To the glory of Christ
When we begin to follow Jesus Christ, everything in our life changes. We are no longer the same person, bound by past mistakes. By following Jesus, we are made new and given a second chance at life.
In our old ways of life, we did things for our own glory—our own praise and recognition. But in our new life with Jesus, we should desire to do everything for God.
Every word and action is an opportunity to love and praise God.
Whether you’re doing something difficult like raising a family or pursuing school or something simple like washing dishes or cleaning up trash—all these are opportunities to love and praise God. Even though some tasks feel insignificant or mundane, God asks us to do those tasks with Him in mind. It is God who gives us the breath and ability to do anything in life, so we should always be grateful for the opportunities we have.
Are there tasks in your life that cause you to grumble or complain?
As you spend time reflecting during this Advent season, consider how to perform tasks to the best of your ability, representing God in your actions. Reflect on the changes in your life since following Jesus Christ. Give thanks for the breath God has given and for the opportunity to praise Him through words and actions.
Come...
Come...
If you’re feeling overwhelmed or exhausted, come.
If you’re feeling grateful or expectant, come.
If you’re feeling joyful or grievous, confident or doubtful, encouraged or frustrated, come.
“Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!”
Psalm 95:6
There’s something about falling on our faces before the One who created us—and everything that exists—that reminds us of who He is and who we are not.
When was the last time you stopped—in your car, in your kitchen, in your rushing, in your humanness—to simply come to God?
When you notice a gorgeous sunset, come.
When you can’t see through your tears, come.
When you’re captivated by a child’s smile, come.
When you’re overwhelmed by bad news, come.
When you’re motivated to make an impact, come.
When you’re deflated beyond words, come.
Come to the Lord, your Maker.
He has already come to you.
Wait on the Lord...
When the world around you seems wild, or the heart inside you feels weary, you can still count on God.
The psalmist said it like this:
“I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope.”
Psalms 130:5 NIV
This is one of fifteen psalms known as the Pilgrim Songs, or the Songs of Ascent (comprising Psalms 120-134)—sung by Jewish travelers making the trek to Jerusalem for annual festivals.
If you read the rest of the chapter, you’ll notice a heaviness, a tenderness, a tone of repentance. The psalmist cries out “from the depths”—wanting to be heard, begging for mercy, longing for the redemption of His people, all the while hoping in and waiting on the Lord.
The NLT translation says, “I am counting on the Lord…”
If you’ve ever wondered who—other than you—has had to hope in, wait on, and trust in the Lord, it’s everyone. It’s all of us. Every person in biblical history, from Noah to Moses, Rahab to Ruth, Peter to Paul… down to us, living in this modern day.
Those who lived before Jesus Christ were waiting on the Messiah to come and rescue a fallen world. Those who live after Jesus, like us, are waiting on Him to come back and redeem everything that’s been lost—once and for all.
The season of Advent reminds us that regardless of who you are, where you’re from, or what you’ve done, you can cry out and wait on God.
He is trustworthy, He is faithful, and He always makes good on His promises.
As you wait upon the Lord during this Advent season, know that He wants you to come close—so that He can be your strength so that He can give you comfort, and so that He can provide everything you need.
What Does It Mean to be Blessed?
We all want a good life. We all want a life that is blessed and successful.
Almost everyone on earth is searching for that, and we all have our own way of attaining the life we want. Some people look for happiness and fulfillment in material possessions. Others try to find happiness through gaining success and fame. And others search for fulfillment through relationships.
But rather than following the paths of the world around us, Psalm 119:2 says that true happiness and fulfillment come from obeying God. Since God is the creator and ruler of the universe, He certainly knows what is best for us. Following God’s guidance and direction for our life is the only way we will find true fulfillment. And the writer of Psalm 119 says that those who seek God with all their heart will be blessed.
A blessed life is a happy and fulfilled life, but it’s also a life that doesn’t find ultimate happiness and fulfillment through anything on this earth.
A truly blessed life comes through God.
You were created to enjoy a relationship with God. The more we seek God and desire Him, the more we will find a truly blessed life, because true blessing comes from spending time with God.
The Giver of Good Things
James 1:17 has a lot to tell us about God. First off, James tells us that God is the one who gives good and perfect gifts. Everything starts with God, so all good gifts and blessings in life come from God.
In addition to that, it is God who gives us salvation, which is the greatest gift. He freely offers us eternal life by believing in Jesus Christ as the One who saves us. God not only gives perfect gifts, but He also is the perfect Gift.
The next thing we learn about God in this verse is that God reigns from heaven but has also come down from heaven to us. God rules and reigns from His throne in Heaven (Psalm 103:19). He is the perfect gift that has come down from heaven.
Lastly, we learn that God is unchanging. Humans are constantly changing. God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow, and His character never changes.
The God who loves us and gives us grace today will do the same tomorrow.
So take some time today to thank God for who He is and what He has done for you. Thank Him for the gifts and blessings He has given you. Thank Him for the gift of salvation.
The Urgency of Giving...
Have you ever waited to do something you knew was the right thing to do?
When Paul wrote his second letter to the Corinthians, the church in Corinth needed correction. In the ninth chapter, Paul focused on a promise the Corinthians had made a year before to help struggling Christians in Jerusalem. Not only had the Corinthians made this promise—to collect an offering and send it to Jerusalem—but they were so eager in their pledge, they had inspired other churches to follow their lead.
However, the Corinthians were taking a long time to follow through on their promise, and in the meantime, their brothers and sisters in Jerusalem were suffering. Not only that, their eagerness to give had waned, and they were no longer setting the generous example they had before. So Paul wrote:
“Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”
2 Corinthians 9:7 NIV
When we are reluctant to give, we miss out on the chance to bless others. Disobedience can harden our hearts toward others. We can hold on to what we have because we think we know best.
Instead, when you give with urgency, Paul says, “God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work” (2 Corinthians 9:8). He will bless you “so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God” (2 Corinthians 9:11).
Now, that may not always mean God will enrich you financially. But it does mean that God will always provide you with the means to be generous—with your time, energy, and money. And because God does not wait to provide for us, we shouldn’t wait to provide for others.
Today, look for opportunities to show your generosity and share the good gifts God has given you—and when you see one, don’t wait to act! Instead, give with a cheerful spirit.
Marked by Love...
Imagine God’s perfect creation: the Garden of Eden. In the garden, there was no evil and hardship—the world was good. Unfortunately, because the devil deceived humans into disobeying God, we now live in an imperfect world.
The world we live in is different from what God intended—in this world, situations are not always good. People make mistakes and sometimes hurt us and the people we love. Because of this, you might feel uncertain about loving others or even God. But there’s good news: When our world changed, God did not change.
God is still perfect—and He still loves us perfectly. Regardless of the mistakes we make, God will not stop loving us. We know God loves us because He redeemed our mistakes on the cross through Jesus Christ. And when Jesus returned to heaven, He sent His Holy Spirit to be with us.
His love for us is not dependent upon our love for Him—it’s not reliant on what we do, what we say, or how we act. This doesn’t mean we should purposefully go against God’s Word—it means that no matter where we’re at in life, God’s love will meet us where we are.
In 1 John 4, we are told that whoever remains in love remains in God because God is love. If we say we love God, the evidence of love in our lives should be seen through how we treat and serve others. This doesn’t always feel natural—but this is a challenge the Lord wants to help us overcome.
As we grow closer to Him, His love is perfected in us. And as He transforms us into people perfected by His love, we don’t have to fear His judgment because we can be confident that we are His.
God desires our love, and our love for Him grows through worship, prayer, and spending time in His Word. But God is also the source of love, and He wants to help us remain in love so we can remain in Him. He loves us perfectly, understands our imperfections, and can make us perfect in His love.
So today, take some time to ask the Lord to help you live a life marked by love.
A Prayer of Blessing...
This blessing represents an ideal condition for someone who follows God. The first part of the blessing is for protection. Because God is all-powerful, He is our ultimate Protector.
The second part is a prayer for grace from God. For God’s face to shine upon someone is for the favor of God to be on them. But for this to happen, we need to be in relationship with God. We ought to spend time with God each day, learning from Him and receiving His grace through His Spirit.
The last part of the blessing is for God’s face to turn towards us. This means that God is looking out for our good. And there is nothing we can do to earn God’s favor because He gives it freely.
The primary way that God blesses us today is through a relationship with Jesus Christ. When we have faith in Jesus, our future is eternally secure in Him. After we begin a relationship with Jesus, the Holy Spirit lives within us and empowers our new life.
God’s grace, favor, and protection are all available to us.
Knowing Scripture...
Paul’s letter to the Colossians is rich with insight into who Jesus is, what He has done, and how we should respond.
He wrote to encourage them to keep their eyes on Jesus, to live a life worthy of their calling, to be full of love for one another, and to…
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.”
Colossians 3:16 ESV
Since the Church was new at this point, it didn’t have a complete, written Bible. So, when Paul told Christians to let the “word of Christ dwell” in them richly—he would have been referring to the teachings of Jesus they’d learned from Paul and others.
Because access to written Scripture was limited, this new Church needed to be encouraged and reminded to stay faithful in teaching one another. And one of the ways they did this was through praising God together and being thankful for all He had done.
We now have an incredible gift in the Bible. We have the full counsel of God from both the Old Testament and the New Testament. Through God’s Word, we can know God’s plan and purposes, the story and truth of Jesus, and how we are to live as followers of Christ together. And, we can encourage one another as we study and learn Scripture together.
So, take time in your day to read God’s Word. Study its content and context. Discover God's character, plans, purposes, and love as you allow His Word to dwell in you richly. Then, try to spend time with other believers and discuss what you’ve read.
Our Hands on Christ's Head
“He himself bore our sins in his body.”
To subjectively benefit from the work of the high priest in the scapegoat ritual on the day of atonement (Leviticus 16:20-22), the individual Israelite had to exercise both penitence and faith. Penitence is a sincere and humble acknowledgment of one’s sins. Faith, in this instance, is believing God’s testimony that his sins were transferred to the goat and that the guilt of them no longer hung over his head.
Of course, the scapegoat could not itself carry away the sins of the people. It was only symbolic of the true scapegoat to come, Jesus Christ. Today we see the reality of the symbol. We see Jesus as the one who not only propitiated the wrath of God, symbolized by the sacrifice of the first goat, but who also removed our sins from God’s presence, symbolized by the second goat led away into the desert, bearing the sins of the people.
Those same two attitudes, penitence and faith, are necessary for all of us today who rely on Christ for salvation. We must acknowledge ourselves as sinners before a holy God. We must, so to speak, lay our hands on Christ’s head and confess over him all our transgression and rebellion. We acknowledge ourselves as sinners before a holy God, and we face up to particular sins we’re aware of.
This heartfelt penitence and faith should characterize our lives throughout every day. We not only come to God through faith in Christ as both our propitiation and our scapegoat, we must live in his presence every day on the same basis. We must believe that just as the Old Testament scapegoat symbolically carried away the sins of the Jews from the presence of God, so Jesus actually carried away our sins.
The Shepherd's Promise...
Psalm 23 is a poem about God as our Shepherd. It’s all about how God knows what is best for us. He knows who we are and the paths we should walk in life. Because He is our Shepherd, He also is our Protector, guarding us from evil.
At the end of Psalm 23, there is a promise for us. For those who follow God and listen to His guidance, the writer says that goodness and mercy will follow us.
What does it mean that God’s goodness and mercy will follow us?
It doesn’t mean that life will go according to our plans. It also doesn’t mean life will be free of pain and problems. Psalm 23:4 tells us that we will still have to walk through dark valleys in life.
Here’s what it does mean: God will always be with us. God will always be good to us. Life may not always be easy, but God promises to always be good.
Because of these truths, the writer of this Psalm says that his desire is to be with God in God’s house forever. We ought to desire the same thing as well. It’s because of God’s goodness and mercy that we will one day join Him in heaven to be with Him forever.
Take some time today to consider God as your Shepherd, who cares for you and protects you. Thank Him that His goodness and mercy will never end but will follow you every day of your life.
Keep in Step...
When we trust in Jesus as our Savior, we’re given the gift of grace and the gift of the Holy Spirit. To put it simply, the Holy Spirit is God. We are given God! The Holy Spirit leads, guides, and works in and through us.
There are times when we’re tempted to run ahead of the Spirit. Because, if we’re honest, He’s not always moving as quickly as we’d like. We might even question if He’s moving or if He cares. That’s why walking with God requires patience.
There are other times when we’re tempted to lag behind the Spirit. Because, at times, He might be guiding us somewhere that might make us a little uncomfortable. It takes effort, intentionality, and both physical and emotional strength. That’s why walking with God requires courage.
We can keep in step with the Spirit by sticking close to Him—paying attention, talking to Him, reading His Word, and being in community with those who love Him.
Because when we’re committed to sticking close to Him, one thing is certain: The Holy Spirit will guide you—every step of the way.
Timeless Wisdom
Timeless Wisdom
After being rescued from Egyptian slavery and wandering around in the wilderness for 40 years, the Hebrew people finally stood at the edge of the land God had promised.
Though their long-time leader, Moses, had just died, God appointed Joshua to take his place. During this transition of authority, God gave Joshua some wise advice:
“Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.”
Joshua 1:8 NIV
God gave the Law to Israel through Moses. These instructions reveal God’s intentions, character, and heart.
And even though God was speaking directly to Joshua at that time, His advice holds timeless wisdom for us today…
Reading, listening to, and thinking deeply about God's story informs and shapes us.
When we meditate on His Word, study its contents, and understand its core message—everything changes.
People of Peace...
In his letter to the Colossians, the Apostle Paul explained that those who had been given new life in Christ not only had a redeemed future but also a new reality.
Instead of being confined to a hopeless world, they had an eternal hope.
Instead of being powerless against sin, they had the power to fight back.
Instead of continuing cycles of chaos, brokenness, and trauma, they could be people of peace.
Paul went on to say...
“And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.” (Col. 3:15)
With Christ, we can take off our “old self”, which is continuously being made into the image of God.
Prayer… “God, in the midst of everything that is happening in my life and in this world, I ask for Your peace to rule in my heart and life. Thank you for making Your unwavering peace available to me. Come into every area of my iife and be the focus of my mind, heart, and actions. Let me find comfort and rest in your presence. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Embrace God's Guidance...
Pause and take a moment to reflect on the last time you truly allowed yourself to be led by someone else—the kind of leading that required you to give up control and trust the person leading you.
If we’re honest, many of us struggle in some way to completely surrender trust. And even when we do decide to surrender, we might still slightly find ourselves trying to taking back some measure of control.
We fear being hurt.
We fear vulnerability.
We fear being misled.
We fear rejection.
But here's the truth: when we place our fears in the hands of a loving God, it readies our hearts to cultivate a deeper intimacy with Him.
God knows your heart, He sees your struggles, and He's aware of your weaknesses. And He's there—right there, in the midst of your anxieties and fears—ready to guide you, teach you, and lead you to truth. Allow the words echoed by the psalmist to be your prayer today…
Love in Truth
As Christians, our lives are to be patterned after Jesus.
When Jesus came to earth, He lived among people of the first century. During His ministry, Jesus spoke many things concerning the love and kingdom of God. But He also displayed that love through healing people and setting them free with truth.
Jesus loves through both word and action. He communicates the love of God through His words and showed others love through His actions.
In the same way, Christians should also follow Jesus as our model. However, many Christians are more comfortable doing one or the other. Some are more comfortable telling others the truth, and others are more comfortable showing love by helping others.
1 John 3:18 tells us that we need to do both in order to love people the way Christ has loved us. People don’t just need to hear the truth; they need to see it through love. But it’s not just enough to help others; we also need to share the message of Jesus Christ with them.
Think about your own life. Consider how you can take small steps to practice telling others the truth in love or showing people love through your actions.
Taken from "A Good Word" from Dallas Theological Seminary...
In an encounter recorded in the Gospels, a wealthy man met Jesus on the road and, addressing Him as “good teacher,” asked “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” (Mark 10:17 NET). Jesus took hold of the word “good” and would not answer the man’s eternal life question until He explained goodness: “Why do you call me good?” Jesus said in reply, “No one is good except God alone” (Mark 10:18 NET). Like the wealthy man, we tend to use the word “good” without much thought for what it really means. Jesus defines “good” as the character of God and wanted the man to understand he was speaking to someone who really is good: God Himself.
The Greek word translated “good” in this passage is the adjective ἀγαθός (agathos). It has a synonym in the adjective καλός (kalos); these two words are used almost identically in the New Testament, though sometimes καλός tends to emphasize the attractiveness (“beauty”1) or observable quality of good. In Matthew 7:17, these two terms for “good” appear together: “every good (ἀγαθός) tree bears good (καλός) fruit.”
The wealthy man was concerned with what he could do to acquire eternal life. But the Bible tells us God saves people not by works but for “good (ἀγαθός) works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:9–10 NIV).
God redeems believers to represent Him as His special people who are “zealous for good (καλός) works” (Titus 2:14 ESV). These good works God has ready for believers to do are meant to bring others to Him, as Jesus said, “let your light shine before others, that they may see your good (καλός) deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16 NIV).
God’s goodness overflows to meet physical needs as Christians serve one another by working, “doing good (ἀγαθός)… to share with the one who has need” (Ephesians 4:28 NET). Likewise, God’s goodness works through us to meet spiritual needs when our speech is “good (ἀγαθός) for building up” (Ephesians 4:29 ESV).
God has good works for us to do, and He works all things for good for us. When the Bible says, “in all things God works for the good (ἀγαθός) of those who love him” (Romans 8:28 NIV), we must not imagine that it means everything will go our way. Rather, it is God who—through the adversity and opposition we face in this life—is doing His good will for us to “to be conformed to the image of his Son” (Romans 8:29 NIV).
Let us, therefore, be transformed by our good God. And may we be ready to do the good works God provides, so that the world will see how glorious our “good teacher” is.
Throne of Grace
We’ve all messed up.
We’ve all done things, seen things, and said things we regret. We’ve all sinned—ignoring God’s commands and rebelling against His ways. And we know it, too. This is because God gave us the ability to discern right from wrong. His Word reveals His righteousness and magnifies our lack and need for Him.
The bad news is our sin separates us from a holy God.
But the good news is Jesus has already bridged the gap.
Our Savior, Jesus Christ, lived the perfect life we couldn’t and died the brutal death we should’ve—becoming the final and ultimate sacrifice. He’s paid our debt, cleared our names, and defeated death itself by rising back to life. And now, as the author of Hebrews suggests, we have an open invitation into His presence…
Grace or Duty?
“Trust in him, and he will act.”
There’s no question that we’re responsible to pursue holiness with all the intensity the word pursue implies. Every moral imperative in the Bible addresses itself to our responsibility to discipline ourselves unto godliness. We aren’t just to "turn it all over to the Lord" and let him live his life through us. Rather, we’re to love one another, to put to death the misdeeds of the body, and to put off the old man and put on the new man.
If we’re to make any progress in the pursuit of holiness, we must assume our responsibility to discipline or train ourselves. But we’re to do all this in total dependence on the Holy Spirit to work in us and strengthen us with the strength that is in Christ.
Sometimes we don’t sense that we’re experiencing his strength. Instead we experience deep, agonizing failure. We may even weep over our sins and wonder why the Holy Spirit doesn’t come to our aid and strengthen us against the onslaught of temptation. We identify with Paul when he said, "I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do" (Romans 7:15, NIV).
Why doesn’t the Spirit always strengthen us? There are several possible reasons. He may be letting us see the sinfulness of our own hearts. He may be causing us to realize how weak we are in ourselves and how dependent on him we really are. Perhaps he is curbing a tendency toward spiritual pride and causing us to grow in humility. Whatever the reason, which we may never know, our responsibility is to utterly depend on him. Sovereignly and with infinite wisdom, he determines how best to respond to our dependence. (Excerpt taken from The Discipline of Grace)
Conversations that Give...
We laugh, and we grieve.
We offer encouragement and voice concerns.
We agree and debate.
We communicate to complete tasks and coordinate schedules.
We make small talk and make plans.
We contemplate life’s mysteries together.
Conversations are a part of life, and each interaction is as unique as the person we’re talking to.
In the book of Colossians, Paul and Timothy advised the believers to live wisely, especially among those who weren’t believers, and to make the most of each opportunity (Colossians 4:5). They went on to say:
“Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”
Colossians 4:6 NIV
This sounds good—but what does it actually mean to be “full of grace” and “seasoned with salt”?
Full of grace. Grace is a free and undeserved gift. So even if someone is difficult or disagrees with our opinions, we can still communicate with kindness and respect. Grace gives kindness without condition—and so can we.
Seasoned with salt. Salt is an essential mineral used for preservation and seasoning. As Christ-followers, we are compelled by His love to be living preservatives of His story while sharing His message with passion and flavor.
Does this mean we should become full-time people pleasers? Or that we’ll have all the answers? Of course not. But like 1 Peter 3:15 says, “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.”
It’s not just about what we say but how we say it. In our everyday conversations, we can honor Christ by speaking intentionally and gracefully.