As Christians, we are in an ongoing war against our sin, and there are daily occasions in which we lose the battle.  This spiritual journey we are on is one in which we have not yet been fully delivered from the presence of sin, so we must fight against it and confess our failings when we lose a skirmish.   Ours is a humble and simple cry out for grace: “I did it.  I regret doing it.  Help me not do it again.  Lead me to something better in you.”  Because Jesus has already secured the final victory over our sin, there is grace for us.  Grace that gives us pardon when we lose the fight, and grace that gives us power to fight on.

Worshipping Jesus is war against worshipping anything else.  Only one person, pursuit, prize or passion can rank as your highest priority, get your greatest admiration and be your fullest joy.  The more you value Jesus above all other things, the less you will value other things above Jesus.  Your heart.  Your mind.  Your will.  These will all bow down to something or someone that means the most to you.  While we are “given all things richly to enjoy,” none of these things are meant to compete with our love and loyalty for Jesus.  Who is worthy of our worship?  May we answer with our hearts, minds and lives: Jesus is.

Christians are to be both consumers of and contributors to the mutual building up of the family of God.  In our role as consumers, we are to let others do for us.  In our role as contributors, we are to do for others.  All of the “one another” commands in the Bible for how we are to interact with each other are two-sided.  We are to be encouraged by others, and we are to encourage others.  We are to be served by others, and we are to serve others.  We are to be cared for by others, and we are to care for others.   Every Christ-like act of love should flow in both directions. By grace, let’s do two things today: give and receive.

How is God glorified through our happiness?  There are at least three ways… First, He is glorified when we trust that He knows best how to make us happy, and we lovingly do what He says to bring about our happiness.  Second, He is glorified when we thank Him for the good things He gives to us and does for us that make us happy so that He gets credit.  Third, He is glorified when we treasure Him as our ultimate source of happiness by delighting not just in His gifts, but in Him as a good and generous and gracious Giver.   Trust Him.  Thank Him.  Treasure Him.  This is how God is honored in us and we are happy in Him.

It may surprise us.  It may confuse us.  It may overwhelm us.  But when it does, let us rest in knowing that the plan of God is good for us in the end, better than our own preferred ideas, and the best way of doing things to get what we’re both after.  The mutual goal for our lives is simple:  for God to be glorified in our happiness.  We don’t have to choose between God being honored and us being happy.  We have to choose between God’s way and our way for getting there.  Trust Him today because… Our plans are flawed even when we don’t think they are.  His plans are perfect even when we don’t think they are.

Never give up on your family member who is far from God.  Never stop praying for your friend who is cold toward God.  Never lose hope over your loved one who doesn’t believe in God.  We were all there in some way at some time in our past, and God changed our lives.  He can do it again!  He is still rescuing sinners by His grace so they can find their way to new life in Jesus.  No matter how far away they are.  No matter how cold they are.  No matter how unbelieving they are.  It takes a miracle for someone to repent and believe the gospel, but that’s exactly where we pin our hopes:  Our gracious God still works miracles.

Life is a series of personal, societal and general changes. But there is one thing that remains the same: our God is worthy to be praised through all of the ups and downs of our lives. Therefore… We praise Him when we succeed, but also when we fail.  We praise Him when things are comfortable, but also when they are difficult.  We praise Him when we get what we want, but also when we miss out.  God deserves our praise because of Who He is and what He does whether we are experiencing a high or a low. So… Let’s praise Him today as the One Who gets us to the mountaintops and gets us through the valleys.

We rob ourselves of satisfaction when we long too deeply for something more or something different than what God has given us. We will not like our lives when we think too much about how unlike they are from… The way it used to be in better times.  The way we want it to be in current times.  The way it seems to be for others at all times. But we can stop this robbery by trusting God knows best what to give us and by treasuring what God does give us in, through and because of the gift of His Son. Contentment will be ours if we stop focusing on what is absent from our lives and start rejoicing that Jesus is present in them.

An effective lie of the enemy works like this:  It is rejected.  It is tolerated.  It is approved.  It is encouraged.   It starts out so absurd that only someone considered a fool would believe it.  It ends up so accepted that only someone considered a fool would not believe it.  If something is said loud enough and long enough, people will think it is true. As Christians, we must look to God over politicians, journalists, bloggers, podcasters, peers and other people for what to believe.  We must turn to Scripture over culture for truth and wisdom for how to live.  Let us believe this… God is not our enemy, and God will never lie to us.

You can tell Jesus anything about the help you need and He will tell you something to help you with that need.  Tell Him you’re uncertain and He will tell you to follow Him.  Tell Him you’re worried and He will tell you to trust Him.  Tell Him you’re dissatisfied and He will tell you to enjoy Him.   Do you know what will happen when you tell Jesus that you’re tired, discouraged, lonely, angry, hurting, stressed or sad? He will tell you that His grace is sufficient to bring you relief, rest, renewal and even rejoicing as He brings you through hard times.  Tell Jesus what’s on your heart and let Jesus tell you what will unburden your heart.

He doesn’t take a day off.  He doesn’t take a break.  He doesn’t take a nap.  God never stops working for you and me.  24/7/365/Lifelong.  He is continually doing things we cannot do, doing things on our behalf and doing things to ensure that He is honored in us, and we are happy in Him.   Tirelessly.  Flawlessly. Endlessly. God keeps going to work things out for our good, work to make us more like Jesus, work through us to change the world, and work to get us safely home.  What grace! Today, we will not see all that God does for us.  But let us never forget the good news that He will never stop doing His good work.

There are two words that Christians ought to use regularly to encourage believers and engage with non-believers:  I understand.  We get it that perfection isn’t possible.  We get it that mistakes will be made.  We get it that flaws will come forth. We are all sinners who struggle with being the people we were made to be and doing the things we were made to do, even if we have been following Jesus for decades.  We never outgrow our need for His forgiveness and help.    Others need to hear us honestly acknowledge that we are fellow-sojourners who fail and fall too. And that we know where to go for grace when we do.

What we say and think about ourselves is sometimes quite different than what God does.  We say we can’t do something.  God says we can do all things through His strength.  We think we are a flawed and worthless mess.  God thinks we are fearfully and wonderfully made.  We say we are unlovable because of our sin.  God says He loves us so much that He sent Jesus to die for our sins.  We think our lives can’t make much of a difference.  God thinks He can change the world through people just like us.  We need to see ourselves like God sees us: A forgiven, empowered, beloved son or daughter who is learning to live like it.

We face many uncertainties today as much of the circumstances and people in our lives are completely out of our control.  But that doesn’t mean we have to head into the day with fear or worry that things will go from good to bad or from bad to worse. Instead, we can be of good courage and cheer because… God has promised to be with us.  God has promised to help us.  God has promised to provide for us. In the morning, let us remember that He has made these promises to us.  In the evening, let us rejoice that He has kept these promises to us. In between, let us live certain of this: God will do for us what He says to us.

First glances can be deceiving.  Initial observations can be short-sighted.  The opening paragraph doesn’t tell the whole story.  While it is easy to see the obvious things happening in, around and through our lives, without a careful look through a gospel lens, there is a lot that we can miss.  God is doing a thousand things for us today, and we may not have our spiritual eyes locked in on any of them.  Rejoice! Our lives are under the careful rule of a wise, powerful and loving God Who is moving us along toward the glorious return of Jesus when all will make sense, and all will be made right, and all will be made new.

Too many of us live as if we are still imprisoned by our sin, sorrow and struggles with no way out of the cell that confines us.  Too often we let regrets from the past, imperfections in the present and fears of the future enslave us as if we are helpless and hopeless to do anything about them.  Too soon we give up and give in when victory has already been secured and is almost ready to be seen.  Jesus has made amends for our past, makes provision for our present and will make a way for our future until we have been fully delivered from all fears, foes and faults.   Follow Jesus right out of that cell today.  You have been set free.

Let’s be honest:  In an ever-churning sea of distraction, we are vulnerable to forgetfulness.  We forget Who God is and what God does and what God says about what we are to do and who we are in Christ.  We forget His plans.  We forget His promises.  We forget His provision.  We forget His power.  We forget His presence. We forget His preciousness. It is essential that we fill our lives with things that redirect our attention to Him and rekindle our affection for Him. We need reminders that He is for us and He is with us.   Today, you will think a lot about tasks, troubles, and things. As you do, be sure to think about God.

How many of these we have and what we do with them differs, but we all get 24 hours in a day, 7 days in a week and 365 days in a year. What our enemy wants us to do is fill them up with vain pursuits.  We have countless options and distractions available to steal our attention.  Rather than scrolling and clicking and watching and recreating our lives away on things that don’t matter, Jesus is calling us into something better. Namely, to glorify God by experiencing real joy in Him and helping others experience it too. So… While we still have time, let us make the most of it by living out our big-picture purpose.

The Bible is a light that illuminates dark places.  When you read it or hear it, it lights up the darkness of… Your heart.  Your path.  Your witness.  Your life.  It exposes the sinfulness of your heart so you can go to Jesus for forgiveness.  It shows you the pitfalls of the path you are on so you can follow Jesus safely to where you are meant to go.  It brightens your witness before other people as you go so you can point them through your good works to the hope and happiness you have in Jesus.  It shines encouragement into your life so that you can keep going because of the promises of Jesus. So… turn on the light today.

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.