Devotions

Occasionally I awaken in the middle of the night with a free-floating anxiety. The “accuser of the brethren” whispers, “You’re no good; you’re worthless, a burden to others. Look at your history, how many times you’ve messed up.” Satan loves to torment Christians but when Jesus came, he declared, “That ends right now!” Then he adds an amazing reassurance: “Don’t think that I will ever accuse you to the Father” (John 5:45).

As God’s people, we sometimes can actually accuse ourselves. Paul says, “They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts . . . and their conflicting thoughts accuse . . . them” (Romans 2:15).  Who is Paul talking to here? It is the Christian who is still trying to live out vestiges of the Old Covenant by striving to please God on his own. This Christian tells himself, “I’ve done well in the Lord all week so there’s no reason I can’t put together another week like this one.”

Others may accuse us, as happened in the case of the adulterous woman when the religious leaders brought her to Jesus and demanded that he accuse her, too. But how did Jesus answer her — and his own — accusers? “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her” (John 8:7). Jesus turned the spotlight where it belonged: on their own sin. And one by one they went away (see 8:9).

Voices may scream in our ears but when they do, we will hear another voice above them all: “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me” (John 10:27).

Be still and hear the voice of the Holy Spirit saying, “Jesus has set you free.” May God help you to build on the firm foundation that is based on the glorious love of Jesus — and rejoice in his wonderful grace! 

When babies are born, the hospital staff immediately checks for certain vital signs. Good breathing, a robust cry, adequate weight are all indicators of a newborn’s strong physical health. Likewise, spiritual vital signs can tell us how healthy we are. And the most vital sign of all is love.

When we become born-again believers in Jesus Christ, we receive a new heart and spirit. This is nothing less than the Spirit of Christ dwelling in us. Without Him, there is no true Christian experience. “If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ” (Romans 8:9).

Since the Holy Spirit in us is God, and since God is love, then the essence of the one dwelling within us is divine love. No wonder Jesus said, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:35).

When the apostle Paul wrote to the church in Colosse, he told them how he thanked God when he learned of “the love you have for all God’s people” (Colossians 1:4). Notice the spiritual health of that congregation. It wasn’t measured in attendance figures or magnificent buildings but in what really counts before God — love. And not just love for some people who were easily lovable or with the same ethnic background. No, he rejoiced in their reputation for loving all the people of God.

Too often, if people are “different” — meaning not our color or ethnicity, or not a part or our congregation or denomination — their plight in life rarely touches our hearts. God sent Jesus into a world that was as different or “other” to His holy nature as one could imagine. His Holy Spirit enables us to “be imitators of God . . . and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God” (Ephesians 5:1-2, emphasis added).

Jim Cymbala began the Brooklyn Tabernacle with less than twenty members in a small, rundown building in a difficult part of the city. A native of Brooklyn, he is a longtime friend of both David and Gary Wilkerson.  

Many Christians measure their spiritual lives by the way they feel and they are convinced they are not growing spiritually. They regularly attend church, hear God’s Word preached, read their Bibles, and diligently pray. But they feel that they’re not making much progress. One saint told me, “I used to weep easily before the Lord but now I’m not as tenderhearted as I once was. I’m simply not growing.”

The apostle Paul likens our spiritual growth to the growth of our bodies. He says our souls are nourished in the same way we are physically: “The Head, from whom all the body, nourished and knit together by joints and ligaments, grows with the increase that is from God” (Colossians 2:19).

Simply put, as you trust and abide in Christ (the Head), a never-ending measure of his life is pumped into your soul. Jesus is a constant life-force in your being, a living stream that never shuts down. Therefore, his life is constantly flowing into you, even when you are sleeping. He provides a fresh supply of his life to you every day, no matter how you feel on the outside.

Jesus is the bread sent to us from heaven to build up our spiritual immune system against sin of all kind. We may not see outward signs of this (just as we do not see our physical body’s immune system growing stronger). But God’s Word promises that all who love Jesus will grow stronger in their spiritual immunity.

Think about it. At times you will be tempted, but over the years you have found a growing power to resist the world’s seductions. You may think your growth is fixed, with no forward motion. But God has given us this covenant promise: “Those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God” (Psalm 92:13).  So be encouraged — you are growing! 

The apostle Paul assured the Thessalonians that they had learned how to walk pleasing before the Lord. “You received from us how you ought to walk and to please God” (1Thessalonians 4:1). Paul had begun with this exhortation: “That you should abound more and more” (same verse).

To abound means to increase. Paul was saying, “You’ve been sitting under sound gospel preaching so you have a solid foundation beneath you. Therefore, you ought to be increasing in grace in all things — in your faith, your knowledge, your love.”

Paul also spoke of such abounding to the Corinthians: “As you abound in everything — in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all diligence, and in your love for us — see that you abound in this grace also” (2 Corinthians 8:7). In other words, “God’s Spirit has wrought major changes in your life. Therefore, you ought to be giving more of yourself in all ways — in your time, your finances, your talents.”

These passages make it clear that everyone who has been fed God’s Word is expected to grow in grace. God has endowed gifts to pastors, teachers, prophets, evangelists for the express purpose of causing his church to grow. And we, as believers, are expected to increase in knowledge and grow in him so that we are not carried away by any false things.

Jesus himself speaks of a constant increase in our lives: “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10). Proverbs echoes this: “The path of the just is like the shining sun, that shines ever brighter unto the perfect day” (Proverbs 4:18). And even Job declares, “The righteous will hold to his way, and he who has clean hands will be stronger and stronger” (Job 17:9).

The promises of God are yours today! He wants you to have a constant increase of faith, hope, love and giving in your life. 

God’s secret to spiritual strength is found in Isaiah 30:15: “In returning [to Me] and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and confidence shall be your strength.”

The word for quietness in Hebrew means repose — calm, relaxed, free from all anxiety. Not many Christians today have the kind of tranquility and serenity described here. Multitudes of believers are involved in a frenzy of activity, rushing madly to obtain position, wealth, possessions, pleasure. Even many in the ministry dash about worrying, fearing, looking for answers in conferences, seminars, best-selling books. Everyone seems to want solutions, direction, something to calm their spirit, yet they seek it in every source except the Lord. But God has already spoken a word for them through Isaiah, and if they don’t turn to him as their source, their striving will end in sorrow and confusion.

The apostle Peter speaks of the adornment of “a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God” (1 Peter 3:4). Such a spirit has nothing to do with temperament or personality; after all, some people are naturally inclined to be calm and shy while others are just the opposite. No, the quiet spirit Peter refers to can only be implanted in us by the Holy Spirit. And the good news is that he gives it to everyone who fully trusts in the Lord.

Is your house a relaxed, peaceful abode or it is a place of doubt, anxiety and restlessness? When trouble comes, do you seek God diligently before any other source? This process of trusting him first in all things is not easy but is to be encouraged! Our Lord says, “You have trusted me with your salvation and now I want you to trust me with everything in your life — your health, your family, your future. Give it all to me!” Go to your secret closet and get alone with him and he will meet your every need . . . and more!