January 23 – CONSISTENT RESULTS

 

If you focus on God whose Spirit is in you, you will show love for others in an uncommon, selfless way. You’ll be calm and at peace even when you must be patient. Your faith will allow you to be kind and generous. This comes only from relying on God. Following rules will never produce this life – only God. (Galatians 5:22-23)

 

               What did the people around you observe the last time you had a bad day? Did you withdraw? Were you angry? Did others pay a price?

 

               Paul explains that life with Christ allows you to see the events of your life from God’s perspective. This enables you to be consistently faithful. Rather than being angry and selfish, or seeing yourself as a victim and others as enemies, you will experience the peace that will let you be kind and generous. Your life will be different if you focus on the Lord.

 

               You can live this consistent life, even when times are hard. Turn to Jesus when you rise each morning. View each event, meeting, and task from His perspective, considering how you will affect the people around you with your smallest actions. Your life will be different, and others around you will be changed as well.

 

January 22 – MAKE IT CLEAR

 And the Lord said, “Write down the vision I give you; make it clear so the one who reads it will understand and spread hope.” (Habakkuk 2:2)

 

               What do you do when everything is crashing around you, and you have run out of answers? That situation is exactly where Habakkuk found himself just before hearing these words.

 

Facing an overwhelming force, which credited its success to pagan gods, other Israelites cowered in fear, but Habakkuk remembered God. So, Habakkuk, the prophet – God’s leader – went to the place (2:1) where he talked with God, and he prayed for the answer. The Lord gave His answer to Habakkuk and his people. It was an assurance of His power; a reminder that men and the lifeless objects men trust are no match for Him. In short, the message was, “Don’t be afraid. Trust me.” God’s instruction to Habakkuk was just as simple, “Lead my people.” He tells Habakkuk to communicate encouragement and hope in a way they will understand.

 

These same responses will be God’s answer when you go to your place and meet Him during your difficult times. The details will change, but the vision of Hope will always be the same. Write it down. Make it clear.

January 21 – MY FATHER’S BUSINESS

 

My dear friends, keep loving all others (everyone), because love comes from God. Only those whom God has fathered – who know Him – can be loving. One who does not love could never have known God, because God is love, and love comes from Him. (1 John 4:7-8)

 

               People are not reliable. That’s why you trust but verify. You confirm, notarize, guarantee, and collateralize every significant agreement. To love, you must extend yourself, and place yourself at risk. You may suffer loss! When, other than with close family and long-time friends, have you put yourself at risk because of your love for another person? When have you loved one who has hated you in return?

 

               In this letter, John says repeatedly, “The sign of your relationship with the Lord God; the proof that He lives in your heart, and you are trusting Him with your entire life, is that you are constantly, consistently – without reservation – loving other people.” The love he describes assumes that you are so connected to Christ; so much filled with His Spirit, that your whole life will be invested in a love for other people that leads them to Jesus.

 

               Make love your primary vocation. If God is your Father, loving is the family business.

January 20 – MORE PROSPERITY

 

My dear friend (Gaius), first I pray that you may experience the same health you enjoy in your relationship with God in every part of your life, so that you may live out fully all the Lord places in your heart. (3 John 2)

 

               What do you picture when you think of prosperity? Is it power? Money? Fame? Or, maybe you think of great intellect, beautiful appearance, or uncommon skill?

 

               John includes being “well in spirit” and “faithful in truth” (v3) as elements of prosperity. This may be different from how you think of that word. Prosperity has many definitions, depending on the speaker and the context. From Latin, we understand it can mean “according to expectation” and “for hope.” The Greek; to “have a good career,” and Hebrew “making accomplished” are two other choices. John uses all of them here; a blanket of prosperity. He puts hope in God at the center and as the cause of his wish for Gaius to be well and able to meet the Lord’s expectation for his life. He even identifies that “having a good career of accomplishing God’s will is the real prosperity that he wishes for his friend.

 

               How will you define prosperity?

January 19 – GIVE IT UP

 Anyone who is unwilling to give up everything, even his or her own life, accepting the cost I require - just as I am doing - is not following me. That person can’t be my disciple. (Luke 14:27)

 

               Giving up your things is very hard. Giving up the people you love or feel that you need is even harder. Giving up ownership of your own life; losing control – now that’s a terrifying thought! Who are you holding onto with both hands? For which people do you feel responsible – spouse, children, employees?

 

               The only authority you should have over another is the specific role given to you by the Lord. To assume more responsibility than that is to put yourself in God’s place. Jesus is clear that you don’t have general authority over what happens even in your own life. The Lord gives you direction. Your responsibility is only to be obedient. He keeps the responsibility for the outcome.

 

               Accepting this relationship with Him is a requirement if you will be a follower of Jesus. It is also required if you want to have real peace.

January 18 – WHOLE-HEARTED TRUST

 Trust the Lord with your whole heart. Don’t count on what you think. Wait for God, and listen for His voice. He will show you the way to His prosperity. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

 

               You have a huge decision to make; one that may change your business forever. What do you do first? Call the banker? Talk to the CPA or attorney? A trusted board member? How about Jesus? Where does He fall on your contact list?

 

               Often a leader will accumulate all the counsel and guidance the world can offer. He will decide. Then, almost as an afterthought, he will ask God to bless the design that he alone created. Real prosperity, the kind that changes peoples’ lives, and even the whole culture of a community begins with God’s voice. Trusting the Lord with your whole heart does not mean including Him in your deliberations. It means depending only on Him.

 

               Trust the Lord, and find His prosperity. Ask God to give you all your answers.

 

January 17 – MAKE IT HAPPEN

 

Now, my Lord – God – everything you have promised concerning me and my family, make it all happen in and through us; just like you said! (2 Samuel 7:25)

 

               God’s promises are numerous, generous, and gracious. Do you believe any of them enough to conduct business each day as if they are truthful? David believed. He was not perfect. He did some really bad things. But, David trusted God. God even said that David was a man after His own heart. Why would He say that?

 

               David was humble. Even as king, he knew he was subject to the Lord, God. David wanted to be obedient and faithful. He recognized that God held authority over him and he respected that authority. David loved. He loved God, and he loved his people – even enemies within his ranks. Each of these characteristics show great faith in his Lord. Jesus began many of His promises with the words, “if you have faith…”

 

               Do you have the faith of David? Will you earnestly call on God to “make it all happen” just like God says?

January 16 – ABRAM’S BELIEF

 

The Lord God appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your descendants.” So, Abram built an altar, taking ownership in God’s name. Because he believed – Abram acted! (Genesis 12:7)

 

               Does God ever tell you to do something that doesn’t make sense to you? How do you respond when that happens? Is your first thought about “how” you should get started, or is it about “whether” you should act?

 

               Abram, at seventy-five (75) years of age, having moved his wife, his family, and all his other people and possessions three hundred miles, stood on the edge of a new country. He could see the land was occupied by other people. He knew that he had no children. He understood that the promise was not even that he would personally benefit. Rather, the benefit was for generations to come. Yet, Abram’s first response was to act – saying, “Yes, Lord.”

 

               Will that be your answer? Will you say, “yes,” and trust in the vision God gives you for a people?

January 15 – IN WITH THE NEW

 

Anyone who comes to faith in Christ becomes a new person. Look! See how the old ways are gone, and a brand-new life begins. (2 Corinthians 5:17)

 

               Do you want to be a new person? Some people, especially those who enjoy success in life, don’t really want to put their successful formula at risk. They don’t want a new life unless it’s guaranteed to be a better life – on their terms.

 

               Paul explains that you must be ready to abandon any old way that is inconsistent with the brand-new life you begin when you follow Jesus. Is there anything (relationship, possession, place, identity) old that you want to hold onto, no matter what? If so, understand that your decision is about whether you will have another god. It makes the importance decision even more clear as you realize that Jesus will not share you with that other god.

 

               Decide today that you will trust Him and pursue the new life He offers. Let go of anything that stands in the way.

January 14 – THE GIFT

 

No one can show greater love than this, that he or she willingly, gladly decide to spend his or her life for the benefit of friends. (John 15:13)

 

               It would be easy to read this passage and think only of the heroic. Many people are stirred to action in times of immediate danger. But, are you intentional in giving your life in the everyday, boring times? Will you intentionally choose to invest time and energy in the everyday life of another person, given there will be times when you know it will cost you something?

 

               During this conversation with His followers, Jesus explained three truths. First, He reminded them that their time together had been possible only because He willingly, gladly spent His life each day for them. Second, Jesus gave them a way to understand His crucifixion that was soon to come. It was His ultimate gift of love. Finally, He explains to them, and to you, that His true friends will spend each day being “spent” so that others will learn this love.

 

               You received this gift. Will you give it?

January 13 – PURPOSE – THE JOY

 

I have told you these things, that my joy – the great delight and happiness I have in My Father – will be in you too, and so you will experience this joy fully and completely like I do. (John 15:11)

 

               Do you feel “great delight and happiness” at 9:00am on Monday morning? Jesus says that you can!

 

               The context of this promise of full and complete joy; this “thing” he has told you,” is an invitation to a life focused on the Father. Jesus explains that a prosperous, fruitful life comes from an intimate, personal relationship with Him. It is recorded in John 15:1-8 that Jesus used an illustration of a vine and its branches to show that this relationship engages both you and Him, together in every moment; united in producing very good results that are the result of a shared life. On the other hand, if what you feel consistently is far from delight and happiness; if you don’t see lives changing around you each day, there may be something missing.

 

               How can you “delight” in every moment? Spend each moment with Jesus.

January 12 – PURPOSE – A COMMAND

This is what I command; that each of you continue to love the others. (John 15:12)

 

               Do you struggle to find and clearly express your life’s purpose? If you do, consider a simple possibility. You could say, “I follow Jesus.” To follow someone is to do what that person wants you to do (1 John 2:4, Ecclesiastes 12:13).

 

               Jesus explained what He wants repeatedly. He commands that you love others - as that love shows your love for Him. So, in its most simple form, your purpose; the focus of anyone’s life who is a follower of Jesus, is to love Him enough to do what He says – love other people. This idea is so very simple; even child-like. The great challenge comes when you try to apply this rule to every part of your life. You see, unless you change your statement of purpose to, “I follow Jesus at those times when I’m with nice people who treat me well,” loving other people can be very hard.

 

               Will you follow and obey Jesus in the places, and at the times, when it is hard to love?

January 11 – HOPE

 

May God – The Author of Hope – fill you with all His joy and peace so that you can keep on believing in Him as you live, and so you will overflow with hope in the Lord by the power of His Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13)

 

               In an earlier part of his letter to the Christians in Rome, Paul explained that people develop the reliance on God that is called hope, as they experience suffering (Romans 5:3-5). How can this be true? During the last challenge you endured, do you remember being filled with God’s joy and peace?

 

               Paul explains that God gives hope by filling men and women with the confidence of His character, His strength, and His love. This knowledge, from the experience of a relationship with God, and from His promises, gives the peace which allows you to keep going in times of trouble. Also, Paul’s prayer here for God’s grace to “fill” his Roman friends reminds you that all good things come from Him. It also reminds believers to pray for those good gifts every moment.

 

               Consider all the times God has been reliable, and be filled with His Hope.

 

January 10 – COMPLETE

 

If you wish to be made whole and completed, dispose of the possessions you have and value now. Invest that wealth in the lives of others to find the real treasure in heaven. Then, come and follow me. (Matthew 19:21)

 

               Is there some part of your life; something you “possess” that you are holding back from God? Is there any person or thing that you can’t give up – that you value more than you value becoming what God wants you to be?

 

               Jesus counsels this wealthy, young man not only to release his ties to what he values more than God, but he also tells him to give that wealth to those who can never repay him; people who may not deserve the gift. That sounds exactly like what Jesus did for you. With that understanding, He is really saying, “If you want to be complete, then do as I have done. Do as I am doing now. Then, come along, and continue to follow with me as I show you the way forward.”

 

               All it will cost you is everything. But, it’s worth it.

January 9 – TROUBLE AHEAD

 

Dear friends, don’t be confused and lose your way because you are mistreated and opposed, even when it’s extreme. You should expect that to happen. (I Peter 4:12)

 

               How do you respond when your very best efforts are frustrated, and even seem to cause problems rather than to solve them?

 

               Peter, who was clearly writing to people he loved, still was firm and very clear with them. As Jesus had said before, “There will be a great cost paid by each person who chooses to live God’s way.” Later in this letter (I Peter 4:16 & 19), Peter explains that you will suffer because God wills it for your good. He also says your response should be to, “praise God,” and “continue to do good.”

 

               Will you praise God while you are experiencing loss? Will you keep doing good when the world calls it bad?

January 8 – DOING RIGHT

 

I will make my word a part of their innermost being, writing it on their hearts, being their God, and them becoming my people. (Jeremiah 31:33)

 

               Do you ever hesitate to act because your worry overcomes your ambition? How often do you fear making a mistake, even as you act?

 

               When God spoke this promise through Jeremiah, He was talking about today. As a follower of Christ, the Holy Spirit of God lives in you and works in you to do God’s will for your life. Jesus later promised that, “your Father will give good gifts (the Holy Spirit) to those who ask” (Matthew 7:11). God knows how you feel. He knows everything. He has lived in this world as a man. He lives today in your spirit if you are a follower. He calls you to trust that He loves you, and He wants the best for you.

 

               When you need guidance, counsel, affirmation of God’s wishes for your life, don’t worry – just ask!

 

January 7 – WHAT HE SAID

 

If you really love me, you will learn, hold onto, honor, and keep obeying what I command. (John 14:15)

 

               What are your big, religious rules? Go to church? Watch your language? Give money? Join a Bible study? Maybe you even lead a fight either for some moral cause or against some sinful action.

 

               Jesus says, repeatedly, that you show your love for Him by doing what He says to do. Someone has compiled a list of forty-nine (49) commands that Jesus issued. Have you learned these? Do you measure your life based on them? Many people have observed that you become what you focus on; what you love. Those who focus on other things, like rules, or the cost of obeying God’s calling, can’t follow Jesus with all their hearts (Proverbs 23:7).

 

               It is so clever that Jesus reveals - it is by valuing His instruction to you (and by following it), that you find a loving relationship with Him, and it also is how you show Him your love.

January 6 – FOCUS

 

God your Father knows your needs. Keep your focus on Him; His concerns, your relationship with Him, and what He wants from you, and you will find that all those needs are provided. (Matthew 6:32-34)

 

               When it is crunch time, do the people who watch you see you respond with a cool, optimistic confidence? When you focus on worries, you communicate that fear lives inside you, and a fearful leader heads a fearful organization.

 

               The opposite of that fearfulness is what Jesus urges. He encourages you to, “Dream God’s big, kingdom dreams for you and your people. Step out, and do what I ask of you - His concerns - in faith!” And, He says, “Realize that you always have time to spend with Me!” Your relationship with Him is always top priority. With this priority as your focus, you don’t fear some dreaded failure. The results are not your concern – only Jesus and obeying Him.

 

               This is the step of faith; that you take Jesus at His word, and have only one plan. Focus on Him.

 

January 5 – TOO MUCH? TOO LITTLE?

I have lived without what I need in humility, and I have lived with excess provision and great esteem. Through all of this, Christ has taught and strengthened me, so I focus only on Him, regardless of my situation. (Philippians 4:12-13)

 

               Today, do you face a challenge of “needing?” Many have taken Paul’s words to be an encouragement to be strong in tough times. On the other hand, you may have found living with wealth and power, especially among those who admire you, is the greater challenge to your faith in Christ alone.

 

               Paul says he has learned that each of these extremes, as well as the drudgery of routine, day-to-day living in between, pose challenges to your ability to live the life Jesus wants you to enjoy. This message does encourage. It also gives you an answer for all when life’s circumstances threaten to distract you. Focus only on Jesus.

 

Keep your focus on Jesus Christ, and you will be up to any challenge that comes. Whether you have too much or too little, Jesus will always be exactly enough.

 

January 4 - AFTER “COME”?

 

Come here, follow me now, and I will make you become fishers of people. (Matthew 4:19)

 

What is your product or service? How do you figure your bottom-line? For many people, success is measured by dollars or percentages, growth in square feet, or in numbers of people. There is usually some list of objectives or measurements that informs the work of a successful organization. Some call this management by objectives.

 

               Jesus introduced a new concept to Simon and Andrew. He replaced their objectives with a new process – “Follow me.” He changed their product and their bottom line too. Most importantly Jesus assumes responsibility for that new bottom line. Wow, what a relief! Finally, though, there is a cost; a price you pay for this new deal. You must give up your objectives, and simply obey Jesus.

 

               Are you willing to “drop your net” – your goals, your process, your measurements – and follow Jesus? Will you manage your life by simple obedience?

 

January 3 – A SIMPLE PROMISE

 

Come to me if you are laboring and weighed down with burdens, and I will give you the rest that refreshes you. (Matthew 11:28)

 

               Do you ever get weary, and sometimes even feel overwhelmed? Not the public you, of course. Rather, the private one who longs to find a place to simply be at peace for a moment.

 

               This is a great promise! It reminds that God offers you real life – an incredible, full life He intends for you to enjoy. Jesus’ next words in this passage promise that He will replace your toiling and burdened life with something better – His work. This is what God intended. He also promises that this work will fit you. It will allow you to be who you were made to be, while living a life of freedom and peace and purpose.

 

               You can act on these promises today. Trade in your self-reliant anxiety and fears. Take this life Jesus offers. All you must do is, “Come.”

January 2 – NEW LIFE

 The work of the thief is that he takes away from you; kills and destroys everything. I came to give you full, complete, unending life; a better life than you can imagine. (John 10:10)

 

Is your faith about dos and don’ts? Is following rules at the foundation of your hope? Or, do you work hard trying to do enough good deeds to accomplish God’s favor?

 

With this message, Jesus offers a new relationship. He offers to give you a great life, simply because that’s who He is. It is His work to change your life to one of purpose and meaning. Your work is to invite the Holy Spirit to make that change. Immediately before this assurance, Jesus explains, “I am the source – all the other roads lead to the thieves.”

 

To find this “full and complete” life, you learn to hear God’s voice and follow Him, closely. Follow closely enough that no thief can take you away.