August 13 – The Poor in Spirit (Psalm 51)

“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.”(Psalm 51:17)

IN WORD:
In Matthew 5, Jesus opens His mouth to begin His great sermon. The first 8 proclamations are blessings. We call them the Beatitudes. Perhaps they sounded strange to their first hearers; blessings were imparted to unexpected subjects. But the blessings should not have sounded so strange. They are Scriptural themes throughout the Word. The sacred mouth that spoke them on the mount was the sacred mind that had inspired them centuries before.
Consider the first Beatitude: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3). Consider also the emphasis on humility throughout God’s Word: “He crowns the humble with salvation” (Psalm 149:4), as well as the verse for today. Jesus told people that understanding their bankruptcy would prepare them for the riches of the Kingdom. Was that really a surprise? For a nation that had modeled itself after Pharisaical spirituality, it was. But the Bible had made it clear from the beginning: Self-sufficient pride is the wrong model.

IN DEED:
Self-sufficiency continues to be the wrong model. As it was in the Garden and will always be, pride kills. We were not made for independence. There is nothing self-sufficient about us other than the ability to get by for a few decades, and even then we depend on God’s resources. No, we were made for absolute dependence — on God! We have a poverty of spirit that only God can enrich. There is a hole in the human heart that no self-effort can fill, though we try desperately.
That’s our way out — to quit trying to fill it and just be desperate. That’s where life with God begins. Do not let desperation drive you to frantic self-effort; let it drive you to utter dependence on God. There can be no pride in such a pose, only blessing. God’s always responds to those who seek Him.

“Humility is nothing else but a true knowledge and awareness of oneself as one really is.” -The Cloud of Unknowing-

August 12 – The Substance of Our Lives (John 14:6)

“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”(John 14:6)

IN WORD:
Have you ever noticed how often Jesus says, “I am”? Is He hinting at the divine name of Yahweh — the I AM WHO I AM — that God revealed to Moses (Exodus 3:14)? He is especially emphatic in John: “I am the bread of life” (6:35, 48); “I am the light of the world” (8:12; 9:5); “I am the gate for the sheep” (10:7); “I am the good shepherd” (10:11, 14); “I am the resurrection and the life” (11:25); “I am the true vine” (15:1); and here in John 14:6 — the way, the truth, the life. He is all the things we need to get by in this world.
Jesus did not come to us and promise to show us the way, to feed us the bread, to shine the light on us, to tell us the truth, or any other such direct assistance. No, He is much closer to us than that. He does not just offer us these things; He IS these things. In a very real and literal way, Jesus is our life now. We do not ask Him for His help in living our lives; we ask for Him to live His life more profoundly, more transparently each day. That is why it is never appropriate simply to see Him as our Teacher, Guide, Counselor, Healer, Deliverer, and the like, insofar as we think these roles belong to a person outside of ourselves. He is genuinely in the depths of our heart, asking us to get the junk out of the way for Him to shine through us. We are crucified; He is alive (Galatians 2:20).

IN DEED:
Do you see Jesus only as someone who has come along to assist you? Or do you rely on His dwelling in your heart? He is not just your example or your co-pilot. He is the substance of your life. You cannot know the Father, and you cannot get to heaven, with Him only showing you how to get there. He must take you there. Having been born of His Spirit, we must let His Spirit actually live in us.
This is a profound, life-altering truth. Meditate on it. Realize every morning that Jesus is present within you by reason of your faith and that He intends to conform you thoroughly to His likeness.

“It is not your hold of Christ that saves you — it is Christ.”
-Charles Spurgeon-

August 11 – Numbered Days (Psalm 90)

“Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”(Psalm 90:12)

IN WORD:
Against all evidence to the contrary, we grow up thinking we are invincible. There is something deep in the human soul — something placed there by the God who created us for eternity — that tells us life is endless. It is, but there is a substantial difference between the life we live now and the life we live in eternity. They overlap, but in only one can we bear fruit for the other. What we do today can have everlasting consequences. We can invest in the treasures of the Kingdom of God.
So many lives end in regret over this revelation. Many of us let our days pass by in survival mode or in entertainment mode, never balancing such concerns with the eternal fruits that matter more. We are to plant so that our God may reap and reward. And in order to sow effectively, we must sow with a clear awareness that the time to plant is extremely short. The window of opportunity for fruit bearing is narrow indeed.
James tells us our life is a vapor. David agrees: “Each man’s life is but a breath” (Psalm 39:5). In the grand, eternal scheme of things, we are a small point on the timeline. By the time we learn what we need to know and are equipped to serve, we have but a moment left. But God has given us an awesome privilege. We can accomplish in that moment works of such significance that they will last forever. God can change people’s lives through us. He can shape our children and our spouses and our friends through us. He can feed the hungry, encourage the outcast, redeem the lost, heal the sick, cultivate worshipers, and build His Kingdom through us. But only if we’re wise and have numbered our days.

IN DEED:
Paul tells us to redeem the time because the days are evil (Ephesians 5:16). They are fleeting days, slipping by us before we’ve hardly noticed. We must number them. We must live with an eye on the limitations of time and the certainty of death. Wisdom fills the hearts of those who can live with such perspective.

“Time is given us to use in view of eternity.” -Anonymous-

August 10 – Trustworthy Mouths (Matthew 12:36)

“When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise.”(Proverbs 10:19)

IN WORD:
The human tongue is hard to tame. James likens it to a wildfire and calls it a world of evil (James 3:6). That’s not a very complimentary assessment, but it’s reality. The more we talk, the more we expose the thoughts within us. Sooner or later, the sinful ones will come out.
Jesus said we would be accountable for that. Every careless word will need to be justified before God. That’s a frightening thought, especially for those who talk a lot. Slanders, untruths, gossip, faithless thoughts, and any other corruption that proceeds from our mouth will need an accounting. It’s terrifying to think that something we give so little thought will carry so much weight. But all things carry weight with God — especially things as powerful as words.
God frequently encourages us to measure our maturity by our ability to restrain our tongues. He who can hold it is wise, the proverb says. God assures us that the spoken word is far more potent than we think. Words can cripple emotions, ruin reputations, incite wars, spark jealousies, and create bitter rivalries. Discretion is the better part of conversation.

IN DEED:
That won’t be true in heaven. We can speak freely there, because sin will not gush from our hearts. We will utter praises in worship of our God, and all we say to others will be edifying. That’s the nature of a heaven from which all sin has been cast out. But that’s not the nature of this world. Here, professionals are paid to gossip while millions tune in, debaters are required to argue, and talk shows encourage comments so offensive that they result in riotous violence. Sin gushes, and the mouth is usually where it comes out.
But followers of Jesus are a separate people. We have been called to a discipline of discretion. Our silence is often more golden than we think. The well-being of others is often in our hands. God risked a lot by giving us mouths with which to praise Him and fellowship with others. We are called to be utterly trustworthy with them.

“Converse as those would who know that God hears.”
-Tertullian-

August 9 – Unlimited Compassion (Luke 10:25-37)

“Who is my neighbor?”(Luke 10:29)

IN WORD:
The question was asked by an expert in the Law wanting to justify himself. It seems like a legitimate question on the surface, but behind it is a suspicious agenda. The lawyer wanted to narrow his responsibility in the eyes of the Lord. If only a few are really neighbors, then only a little is required when God says to love our neighbor. He was looking for a reduction in the requirement, an easier way out.
As much as we would like to hold the lawyer in contempt, we cannot. We ask exactly the same questions. God’s grace and love are huge, unlimited, able to cover every sin and every soul. His compassion has no bounds. If we are urged by Scripture to be like Him and to be conformed to His image, we know that such boundless love and grace are also required of us. We don’t quite know how to handle that. We want boundaries. We want God to define it for us: “Who is my neighbor?”
Think of all our attempts to minimize the expanse of God’s ways. “When it says to forgive others, that only means when they come and ask us to forgive them, right?” “When it says to love our enemies, that only means to stay out of their way, right?” “When Jesus tells us to go into all the world, that’s only for a select few, right?” The questions could go on. We want qualifications. We want God to define for us the limits of our love & compassion & mercy.

IN DEED:
God will not define limits for our love because His love has no limits. He does choose to judge people, of course, but, unlike ours, His judgements are righteous and untainted by sin. Only He knows the right time for them. The vastness of His compassion, however, is enough to cover every person on the planet, and He calls us to be like Him. That means loving in the extreme, forgiving in the extreme, and sacrificing in the extreme. Can we do that? No. But He can do that in us and through us. Let Him live in you without limits. Let Him open your eyes to a world of neighbors.

“He who is filled with love is filled with God Himself.”
-St. Augustine-

August 8 – The Highest Standard (John 14:8-14)

“It is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work.”
(John 14:10)

IN WORD:
Christians commonly take one of two approaches to a verse like this. The first approach is assuming that because Jesus was God incarnate, His relationship to the Father was unique and exclusive to Him. A logical conclusion, following that assumption, is that Jesus is the only One who can ever say these words about the Father doing His work in Him. With this understanding, we may marvel at Jesus’ identity, but we can never participate in it.
The second approach assumes that the relationship Jesus had with Father — while unique in the sense that He is the only begotten Son of God — is nevertheless an example for us to follow. If so, He demonstrates the full potential of a human being completely surrendered to God and immersed in His will. With that understanding, we not only marvel at Jesus’ identity, we can participate in it.
Which of these approaches should we take? Is Jesus one of a kind in His relationship with the Father? Or does He offer that relationship to us? The rest of the New Testament makes it clear. If we are obedient and request this amazing relationship, we can quote these words of Jesus for ourselves: “It is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work.”
Is it presumptuous to say such a thing? Paul did. See Galatians 2:20 and all the other verses in which he refers to Christ living in him. The Scriptures scream this truth at us, from Jesus’ declaration a few verses later about doing His work (John 14:12), to Pentecost, to Revelation. It is implied everywhere. Jesus is not just our Savior, He is our life.

IN DEED:
Do you see Jesus’ life and works as an impossibly high standard? They are, if we rely on our human capabilities. But Jesus offers His Spirit to live within us. Accept Him. Rely on Him. Ask for a greater display of His life within you. Do not settle for less. Our knowledge of His presence and strength within us makes all the difference.

“No man can do the work of God until he has the Holy Spirit and is endued with power.” -George Campbell Morgan-

August 7 – Malleable Hearts (2 Corinthians 3:18)

“Whoever gives heed to instruction prospers, and blessed is he who trusts in the Lord.”(Proverbs 16:20)

IN WORD:
The human race from its earthly abode looks up to heaven and assumes that God requires our righteousness. It’s a natural impulse, one that was placed within us in the Garden of Eden. But it has become a futile quest, this righteousness that we seek. We can only find it in Another. It has to be provided for us, and we have to accept it by faith as an act of amazing grace.
We must let go of the impulse to please God with our goodness and embrace what He is really looking for: hearts that can be molded. Our master Artisan is seeking gold that He can hammer into whatever shape He pleases. He desires material that can be melted, formed, pounded, and purified. The righteousness is up to Him. The willingness to conform is up to us.
Whoever gives heed to instruction is a submissive servant of the Creator. He or she has learned that our discipleship is not achievement-focused but form-focused. We are being shaped into the image of the Son, who Himself is the exact image of the invisible God. The blueprint of our creation — drawn up to fit the image of God Himself, according to Genesis 1:26-27 — is now being fulfilled. We thought we’d squandered that priceless calling, but it has been restored. The Image now lives within us. He is conforming us even now.
The hard part of heeding instruction — being a malleable enough material for God to shape — is that it requires a tremendous amount of trust. We don’t like to relinquish that much control. We have our own agenda for what we should look like. But we must give it up. Only he who listens to instruction prospers. He who hardens his soul to God’s work will miss out on the blessing of being shaped like Jesus.

IN DEED:
Do you subject yourself to the mallet of God? Submission to the Artist’s hand is to be our constant pose. The pure image that results is too valuable to miss. Give heed to His instruction. The prosperity that follows is an unearthly treasure.

“O Lord, forgive what I have been, sanctify what I am, and order what I shall be.” -Thomas Wilson-

August 6 – Humility and Pride (1 Peter 5:5)

“When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.”(Proverbs 11:2)

IN WORD:
God hates pride. He opposes it at every turn. Scripture hints that pride is what led to Satan’s fall, and it leads to our fall as well. This proverb and its familiar companion verse in 16:18 — “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall” — are only two of the many biblical references to God’s hatred of this root of sin. 1 Peter 5:5 is explicit: “God opposes the proud.”
For every seeker who has wanted to know how to get on God’s good side, here’s a clue: God embraces the humble. True humility and an understanding of sins will lead us to Jesus, and that’s God’s only path for us. But that path can only be traveled by the humble. Human pride is its biggest roadblock. No one who puts too much stock in himself can enter the Kingdom of God.
When we became Christians, we humbled ourselves. It was a prerequisite. No one can accept the sacrifice of Jesus without realizing that he or she needs it, and that acceptance does violence to the ego. But after our salvation, we have an all-too-human tendency to let pride creep back in. We strive in our own strength to do the work of the Spirit. We start thinking that our righteousness is actually ours and not Christ’s. We think our loyalty to God is praiseworthy rather than the product of pure grace. In other words, our God-centered lives can become self-centered quickly and subtly. Our pride must then be uprooted.

IN DEED:
Has God let you fall? If so, it was because of His grace. He undermines our pride because He loves us. He wants us to have the key to His heart. He divulges the secret to His pleasure. It is humility. Humility allows for confession and repentance, it allows for service and fellowship, and it allows for worship. It also allows for His blessing. Pride obstructs all of the above. At all costs, forsake it.

“It is our self-importance, not our misery, that gets in His way.”
-Daniel Considine-

August 5 – A Cause in Our Crisis (Psalm 74)

“Rise up, O God, and defend your cause.”(Psalm 74:22)

IN WORD:
When crisis first hits, it’s all about us. We wonder how we will be affected, how we can get out of it, how we will survive. But if we’re living God-centered lives, our prayers should turn quickly to a greater cause than the immediate impact on ourselves. Our prayers should be all about God and His purposes.
Many people assume that God’s and their own interests necessarily coincide. We cannot afford to make such assumptions. Often, the purpose of our crisis is to break us of such thoughtlessness. After our typically human reaction of obsessing about ourselves, we must realize God’s greater purposes — and we must get in line with them.
The writer of Psalm 74 knows the appropriate prayer agenda. By the time he gets to the end, his problem is not his; it is God’s. He is not bending God to comply with his own agenda; he has realized that he is part of God’s agenda to reveal Himself to this world. His crisis is not about the devastation in his life; it’s about the harm being done to God’s fame. He is no longer asking God to answer his prayers for personal reasons; he is asking Him to answer for kingdom reasons. There’s a world of difference.

IN DEED:
When you pray for God’s help, what is your motivation? If you’re average and normal, you pray for your own needs. There’s nothing biblically wrong with that. But there is a maturity that needs to develop. Biblical prayers must eventually fall in line with the biblical agenda: displaying the glory of God. There is no better way to gain victory in crisis than to shift our focus from our purposes to God’s. Our prayers must move from “Lord, defend my cause” to “Lord, defend your cause.” The cries for help that begin with our own desperation must end with a deep concern for the work of God and the reputation of His name. Our cause must give way to His. Our will must be shaped like His. Our ruins must be rebuilt for the glory of His name.

“To pray effectively, we must want what God wants.”
-A.W. Tozer-

August 4 – A King in Our Crisis (Psalm 74)

“You, O God, are my king from of old; you bring salvation upon the earth.” (Psalm 74:12)

IN WORD:
That’s what our crisis needs: a King. It needs Someone who will restore order, Someone who will tell us how to get back in sync with the Kingdom program, Someone who will know what went wrong and how to fix it. Every human life needs His touch.
There are two profound implications when we call God our King: (1) We acknowledge His ability to reign over our circumstances, making Him the object of our praise and the heart of our worship; and (2) we acknowledge His right to reign over us, submitting ourselves to His authority and removing ourselves from control of the situation. Both are necessary responses in crisis; the King will inhabit the ruins of a person who knows both His power and His authority.
An easy trap for us fallen creatures to get caught up in is the tendency to ask God for His control of every aspect of our situation except us. We want Him to control the people who are making us miserable, the circumstances that are causing us stress, and the threats to our well-being. But we are much more hesitant to offer Him complete authority over our lives. We want Him to fix things. We don’t want Him to fix us!
God will usually NOT work that way. In fact, He often allows our crises specifically to bring us to a point of willingness, where we cry out for Him and are willing to sacrifice anything — even our own self-will — for Him to intervene. He must break our self-direction if He is to direct us. For Him to take control, we must relinquish it. There is no other way.

IN DEED:
God brings salvation upon the earth — on His terms, not ours. We want to be saved from our situation, but God is much more loving than that. He must save us from ourselves — our plans, our false hopes, our determination to be self-fulfilled and hang on to our means to accomplish it. We are often not willing until crisis comes; then we’ll do anything to see God. It was grace that brought us there; it is grace that will now bring His salvation into our ruins.

“As Christ is the root by which a saint grows, so is He the rule by which a saint walks.” -Anonymous-