Devotions

In considering the issue of increasing our passion for Christ, we must look at Christ’s teaching on humility. “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Matthew 23:12). Jesus has just called out the Pharisees for their proud behavior (23:5-7). They know the Scriptures and can interpret the Word to the masses, but their own lives do not measure up.

If we are honest before God, even the most diligent among us would have to admit to related sins. For instance, man loves recognition. When Jesus chided the Pharisees, he was saying, “You crave the spotlight. You want the prominent seats at public meetings and love to be recognized on the streets.” They were proud and self-exalting, totally lacking in humility.

At its core, humility is total dependence on the Lord. The word “dependence” means “trust for all things, in all things.” Genuine trust does not stop at saying, “I’m weak,” but also declares, “He is strong.” And such dependent trust requires humility.

Jesus is our example of humility. The Lord who created all things and for whom all things were made was wholly dependent on his Father. He stated again and again, “I do nothing of Myself . . . for I always do those things that please Him” (John 8:28-29).

If you truly want a passion for Jesus, ask the Holy Spirit to go deep into your heart and convict you of any desire for self-exaltation. Jesus says, “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Matthew 23:12).  

We all love to hear sermons and read books about God’s blessings. It is true that God has a giving nature and we can draw help from learning more about it. But our walk with Christ must move us from a “getting” life to a “giving” life. Jesus empowers this transition in us by replacing our worldly spirit with his own godly Spirit. He tells us, “You have been blessed and now you are meant to give those blessings to others.”

This is a glorious theology — but it may be the hardest transition you will ever make. A getting life is easy; a giving life is difficult — but so rewarding. Remember, Jesus blessed; Jesus broke; Jesus gave away. Often this process breaks down in us after the first step — we don’t get past the blessing part. We don’t allow our lives to be broken before God, so we never make it to the last step — giving. Therefore, many never see the complete fulfillment of God’s purpose in them.

During Christ’s ministry, he performed many acts of giving but the crowds stopped following him when he began preaching difficult truths. Even some of his disciples turned back and Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you also want to go away?” (John 6:67). But Peter quickly answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (6:68).

You see, when Jesus went from giving to requiring something of them, the disciples were forced to make a choice. Would they follow Jesus or would they fall back into their old life where they chose their own agenda?

The agenda Jesus left with Peter was a command: “Feed my sheep.” In fact, he said it three times (see John 21:16-17). He was saying, “Peter, my people need help, so tend to them. Feed them. Give your life for them.”

Jesus was commissioning Peter to a giving life and he does the very same for us.  

We see a glorious picture of grace in God’s intervention in Sodom when he literally grabbed Lot and his family and pulled them out of the city. “While he lingered, the men took hold of his hand, his wife’s hand, and the hands of his two daughters, the Lord being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city” (Genesis 19:16).

As Lot lingered on the brink of destruction, with no strength or will to deliver himself, God hand-led this confused, deluded, sin-bound man to safety. He was telling Lot, in essence, “I love you and I’m not going to let you die in this outpouring of judgement. You’re a righteous man, Lot, and I have warned you. Now come!”

“For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly” (Romans 5:6). The literal meaning of “without strength” here is “without an ability or will.” God says he is willing to act for us because we have nothing to give.

The Lord had one more directive for Lot: “Escape for your life! Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains, lest you be destroyed” (Genesis 19:17). The mountain here represents God’s presence, a place alone with him. We see this image repeated throughout scripture. On a mountain Moses was touched by God’s glory; Jesus sought his Father in prayer; Christ was transfigured before his disciples.

“Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in His holy mountain” (Psalm 48:1).

“Let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, and we shall walk in His paths” (Isaiah 2:3).

When God delivers you by faith in his promises, run straight to the mountain of his holiness — his presence.

Suppose a boxing trainer took his fighter to an isolated training camp and spent an entire session psyching him up for the big fight.

“Don’t worry! I’ll be right here with you all the time. And here’s a list of great boxers from the past. Just study their every move and you won’t have to go through the hard workouts yourself. You’re a winner and if you follow my directions and memorize the diagrams I’ve made for you, you can step into the ring with anyone and defeat him!”

How foolish does that sound? What kind of trainer would do such a thing? But many Christians who call themselves warriors have never been tested or trained. The sad truth is, they have never been in battle and they are not prepared to fight.

Why are so many true believers going through such hard times? God knows that Satan is going to be loosed on the earth for his last hour of warfare. And the Lord is going to need well-trained warriors who will prevail over all the powers of hell.

These deeply tested saints are becoming the captains of his last-days army. The kind of training they need calls for spiritual discipline, but also for physical discipline. Jacob threw his whole body into the battle — all his human ability. A fighting spirit had risen up in him and scripture says, “In his strength he struggled with God” (Hosea 12:3).

This verse of scripture has great meaning for all who want to prevail in prayer. It says that Jacob won the battle “in his strength” as he struggled! Dear saint, if you are going to prevail in these last days, you are going to have to put all your strength into the battle. God wants to raise up a people who are consumed with being used by him to help others. 

“He who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son” (1 John 5:10).

Consider all the ugly sins listed against Israel in the wilderness — murmuring, complaining, idolatry, ungratefulness, rebellion, sensuality. Yet not one of these provoked God’s wrath like their unbelief. “Then the Lord said to Moses: ‘How long will these people reject Me? And how long will they not believe Me, with all the signs which I have performed among them?” (Numbers 14:11).

God was saying, “These people make a lie out of everything I’ve done for them. I have performed miracle after miracle and delivered them time after time. When will they ever just trust and rest in me?”

Stop for a moment and think about all the things God has done for you: He has kept you, answered prayers, met you in one crisis after another. He has brought you through trials, done things for you that are nothing short of miraculous.

For thirty-eight long years Israel forgot God’s Word and dismissed his miracles. And because they fell back so often into murmuring and unbelief, God said, “I will strike them with the pestilence and disinherit them” (14:12). He said to Moses, “I am very displeased with my people because they will never come to the place where they trust me.”

When Israel was on the victorious side of Jordan, Moses made a solemn declaration, “Look, the Lord your God has set the land before you so go up and possess it. Don’t be afraid, for the Lord goes before you and he will fight for you!” (see Deuteronomy 1:21, 29-30).

“Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). Launch out in full faith on the written Word of God. Take up the Lord’s challenge to live and die by his Word.