overcoming this sinful tendency to live as if God doesn’t care or as if God isn’t there will only happen when we regularly remind ourselves of Who He is and how good He is.  He helps us in hard times and gifts us with good things so that we will… Remember Him. Rejoice in Him. Remain with Him. Don’t let the seriousness of the bad or the shininess of the good keep you from Him.

We’ve been conditioned our entire lives to keep our eyes on the scoreboard.  The metric may come as points in a game, likes on a social media post, balances in savings accounts, members of a network, or notches on whatever kind of belt you’re wearing.  However it is measured, the attitude is the same: the one with the best score wins.  But in God’s kingdom, it’s not about how we rank against others or how we are rated by others. Instead, it’s about depending on Jesus to faithfully use what we have been given to do what we have been assigned.  The only score which matters is the one in which Jesus wins in our lives.

If you do it out of duty, you’ll be resentful. If you do it for attention, you’ll be prideful.  If you do it just when it’s convenient, you’ll be neglectful. But… If you do it because of love, you’ll be joyful.  Obeying Jesus isn’t a matter of duty, show or convenience; it’s a matter of the heart.  Our affection for Him produces our devotion to Him.  We don’t say and do the right things because that’s the way we should live, but because that’s the way we should love the One who tells us what things are right for us to say and do.  May grace continue to change how we feel about Him so that more and more His wants become our wants.

There are days when our faith falters, but Jesus does not abandon us.  There are days when we feel like giving up, but Jesus does not let us. There are days when we are too overwhelmed to carry on, but Jesus does not move on without us.   Through every sinful setback, every stagnant season and every stormy squall, Jesus remains faithful to get to heaven all those who believe in Him.  By grace, let us keep taking the next right step in front of us knowing that Jesus is with us every step and will overcome even our mis-steps to take us home.  Hallelujah!  He will not lose us on the way.  He will not let us lose our way.

Biblical faith has a responding side and a receiving side.  Part of faith is responding in obedience.  We trust what God says, we trust He will help us do what He says, and we trust that He will be pleased when we do what He says.  Part of faith is receiving what God does for us.  We trust what God says, we trust He will do what He says, and we trust that we will be pleased when He does what He says.  Real faith includes believing in the promises of God and living out the purposes of God because we trust Him.  Today, let us confidently do what God tells us to do because we are confident in what God tells us He will do.

The weights we carry around inside of us come in many shapes and sizes.  We face an ongoing onslaught of worry, uncertainty, fear, overwhelm, discontentment, indifference, pressure, grief, unrest, outrage and discouragement.  Within these categories are countless daily instances which can let us down, get us down, put us down, shut us down, hold us down and run us down.  But… There is a Burden-Bearer we can turn to for help for the stresses and messes of life.  Nothing is too intense, too great, or too difficult for Him to replace with peace, hope and rest.  Today, cast your cares on Jesus.  They aren’t too heavy for Him.

When we remember and rejoice in Jesus’ removal of our own condemnation, we will stop condemning the people around us.   For those of us who have received His priceless gift of salvation, there is no condemnation for our sins, though we were rightly deserving of that condemnation.  By the lavish grace of God, we are pardoned.  Guilty, yet set free.  Flawed, yet forgiven.  Outsiders, yet welcomed in.  Enemies, yet made family. Deserving of hell, yet shown mercy.  Wages of death earned, yet eternal life freely given.  Instead of condemning others, let us point them to the fountain of grace we ourselves are drinking from.

No one wants you to be happy more than Jesus does.  No one will make you happy more than Jesus can.  But Jesus isn’t primarily aiming at making you happy by getting you past a bad time or helping you have a good time.  His goal isn’t a happier you because He worked it out so you got the new job, got over the breakup, got through the illness, got to take a vacation or got the result you wanted.  Those may be part of His blessings to you, but His main concern is your soul.  He is after your happiness in being forgiven and free from the devastating consequences of your sin so you can know every pleasure of knowing God.

God does not send us ill-equipped into battle against the enemy of our soul.  Instead, He dresses us in His own armor.  In order for us to fight the good fight of faith, we must put on that armor of God … ahead of time, in advance of the skirmish.  We put ourselves and others at extreme risk if we wait until the battle begins to ready ourselves for war against sin and evil.  The enemy does not allow us to call timeout or grant us a recess to gather our ammunition and put up our shield.    This is why we should arm ourselves with a daily dose of God’s instructions, truths, and promises found in God’s Word.  Slow down and suit up.