Struggling To Kneel

READ: Colossians 4:1-12

Always laboring fervently for you in prayers, that you may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God. —Col. 4:12

Just before John Ashcroft was being sworn in as a US senator, he met with family and friends for prayer. As they gathered around him, he saw his dad trying to get up from the couch where he sat. Since his father was in frail health, Ashcroft told him, “That’s okay, Dad. You don’t have to stand up to pray for me.” His father replied, “I’m not struggling to stand up. I’m struggling to kneel.”

His father’s effort reminds me of the exertion it sometimes takes to intercede for a fellow believer. In Colossians, Paul refers to Epaphras as a bondservant who is “always laboring fervently for you in prayers, that you may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God” (Col. 4:12). “Laboring fervently” is the translation of a Greek word from which we get our word agony. It was used of wrestlers who in the Greek gymnastic games strained to overcome an opponent.

Epaphras interceded for other believers to become mature in their walk with the Savior. Asking God to overcome obstacles to spiritual growth in the lives of others requires our concentration and discipline. Are we willing to labor “fervently” in prayer to ask God to meet the needs of our loved ones? — Dennis Fisher

There’s a holy, high vocation
Needing workers everywhere;
’Tis the highest form of service,
’Tis the ministry of prayer. —Woodworth

Intercessory prayer is life’s real work.

our daily bread

molding a young heart
by winn collier

Read: Proverbs 22:6-16
Direct your children onto the right path (Proverbs 22:6).

Recently, my 5-year-old son Seth got angry with me. The incident was partly my fault (for not giving Seth my full attention) and partly his fault (for not being obedient). I gave him a timeout, but when he returned he was still miffed. I could tell he was searching for something to say—for the words that would deliver the best blow. “Dad,” Seth said, “I don’t believe in God anymore.” Obviously, Seth was not facing a crisis of faith. But he was asking something like, Will you talk with me, engage my heart, and discover what’s not right in my soul?

The oft-quoted Proverb (22:6) offers distinct wisdom for how to nurture children. The proverb encourages parents to pour their energy into the long art of discovering the intimate contours and unique textures of their children’s hearts. When the wisdom writer instructs us to move our children toward the life-path they are to walk, he invites us to the hard work of discerning the “right path”—the best way to instruct them based on their distinct personality, gifts, and inclinations.

We understand that this “right path” includes leading them down the spiritual and moral path we all are to walk. Teaching them to be diligent, honest, and submissive to God. Directing our children from foolishness to behaviors that He desires (v.15). The verse, however, adds this clarifying touch: The “right path” instruction includes taking into account the uniqueness of each child. So as we raise and educate them, we should recognize how they’re wired—using the best ways for them to individually grow and mature.

Throughout our lives, God has uniquely sought and taught each of us—presenting to us His timeless truths in ways that acknowledged our individual designs. Our children need the same kind of “right path” instruction from us.

our daily journey

Nailed To The Cross

READ: Colossians 2:9-17
[Jesus] has made [you] alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses. —Colossians 2:13

It was a touching church service. Our pastor talked about Jesus taking our sins upon Himself and dying in our place to take our punishment. He asked if anyone still felt guilt over confessed sins and was therefore not enjoying the forgiveness of God.

We were to write the sin or sins on a piece of paper, walk to the front of the church, and nail the paper to the cross that was placed there. Many went forward, and you could hear the pounding of nails for several minutes. That act didn’t give us forgiveness, of course, but it was a physical reminder that Jesus had already taken those sins on Himself as He hung on the cross and died.

That’s what the apostle Paul taught the church at Colosse. The people were being influenced by false teachers who presented Christ as less than adequate for their needs. But Paul explained that Jesus paid the price for our sins. He said, “The handwriting of requirements that was against us, . . . He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross” (Col. 2:14).

If we confess our sin to God, seeking His cleansing, He will forgive (1 John 1:9). We don’t need to hold on to the guilt. Our sins have been nailed to the cross; they’ve been taken away. Jesus has forgiven them all. — Anne Cetas

Lord, give me courage to confess,
To bare my sinful heart to Thee;
Thy full forgiveness I would know
And from this weight of guilt be free. —D. De Haan

Guilt is a burden God never intended His children to bear.

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Contentment

READ: Matthew 6:24-34
No one can serve two masters. —Matthew 6:24

A gripping photograph of an old woman sitting in a pile of garbage made me ponder. She was smiling as she ate a packet of food she had foraged from the garbage dump. It took so little for the woman to be satisfied.

There is much talk about a struggling economy and the cost of living going higher. And many are getting increasingly anxious about their livelihood. Is it possible to heed our Lord Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 6:25, “Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on”?

Our Lord was not saying that we don’t need to work, that we don’t need to eat, or that we shouldn’t bother about how we dress. He was warning against those things becoming so important that we become slaves of money instead of trusting Him. “No one can serve two masters,” He said (v.24).

Seeking first “the kingdom of God and His righteousness” (v.33) is recognizing that no matter how much effort we expend to make a better life for ourselves and our families, ultimately it is the Lord who takes care of our needs. And since God is our heavenly Father, we will have enough. — C. P. Hia

Hidden in the hollow of His blessed hand,
Never foe can follow, never traitor stand;
Not a surge of worry, not a shade of care,
Not a blast of hurry touch the spirit there. —Havergal

Money serves us well if we receive it as God’s provision.

our daily bread

The Missionary’s Master and Teacher

READ:
You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am . . . . I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master . . .—John 13:13, 16

To have a master and teacher is not the same thing as being mastered and taught. Having a master and teacher means that there is someone who knows me better than I know myself, who is closer than a friend, and who understands the remotest depths of my heart and is able to satisfy them fully. It means having someone who has made me secure in the knowledge that he has met and solved all the doubts, uncertainties, and problems in my mind. To have a master and teacher is this and nothing less— ". . . for One is your Teacher, the Christ . . ." ( Matthew 23:8 ).

Our Lord never takes measures to make me do what He wants. Sometimes I wish God would master and control me to make me do what He wants, but He will not. And at other times I wish He would leave me alone, and He does not.

"You call Me Teacher and Lord . . ."— but is He? Teacher, Master, and Lord have little place in our vocabulary. We prefer the words Savior, Sanctifier, and Healer. The only word that truly describes the experience of being mastered is love, and we know little about love as God reveals it in His Word. The way we use the word obey is proof of this. In the Bible, obedience is based on a relationship between equals; for example, that of a son with his father. Our Lord was not simply God’s servant— He was His Son. ". . . though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience. . ." (Hebrews 5:8 ). If we are consciously aware that we are being mastered, that idea itself is proof that we have no master. If that is our attitude toward Jesus, we are far away from having the relationship He wants with us. He wants us in a relationship where He is so easily our Master and Teacher that we have no conscious awareness of it—a relationship where all we know is that we are His to obey.

my utmost for his highest

Whitewashed Tombs

READ: Matthew 23:1-15
You . . . have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. —Matthew 23:23

As I study the life of Jesus, one fact consistently surprises me: the group that made Jesus angriest was one that He outwardly resembled. Jesus obeyed the Mosaic Law and quoted leading Pharisees (Mark 9:11-12; 12:28-34). Yet He singled out the Pharisees for His strongest attacks. He called them serpents, a brood of vipers, fools, and hypocrites (Matt. 23:13-33).

What provoked such outbursts? The Pharisees devoted their lives to following God, gave away an exact tithe (v.23), obeyed every law in the Torah, and sent out missionaries to gain new converts (v.15). Against the relativists and secularists of the first century, they held firm to traditional values.

Yet Jesus’ fierce denunciations of the Pharisees show how seriously He viewed the toxic threat of legalism. Its dangers are elusive, slippery, hard to pin down. I believe these dangers remain a great threat today.

Jesus condemned the emphasis on externals: “You cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence” (v.25). Expressions of love for God had become ways to impress others.

The proof of spiritual maturity is not how “pure” you are but your awareness of your impurity. That very awareness opens the door to God’s grace. — Philip Yancey

Thinking It Through
According to Romans 7:18-24, what is the
apostle Paul’s view of his own spiritual condition?
What did Paul say is the answer? (Rom. 7:25–8:4).

Legalism destroys our loving relationship with God.

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His Temptation and Ours

We do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin —Hebrews 4:15

Until we are born again, the only kind of temptation we understand is the kind mentioned in James 1:14, "Each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed." But through regeneration we are lifted into another realm where there are other temptations to face, namely, the kind of temptations our Lord faced. The temptations of Jesus had no appeal to us as unbelievers because they were not at home in our human nature. Our Lord’s temptations and ours are in different realms until we are born again and become His brothers. The temptations of Jesus are not those of a mere man, but the temptations of God as Man. Through regeneration, the Son of God is formed in us (see Galatians 4:19 ), and in our physical life He has the same setting that He had on earth. Satan does not tempt us just to make us do wrong things— he tempts us to make us lose what God has put into us through regeneration, namely, the possibility of being of value to God. He does not come to us on the premise of tempting us to sin, but on the premise of shifting our point of view, and only the Spirit of God can detect this as a temptation of the devil.

Temptation means a test of the possessions held within the inner, spiritual part of our being by a power outside us and foreign to us. This makes the temptation of our Lord explainable. After Jesus’ baptism, having accepted His mission of being the One "who takes away the sin of the world" ( John 1:29 ) He "was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness" ( Matthew 4:1 ) and into the testing devices of the devil. Yet He did not become weary or exhausted. He went through the temptation "without sin," and He retained all the possessions of His spiritual nature completely intact.

my utmost for His highest

Unlikely Instruments
By Greg Laurie

Now Stephen, a man full of God's grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people. —Acts 6:8

Stephen, the first martyr of the church, died at an early age. Some might look at the way he died and think, What a waste! But in the words of Jim Elliot, another young martyr for the faith, "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose."

What kind of person does God look for to use for His glory? What qualifies a person to be selected by God to be His instrument? Is it a towering intellect or how many PhDs a person has on the wall? Do you have to be physically attractive? Do you need to be a born leader? How about someone who is a little timid? What about the person who isn't the most physically attractive? What about people whom many would classify as ordinary? Is there a place for someone like that?

I would suggest to you there is. Because one of the things that stands out from the pages of Scripture is that God seems to go out of His way to use people whom you'd never imagine He would. And if my life is evidence of anything, it is evidence of that.

So why does God do this? We find the answer in 1 Corinthians 1:27-29:

Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important. As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God.

God is looking for unexpected people to use for His glory. Are you willing to be one of them?

Letting Go

READ: Philippians 3:3-11
What things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. —Philippians 3:7

It has been said that “one person’s junk is another’s treasure.” When David Dudley tried to help his parents clear their house of “unnecessary items” before moving to a smaller home, he found it very difficult. He was often angered by his parents’ refusal to part with things they had not used for decades. Finally, David’s father helped him understand that even the worn-out, useless items were tied to close friends and important events. Clearing the clutter felt like throwing away their very lives.

A spiritual parallel to our reluctance to let go of the clutter in our homes may be our inability to clear our hearts of the attitudes that weigh us down.

For many years, Saul of Tarsus clung to the “righteousness” he had earned by obeying God’s law. His pedigree and performance were prized possessions until he encountered Jesus in a blinding moment on the Damascus Road (Acts 9:1-8). Face to face with the risen Savior, he let go of his cherished self-effort and later wrote, “But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ” (Phil. 3:7).

When the Holy Spirit urges us to release our grip on any attitude that keeps us from following Christ, we find true freedom in letting go. — David C. McCasland

Speak to us, Lord, till shamed by Thy great giving
Our hands unclasp to set our treasures free;
Our wills, our love, our dear ones, our possessions,
All gladly yielded, gracious Lord, to Thee. —Anon.

Through Christ we have the freedom to let go.

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Unlikely Instruments
By Greg Laurie

Now Stephen, a man full of God's grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people. —Acts 6:8

Stephen, the first martyr of the church, died at an early age. Some might look at the way he died and think, What a waste! But in the words of Jim Elliot, another young martyr for the faith, "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose."

What kind of person does God look for to use for His glory? What qualifies a person to be selected by God to be His instrument? Is it a towering intellect or how many PhDs a person has on the wall? Do you have to be physically attractive? Do you need to be a born leader? How about someone who is a little timid? What about the person who isn't the most physically attractive? What about people whom many would classify as ordinary? Is there a place for someone like that?

I would suggest to you there is. Because one of the things that stands out from the pages of Scripture is that God seems to go out of His way to use people whom you'd never imagine He would. And if my life is evidence of anything, it is evidence of that.

So why does God do this? We find the answer in 1 Corinthians 1:27-29:

Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important. As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God.

God is looking for unexpected people to use for His glory. Are you willing to be one of them?

Mell’s Smiley Face

READ: Romans 5:1-5

We also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance. —Romans 5:3

Some people think you shouldn’t draw in your Bible, but I’m glad my daughter Melissa drew in hers. In the margin next to Romans 5, she used a green ink pen to draw a small, simple smiley face, and circled verse 3.

How could she have known that her family and friends would need this passage when she left us so suddenly in a car accident at age 17? How could she know that these verses would tell her story, while guiding our lives and the lives of others over the past 7 years?

Romans 5 begins by explaining our justification through faith, which gives us peace with God through Jesus (v.1). Melissa had that peace. And right now she is enjoying the fruits of her faith, as verse 2 describes: We “rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” Imagine the smiley face she could draw now!

And then there’s the rest of us—all of us left behind when loved ones precede us in death. Somehow, we “rejoice in our sufferings.” Why? Our suffering brings perseverance, which brings character, which brings us hope (vv.3-4).

We feel helpless in times of tragedy, but we are never hopeless. God pours His love into our hearts—and with it the great hope of His glory. It’s all part of God’s mysterious yet marvelous plan. — Dave Branon

For Further Study
If you have lost a loved one and want to learn more
about heaven, read the online publication Our Eternal
Home at www.discoveryseries.org/rd911

God often digs wells of joy with the spade of sorrow.

our daily bread

meditate
by roxanne robbins

Psalm 119:9-18
I will meditate continually on Your decrees (v.117).

We African Christians in general love the Bible. We love to own a Bible. We enjoy listening to preaching based on the Bible. We love to read tracts and booklets about the Bible. Sometimes we check out the Bible to pray a certain psalm or read a few verses that have been indicated to us in the course of a lesson, homily, or discussion. But few of us ever read the Bible on a regular basis as a Christian devotion. Why?” So asks Nigerian-born priest Ernest Munachi Ezeogu.

Rev. Munachi’s question is worth posing to Christians, not just in Africa, but around the world. Why don’t believers spend more time engaging their minds in meditation on God’s Word?

Bible scholar Matthew Henry said it’s through meditation on God’s Word that we are most profoundly comforted in affliction and enriched in our souls. “It may be truly said of our Lord Jesus Christ,” Henry wrote, “that His words are words of goodness and grace.”

Today, reflect on the following verses that reiterate the riches to be found as you dive into the depths of God’s Word:

• “Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do” (Joshua 1:8).

• “O God, we meditate on Your unfailing love as we worship in Your Temple” (Psalm 48:9).

• “Even princes sit and speak against me, but I will meditate on Your decrees” (Psalm 119:23).

• “I honor and love Your commands. I meditate on Your decrees” (Psalm 119:48).
• “I meditate on Your age-old regulations; O Lord, they comfort me” (Psalm 119:52).
• “Sustain me, and I will be rescued; then I will meditate continually on Your decrees” (Psalm 119:117).

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Do It Yourself

. . . bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ . . .
—2 Corinthians 10:5

Determinedly Discipline Other Things. This is another difficult aspect of the strenuous nature of sainthood. Paul said, according to the Moffatt translation of this verse, ". . . I take every project prisoner to make it obey Christ . . . ." So much Christian work today has never been disciplined, but has simply come into being by impulse! In our Lord’s life every project was disciplined to the will of His Father. There was never the slightest tendency to follow the impulse of His own will as distinct from His Father’s will— "the Son can do nothing of Himself . . . " ( John 5:19 ). Then compare this with what we do— we take "every thought" or project that comes to us by impulse and jump into action immediately, instead of imprisoning and disciplining ourselves to obey Christ.

Practical work for Christians is greatly overemphasized today, and the saints who are "bringing every thought [and project] into captivity" are criticized and told that they are not determined, and that they lack zeal for God or zeal for the souls of others. But true determination and zeal are found in obeying God, not in the inclination to serve Him that arises from our own undisciplined human nature. It is inconceivable, but true nevertheless, that saints are not "bringing every thought [and project] into captivity," but are simply doing work for God that has been instigated by their own human nature, and has not been made spiritual through determined discipline.

We have a tendency to forget that a person is not only committed to Jesus Christ for salvation, but is also committed, responsible, and accountable to Jesus Christ’s view of God, the world, and of sin and the devil. This means that each person must recognize the responsibility to "be transformed by the renewing of [his] mind. . . ." (Romans 12:2 ).

my utmost for His highest

Comforted To Comfort

READ: 2 Corinthians 1:3-11

[God] comforts us . . . that we may be able to comfort [others] with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. —2 Corinthians 1:4

While speaking to a group of Christian athletes, I asked them how they normally responded to hardships. Their responses included fear, anger, self-pity, aggression, despair, abusive behavior, apathy, and turning to God. I encouraged them to trust that God would comfort them and then use them to comfort others.

Just as I encouraged those athletes, Paul encouraged a group of believers in a town called Corinth. He reminded them that afflictions were inevitable for the follower of Jesus. Many were being persecuted, imprisoned, and oppressed—all because of their relationship with Jesus. Paul wanted the Corinthians to know that in the midst of their trouble God was their source of help. He would come to their side and help them to have godly responses. Then Paul gave one of the reasons God allowed suffering and brought divine comfort—so that the Corinthians might have the empathy to enter into other people’s sorrow and comfort them (2 Cor. 1:4).

When we suffer, let us remember that God will bring comfort to us through His Word, by the Holy Spirit, and through fellow believers. God does not comfort us so that we’ll be comfortable; we are comforted by God so that we might be comforters. — Marvin Williams

When you receive God’s comfort,

Be sure to pass it on,

Then give to God the glory

From whom the comfort’s drawn. —Hess

When God permits trials, He also provides comfort.

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Unanswered Prayers

READ: Luke 7:1-10
[Jesus said], “I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!”
—Luke 7:9

An explanation we often hear for “unanswered” prayers is that we don’t have enough faith. But Jesus said in Luke 17:6 that if we have faith the size of a mustard seed, we can command a mulberry tree to be uprooted and planted in the sea and it will obey us. In other words, the effectiveness of our prayers depends not on how much faith we have but on whether we even have faith.

Luke tells of a Roman centurion with “great faith” (7:9). His faith was expressed first as an appeal to Jesus to heal his dying servant. Then it was expressed as an acknowledgment that Jesus could heal his servant anytime, anywhere. The centurion did not ask Jesus to do things his way.

Faith has been described as “trusting God’s heart and trusting God’s power.” Some prayers that seem to go unanswered are simply instances in which God has lovingly overruled our wishes. He knows that what we have asked for is not best. Or it may be that our timing is not His timing, or He has some far greater purpose in mind. Let us remember, even Jesus prayed to His heavenly Father, “Nevertheless not My will, but Yours” (Luke 22:42).

Do we have the centurion’s great faith—a faith that trusts God to do His work, in His way? — C. P. Hia

Unanswered prayers are answered still

As part of God’s great master plan;

They help to carry out His will

To demonstrate God’s love for man. —D. De Haan

God’s answers are wiser than our prayers.

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70 and beyond
By Rev. Arnel Tan

“Seventy years are given to us! Some may even reach eighty. But even the best of these years are filled with pain and trouble; soon they disappear, and we are gone.”
- Psalm 90:10 NLT

To the young ones, being 70 is something far down the lane of life. In fact just the thought of growing old seems not to sink in while energy is oozing and the body’s adrenaline’s supply is abundant. While those who have reached the border of 70 years or have somehow crossed over it think how unbelievable it is to be in this stage! Both extremes are facts and reality of living. I think the real issue is how are we going to live life at 70 or beyond for God’s glory?

Living for God’s glory does not exempt us from the realities that everyone else faces. Wrinkles and other attachments related to growing old are non negotiable realities all of us must face ( if we reach 70). Whether you are on your way to the 70th year or you have just arrived we must live it for God’s glory facing all the things attached therein. I think it should start with a balanced perspective of life. Life in itself is not an unending bliss. It’s both beautiful and painful to be alive. Here we face the interruptions of common colds or flu and the force reflections cancer obliges us. There’s both beauty and pain in what the Moses describe in his psalm.

The beauty of being alive at 70 is to see and review what has become of your life and the possible legacy you will leave. Being alive at 70 and beyond is high maintenance, as the Psalmist says “these years are filled with pain and trouble” brief statement and yet loaded with undeniable and unrelenting realities of growing old. From rheumatism to fatalism, from head ache and muscle ache to heart ache every 70 year old will face. How then shall these final chapter be well lived? I take comfort on what someone says that what is important in life is not how you begin but how you end.

You can only end well when all is well in your relationship with the Lord. While pain and trouble are hard and harsh fact of growing old, those who trust in the Lord Jesus Christ will face these storms with Christ. They face the fading years awaiting a blazing hope of a new beginning. They face life not with self propelled optimism but with solid faith in Christ. It pays to grow old in Jesus, for those who have not trusted Christ just grow old without a smile. Next is acceptance that this is God’s design, that God in grace found us and it is the same gracious Lord who will see us through. Don’t allow anger or bitterness or revenge mar the last pages of your life.. Learn to let go and see the younger generation enjoy their turn. At 70 be a blessing, where God’s grace flow abundantly through you, let your words be seasoned with grace and your attitude be unpretentiously nice. And when the final chord is broken, you will smile and say “I lived well for God’s glory,” let grace lead you home to the land where no one ever grow old. Gracious elderly folks will be greatly missed while grumpy ones will just fade and decay.

His!

They were Yours, You gave them to Me . . . —John 17:6

A missionary is someone in whom the Holy Spirit has brought about this realization: "You are not your own" ( 1 Corinthians 6:19 ). To say, "I am not my own," is to have reached a high point in my spiritual stature. The true nature of that life in actual everyday confusion is evidenced by the deliberate giving up of myself to another Person through a sovereign decision, and that Person is Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit interprets and explains the nature of Jesus to me to make me one with my Lord, not that I might simply become a trophy for His showcase. Our Lord never sent any of His disciples out on the basis of what He had done for them. It was not until after the resurrection, when the disciples had perceived through the power of the Holy Spirit who Jesus really was, that He said, "Go" (Matthew 28:19; also see Luke 24:49 and Acts 1:8 ).

"If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple" ( Luke 14:26 ). He was not saying that this person cannot be good and upright, but that he cannot be someone over whom Jesus can write the word Mine. Any one of the relationships our Lord mentions in this verse can compete with our relationship with Him. I may prefer to belong to my mother, or to my wife, or to myself, but if that is the case, then, Jesus said, "[You] cannot be My disciple." This does not mean that I will not be saved, but it does mean that I cannot be entirely His.

Our Lord makes His disciple His very own possession, becoming responsible for him. ". . . you shall be witnesses to Me . . ." ( Acts 1:8 ). The desire that comes into a disciple is not one of doing anything for Jesus, but of being a perfect delight to Him. The missionary’s secret is truly being able to say, "I am His, and He is accomplishing His work and His purposes through me."
Be entirely His!

my utmost for His highest

Journeys

READ: Philippians 1:8-18

I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel. —Philippians 1:12

On a map in the back of my Bible, each of Paul’s missionary journeys is shown by a colored line with arrows indicating his direction of travel. On the first three, the arrows lead away from his place of departure and back to a point of return. On the fourth journey, however, Paul was traveling as a prisoner, bound for trial before Caesar, and the arrows point only one direction, ending in Rome.

We might be tempted to call this an unfortunate time in Paul’s life, if it were not for his view that God was leading and using him just as much on this journey as He did on the previous three.

He wrote: “I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel, so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my chains are in Christ; and most of the brethren in the Lord, having become confident by my chains, are much more bold to speak the Word without fear” (Phil. 1:12-14).

Even when our journey in life is marked by confinement and limitations, we can be sure that the Lord will encourage others through us as we speak His Word and trust in Him. — David C. McCasland

The journeys that we take in life,

Though unexpected they may be,

If we commit to follow Christ,

His work through us the world will see. —Sper

For the Christian, what looks like a detour may actually be a new road to blessing.

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Patience In Prison

[God] Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” —Hebrews 13:5

Have you ever noticed that other people’s forgetfulness can try your patience? As a college professor, I find my patience stretched when a student forgets to do an assignment that’s clearly spelled out in the syllabus.

In the Old Testament story of Joseph, we see a far worse example of forgetfulness—and we can only imagine how he struggled to be patient as a result.

While in prison, Joseph interpreted a dream of the king’s butler, which led to the man’s release. Joseph told him, “Remember me when it is well with you, and please show kindness to me; make mention of me to Pharaoh, and get me out of this house” (Gen. 40:14). It would seem that after Joseph had helped the butler gain freedom, remembering him would have been high on his “to do” list. But it was 2 years before the butler spoke to Pharaoh about Joseph (41:9). Finally, Joseph was freed.

Imagine the impatience Joseph felt as he waited each day in that dungeon (40:15)—perhaps thinking his only chance at freedom had passed. Yet Joseph had a resource: He had God’s presence (39:21), as do we (Heb. 13:5). When you’re feeling impatient, lean on the God who is always with you. He’ll turn your impatience into patient trust. — Dave Branon

Tune your anxious heart to patience,
Walk by faith where sight is dim;
Loving God, be calm and trustful
And leave everything to Him. —Chambers

Patience means awaiting God’s time without doubting God’s love.

our daily bread

Running A Marathon

I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. —Philippians 3:14

The Comrades Marathon, which began in 1921, is the oldest ultra-marathon. Covering 90 km (56 miles), it is held annually in South Africa. Bruce Fordyce completely dominated this marathon in the 1980s, winning it nine times between 1981 and 1990. His 1986 record of 5 hours 24 minutes and 7 seconds stood for 21 years before it was finally broken in 2007. It’s amazing to me that he has continued to run in this race every year.

In a sense, we as Christians are all in a marathon. It takes endurance to run and finish the race of life. When the apostle Paul wrote his letter to the Philippians, he spoke of how he was “reaching forward to those things which are ahead” (3:13) and pressing on “toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (v.14).

Our Lord Jesus has set an example of how to run life’s marathon. The Bible tells us that Jesus “for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Heb. 12:2). Despite “hostility from sinners,” He completed His race (v.3).

The secret to finishing well is to look forward to the joy that awaits us after life’s race—eternal life with Him. — C. P. Hia

I ran to meet Him when I heard His call—

The Savior’s arms were open to receive;

And I’m still running since I gave my all,

Inviting others also to believe. —Hess

The Christian’s race is not a competitive event but an endurance run.

our daily bread

Reminders Of Love

God is love. —1 John 4:8

After the US entered World War II in 1941, Estelle tried to talk her boyfriend Sidney out of joining the Army. But he enlisted and began his training in April of the following year. For the next 3 years he wrote her love letters—525 in all. Then in March 1945, she learned that her beloved fiancé had been killed in combat.
Although Estelle did eventually marry, the memories of her first love lived in her heart. To honor that love, she published a book of Sidney’s wartime correspondence more than 60 years later.

Like those letters, the Lord has left us with reminders of His love—the Scriptures. He says: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you” (Jer. 31:3).

“As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love” (John 15:9).

The Bible also tells us that “Christ . . . loved the church and gave Himself for her” (Eph. 5:25).

“[Jesus] gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us” (Titus 2:14).

“God is love” (1 John 4:8).

Read God’s Word often and be reminded that Jesus loves you and died for you. — Anne Cetas

With lovingkindness I have drawn you,

Proving that My love is true;

Do not neglect to read of that love,

Written in My Word for you. —Verway

Nothing can compare to the love of God.

our daily bread