September 13 – God vs. the World (James 4:4-6)

“Don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God?”(James 4:4)

IN WORD:
What does God have against the world He created? Only this: that there are many aspects of this world that He did not directly create. The result is a world that worships self & sin, the created rather than the Creator, the profane rather than the holy. We strive for comfort, prestige, power, security, and love, and then if we have the desire, we may strive for a god of our own imaginations. God hates that. He is the Jealous God (Exodus 34:14, among many other references).
God has often characterized His people in Scripture as faithless harlots. He is not nearly as indifferent about our affections as we are. When we place anything, any person, any ideal or belief above our Creator, we are like a wife who sleeps around. “They made me jealous by what is no god and angered me with their worthless idols,” God says of His own people (Deuteronomy 32:21). He despises the unfaithfulness of His people. And yet we gravitate toward such unfaithfulness regularly. Our God is often a Lover scorned, and we can be quite callous about it.
A sign of our ignorance in our relationship with God is our frequent prayers for Him to bless our other loves. We ask Him to fulfill our desire for our idols of comfort and conquest. He will not answer such prayers any more than a husband would send his wife off to another man’s bed. Friendship with this world — the corrupt world of power, lust, status, and greed — is a “Dear John” letter to God. It is our attempt to seduce and gratify His meanest rival — the spirit of the human rebellion.

IN DEED:
Friendship with the world is perhaps the church’s most subtle yet dangerous enemy. It results in lukewarm hearts and fickle souls. It sends us in hot pursuit of compromise, and it’s nauseating to God (Revelation 3:16).
What can we do? Pray for faithfulness, pursue intimacy, determine to be fulfilled only in the tender love of our Lover. Not to do so is to hate Him. But to be found in that love is pure delight.

“The world has advanced to the very door of the church, and is seeking to draw even the saints of God into its grasp.”
-Watchman Nee-

September 12 – The World vs. God (1 John 2:15-17)

“Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”
(1 John 2:15)

IN WORD:
“God so loved the world…” So begins one of the most familiar verses of the Bible, John 3:16. But if God loved the world, and we are to be like God in our affections, why does John tell us not to love the world? Because “the world” of which Jesus speaks is the beautiful creation of God, including the souls of men & women. But “the world” of which John speaks is the corrupt systems we encounter every day — economic systems, political systems, cultural systems, and more. Anyone who falls in love with these — who wants to hang on to them rather than to pursue the Kingdom of God — has chosen the wrong kingdom. He has forsaken the treasures of God for the trinkets of a sinful humanity.
This is one of the Christian’s most chronic problems. We want friendship with the world and friendship with God. We want to love both. But our desires are like those of a husband who wants to love 2 wives or a wife who wants to love 2 husbands. A one-to-one relationship is corrupted by multiple loves. And God always insists on a one-to-one relationship with us. Though he has the capacity to love billions — He is God, after all — we do not. If He is not our highest affection, we are idolaters and He is jealous. He will not be one of our many treasures. He wants all or nothing.

IN DEED:
Our pursuit of wisdom will compel us to choose between God and our other loves. As much as we’d like to, our hearts cannot balance both God and anything else. And our pursuit of wisdom will dictate which one is the rational choice. It should be obvious that the One who designed us for Himself would leave us unfulfilled with our other suitors. Only He can satisfy, because we were created only for Him.
Do you struggle with dissatisfaction? Perhaps you have invested your affections in something that is ultimately unsatisfying. Forsake it and turn your heart toward God. He alone can fill our hearts.

“The things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.” -Helen H. Lemmel-

September 11 – Know Your Roots (Psalm 92:12-15)

“The righteous will flourish like a palm tree . . .; planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God.”
(Psalm 92:12-13)

IN WORD:
The shifting sands of this world are fertile ground for nothing but fear. We see uncertainty all around us, in stock markets, in the comings and goings of military forces, in rapidly spreading pathogens, in red alerts and brown skies. We can easily panic under the illusion this world presents to us: that we are in a very fragile place where nothing is sure.
But that’s not the place God provides for His people. Yes, this age, with all its chaos, can be frightening at first glance. That’s why we cannot settle for first glance. We must look deeper, to the One who gives us promises of refuge and strength. He is our tower, our fortress, and our help, as so many of the psalms tell us. And in Psalm 92, He gives us a promise: “The righteous will flourish.”
That’s great news except for one unsettling fact: Deep down inside, we question our righteousness. We know we’ve earned nothing before God. So how can this passage encourage us? We know the Righteous One. He will flourish, and we are in Him. The Bible is very emphatic about that, and we can take it literally. In Jesus, we exist. His death was ours, His resurrection is ours, and His life at the right hand of the Father is ours (Ephesians 2:6; Colossians 3:1). He live in us, and we live in Him. It’s an unalterable, blessed fact.

IN DEED:
What does that mean for our fear? It means that when the towers of this world collapse, we stand firm. It means that when the bombs of this world explode, we keep it together. It all depends on where we’re rooted.
Do you feel rooted in shifting sand, vulnerable to the scarecrow tactics of a panicked society? Reconsider your position in Christ. Those rooted in the world will shake when the world shakes. Those rooted in Jesus will never shake when the world shakes, because when the world shakes, Jesus stands unmoved. Cling to Him. Trust Him. Remember that you live where He lives.

“On Christ the solid Rock I stand; all other ground is sinking sand.” -Edward Mote-

September 10 – Safety in God (Psalm 91)

“If you make the Most High your dwelling — even the Lord, who is my refuge — then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent.”(Psalm 91:9-10)

IN WORD:
How can any rational person accept such a claim? Didn’t good Christian people die in the World Trade Center disaster? Didn’t faith-filled soldiers die in Normandy, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq, and all kinds of other brutal places in this world? Haven’t floods, earthquakes, famine and crime been rather indiscriminate, ravaging the faithful and the lost in the same places on the same days? Surely the psalmist didn’t think this one through. Surely the Spirit of God was not the inspiration behind this shallow hope.
But we know such questions do not get to the heart of the issue. The Bible is true — it has proven itself to us on many occasions. So what does this promise mean? How can God assure us of seeming immunity to the world’s brutal abuses? Because He insists on one vital truth: We are not of this world.
Yes, we were born into the world as children of flesh and heirs of sin. We have certainly not proven ourselves above reproach as we’ve walked through this life. But the Word contains glorious promises for God’s people. We are born from above. No matter what spiritual slum we sprang from, we now dwell in our Father’s house. And it is a place of ultimate safety.

IN DEED:
The Bible and tradition are honest about the martyrs. Stephen was stoned, Peter was crucified, Paul was likely beheaded, and John was exiled. And they all knew this verse inside and out. They believed it with all their heart. The Spirit within them had inspired it centuries before. It is truth.
But those martyrs were miraculously preserved often; none died before his time. Moreover, they knew the real meaning of disaster & harm, and that they were ultimately protected. And they knew the true geography of their tent; they dwelled in an eternal kingdom not subject to threats. So can we. For that kingdom’s citizens, there is nothing to fear — ever.

“I’m standing on the promises of God.” -R. Kelso Carter-

September 9 – Rest in Danger (Psalm 91)

“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.”(Psalm 91:1)

IN WORD:
What do you do when the world seems dangerous? Hide? Obsess about self-preservation? Pray your heart out? All are instinctive, but God asks us to do something that is contrary to our instincts. He calls us to REST.
How can we rest when disasters threaten? How can we live safely in an unsafe world? It all depends on where we choose to dwell. There is a kind of trust that is more preoccupied with the rock-solid character of our Sovereign God than with the circumstantial evidence of danger around us. When the psalmist tells us to dwell in the shelter of the Most High, the Spirit is directing us to look at the God who is certain rather than the world that is not. He calls us to count on His utter dependability rather than the ominous headlines of impending doom. And He urges us to hang on to the truths we believe rather than the lies we see. The ability to so absorb ourselves in the character of the Almighty, qualifies us as God-dwellers — those who know the strength of the walls of His house. In other words, those who rest.
The restless soul looks at the troubled world and is troubled. It hears the newscasts and panics. It cannot rest secure because it does not know the source of security. It does not understand that whatever happens in this painful world, there is an eternal reality behind it. In that reality is a peaceful kingdom where sins cannot follow and tears cannot stain. The God who reigns there urges us to find our citizenship with His people. The restless soul can find rest.

IN DEED:
Where do you dwell? The dreadful things that cross our minds will attempt to toss us around like a rowboat in a hurricane. God tells us to anchor ourselves in Him. That means to place our hopes, our fears, our dreams, our sins, our faith, our weaknesses under His shelter. His shelter is our refuge, because there is nothing that can penetrate it — no terrorist, no war, no disease, no financial collapse, no broken relationship — nothing. The place of safety is available to us. Dwell there and rest.

“What a blessedness, what a peace is mine, leaning on the everlasting arms.” -Elisha A. Hoffman-

September 8 – Tried by Fire (Acts 14:19-22)

“We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.”(Acts 14:22)

IN WORD:
Paul & Barnabas had begun their mission work with a tour of duty through Cyprus and Asia Minor. People had responded with amazement. But almost immediately, leaders of the status quo began suppressing the new movement. The good news of Jesus was too threatening, so they threatened back.
So Paul & Barnabas declared that those who enter the Kingdom of God will enter through many hardships. Was this a new discovery for them? A developing theological principle? A major shift in Paul’s perspective? Acts doesn’t elaborate. Regardless, it is the early church’s affirmation of something Jesus had told His disciples: “In this world you will have trouble” (John 16:33). Peter and John had already experienced it. Now Paul would discover the same dynamic. The Good News isn’t considered “good” by everyone.
Many people in the world are now living this principle, but the Western church has lost the concept of the trauma of discipleship. We’re caught up in our zeal for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. We consider trials and persecution an aberration. We’ve forgotten that the gentle Kingdom of God and the vicious kingdom of darkness are competing for the same territory. We’ve forgotten that God makes disciples and displays His purposes by pressing His people into shape and refining them in the fire. It can be a violent process.

IN DEED:
It is human nature to try to avoid trials. It is godly nature to persevere through them. They have an indispensable purpose in molding us into the image of Christ, who, as we recall, suffered quite a bit. Establishing the Kingdom of God in His name was a traumatic event for Him. Entering the Kingdom of God in His name is traumatic for us as well.
Don’t pursue trials, but don’t run away from them in a panic, either. God is doing something profound in them, either to shape you or to demonstrate His Kingdom. Just patiently let Him.

“One sees great things from the valley; only small things from the peak.” -G. K. Chesterton-

September 7 – Living in an Out-of-Control World (Acts 24:24-26)

“As Paul discoursed on righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and said, ‘That’s enough for now! You may leave.’” (Acts 24:25)

IN WORD:
Paul went all over the Roman Empire preaching the grace of God and the salvation that comes only through faith in Jesus. He was quite emphatic about God’s mercy, both in his arguments and his letters: We are saved by grace alone. So why, when defending himself before Felix, did he speak of righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come? Why didn’t he speak of grace?
Perhaps Paul meant to portray himself as a lawful citizen, not a troublemaker who would stir up Felix’s territory. Perhaps he was trying to tap into whatever moral sentiment had attracted Felix to his Jewish wife. But a likelier reason — one particularly relevant to our times — is that Felix was a Roman, largely unacquainted with the Jewish Law and satisfied with the options of the Roman pantheon. The empire’s religion had numerous patron gods to pick and choose from, most with their own easy morality. In such a context, grace means nothing. Conviction must come first. Righteousness, self-control, and judgment must be taught.

IN DEED:
What does grace mean in our society? In the minds of those who are convinced of their sinfulness, it is a refreshing oasis of relief from a dry spiritual desert. But for those who have embraced a fuzzy, relative morality — the “whatever you like” ethics of our age — grace means nothing. Why would a generation that has define its own easy standards need a merciful God? What is there to forgive?
That’s why we must live in a way that conveys God’s purity — not holier-than-thou judgment, but a radical, sacred change of lifestyle. Instead of fearing that our friends will respond as Felix did, we should rather fear a generation that has lost any concept of sin. Self-control is a foreign idea in our society. Exemplify it. Your life will stand apart, and your world just might see its need for God.

“There has never been, and cannot be, a good life without self-control.” -JohnMilton-

September 6 – A Joyful Life (Psalm 16)

“You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.”(Psalm 16:11)

IN WORD:
It is no coincidence that this psalm of trust is also a messianic prophecy. Peter quoted its last four verses in the Spirit-filled church’s first sermon (see Acts 2:25-28). All of David’s need for refuge, all of his need for providence, all of his need for counsel are summed up in Jesus. The Holy One’s life, undecayed and eternal, are where we fix our hope. The people who have saturated their lives in God and let their hearts be crafted by His wisdom will see it. Jesus is the wisdom of God. He is the provision of our sovereign Lord. He is our refuge from this world of sin and death. All God-given roads lead to Him.
David, writing prophetically, says he has set the Lord always before him (vs. 8), just as Jesus single-mindedly followed the will of God. That, according to all of Scripture, is the way of life. That is our path: a single-minded pursuit of the character and will of God, a wholehearted devotion to the pleasure of His company and the beauty of His glory. There is no real, lasting joy in this world other than the joy of His presence. The eternal pleasures are all found at His right hand.
Have you found it? Too many Christians have not. There are joyless souls filling our churches, souls who have not fully placed the Lord before their eyes. They believe He is up there, but they have not found Him relevant because they have not sought Him intimately. What is missing from that picture? Joy.

IN DEED:
The promise of this messianic psalm is joy, eternal pleasures, safety and rest, a delightful inheritance — in short, everything the human heart craves. No wonder Peter quoted it. The wind and flame that blew and burned on Pentecost filled him with the knowledge of the Holy One. Everything the human heart craves can be found in the risen Jesus.
Do you know that joy? If not, here’s how to get it: Ask. Tell God you want no more of stale belief, but only His heart, His Spirit, His love. Ask Him to stir His passion into you. Do not let the gift of His joy be wasted.

“Joy is the most infallible sign of the presence of God.”
-Leon Bloy-

September 5 – a Wise Counsel (Psalm 16)

“I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me.”(Psalm 16:7)

IN WORD:
What a strange verse. David praises the Lord who counsels him; and in the parallel statement following, he attributes instruction to his own heart. That’s the human heart, which Jeremiah called “deceitful above all things” (Jeremiah 17:9). How could David possibly trust it in the dark of night?
David’s heart had been crafted on the right foundation. Consider all that he has said in this psalm: He takes refuge in God, he delights in God’s people, he will not run after other gods, he is content with God’s sovereign plan, and he enjoys what God has done in his life. A heart so saturated with God has been instructed by God. It has been changed and molded to conform with its Creator. It has fed on the will of God and trusted in His goodness. It is ready to give counsel.
Does that mean a godly person is infallible in his or her advice? Certainly not. But a person steeped in the ways of God will usually be able to discern the ways of God. A heart that desires His plan more than its own is likely to give good advice even in the darkness of the night. A spirit born of the living Word is apt to counsel according to the living Word.

IN DEED:
Oh, for the wisdom of the living God! All other advice pales in comparison. Yet perhaps because we think the counsel of God is out of reach, we often strive for lesser recommendations.Or perhaps because we have such a hard time discerning between our own agenda and God’s, we do not trust those inner impulses. Are they from God? Or are they from self? We often do not know.
God does not leave us there. Be encouraged; He is our Counselor and He will direct us. And when the dividing line between His will and your heart begins to blur, consider that the two might be falling in line with one another. Have you laid the foundation for that? Is God your refuge, His people your delight, His plan your joy? Then God has shaped your heart. Do not trust it naively, but trust the work that He has done in it. He has shaped it to beat with His.

“Let us learn to cast our hearts into God.”
-Bernard of Clairvaux-

September 4 – A Certain Providence (Psalm 16)

“Lord, you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure.”(Psalm 16:5)

IN WORD:
Many foolish decisions have been made out of the emptiness of discontentment. That’s a frightening place from which to guide a life, but we do it often. We want something more, something better, because we’re not quite happy with our lot in life. We forget one unwavering scriptural principle: God is the author of out lot.
There’s nothing wrong with a holy ambition. The key for us is to make sure it’s actually holy. God has placed within us a desire to work and to accomplish things, especially for His glory. But we can deceive ourselves easily, thinking that we’re working for God when in fact we’re working to escape the place He’s put us. Contentment is the fruit of godly wisdom and a wonderful attitude to hold, and it begins with the certain knowledge of this verse: “Lord, you have assigned me my portion.”
We do not live in a content culture. Our society is moved primarily by restlessness. Deep down we know that things aren’t right, and the knee-jerk reaction of a secular world is to try to fix the situation. We who are in Christ know better: He is the Fixer, and only our trust in Him will deliver us from our restlessness. That trust, if cultivated rightly, will give us the contentment that David expresses in this psalm. It will define for us our security.

IN DEED:
Did David write of his peace while he was sitting on a throne or hiding in a cave? Was he dancing in praise or grieving his son Absalom? It doesn’t matter. The key to contentment is to refuse to define your life by your present circumstances. It is to know that you are where you are because God is sovereign. Even when the situation is desperate, we can say that “the boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places” (Psalm 16:6). Why? Because we’ve been given a glimpse of the end of the story and the One who guides it. Whatever we’re going through, it will end well if we trust Him. Faith believes that truth, clings to it, and thrives on it. The result is trhe wisdom of contentment.

“If we do not have quiet in our minds, outward comfort will do no more for us than a golden slipper on a gouty foot.”
-John Bunyan-