June 26 – When The End Is Not That

“As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, And at the last He will take His stand on the earth. Even after my skin is destroyed, Yet from my flesh I shall see God.” – Job 19:25-26 (NASB)

Yes, we are focusing a bit on suffering these past three days. But we should not be surprised to know that suffering for Christ’s sake is promised each believer. Our portion will be according to the will of God. Job suffered for God to a degree none of us could imagine. In Job 2:7 we read that Satan “smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head.” Yet in the circumstance of his skin peeling off and turning black from decay, Job held on fast that he would see God in his flesh – that means after his death he believed in his resurrection by God. He believed that God who was allowing him to suffer so severely was also his Redeemer God. Eventually He will rule all taking His stand on the earth. The scripture we have received from God is His inspired word and is perfect. Nothing that ever happens to God’s family of faith believers will last even if it brings death. When hope for life is no more, we have confidence that God will resurrect our bodies and conform them to perfection as His body is perfect.  

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January 12 – No Fear!

“Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.” – Hebrews 2:14-15 (ESV)

What do we fear the most in our lives? There is no need because there really is for us a state of NO Fear!  However most people have a certain level of fear of death. Maybe for no other reason than the fact that we don’t know exactly what’s next. We who by faith believe because of the gift of God can rest with assurance that God will fulfill the promises regarding our life with Him after we die. But that doesn’t always come without questions and even doubts. For the believer, “death is swallowed up in victory,” (1 Corinthians 15:54). What Jesus Christ did as the Founder of Salvation, was to bring an end to the fear of death and its spiritual bondage. That’s a promise we can trust and which can change our lives. This is the ultimate purpose of the incarnation: Jesus came to earth to die. By dying, He was able to conquer death in His resurrection (John 14:19). By conquering death, He rendered Satan powerless against all who are saved. Are you saved by grace through faith that God has given to you? Your death holds no mysteries that cause you to fear.

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December 13 – Grace and Truth

“And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14 (NASB)

The signs of Christmas are all around us. We've seen the lights for some time and are now hearing the music of Christmas.  The true meaning of this celebration is found in today's verse from the first chapter of the Gospel of John. While Christ as God was uncreated and eternal, the word “became” emphasizes Christ’s taking on humanity. This is a most profound promise that the Infinite became finite; the Eternal was conformed to time and space; the Invisible became visible; the supernatural One humbled Himself  and became natural. But God the Son did not cease to be God. He became God in human flesh, and was undiminished deity in human form as a man. As a disciple who knew and walked with Jesus, John says that they got to see His glory. The glory the disciples saw was in His person because He was God in human form. John and those who saw Jesus when He was here on earth understood the event that we celebrate at Christmas.  This Christmas season, remember the promise that Jesus is with us today and we can see His glory each day because He lives in us.  

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May 23 – Really, None at All

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” – Romans 8:1  (ESV) 

It’s a common struggle for Christian faith believers. We are still staggering under the weight of temptations and continue to give in to them even when we don’t want to. The Apostle Paul explains in the previous chapter of Romans 7, how we all face the ongoing problem of overcoming the pull of our old nature. It is our sinful flesh, often with enticements of our body’s desires, that we seek to satisfy. We learn from the larger context that while we are no longer slaves to the flesh we must continue to wage a war against the desires of the flesh. We want to serve God and obey his commandments but we still have the flesh drawing us away from that good work. Today’s verse gives us a promise that should lift our spirits when we are in this battle. Because of Christ Jesus, we are forgiven and we are not under any guilt or condemnation. This may be a difficult truth to understand – it seems to not make reasonable sense but that is the greatness of this promise. No matter how we reason, God says there is no condemnation for us who dwell in Christ Jesus. 

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June 12 – Freedom to Serve Each Other

“For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.”  - Galatians 5:13 (NASB)

It is often the case the context of our verses of promise often bear greatly on our understanding.  This verse comes within the contest that the Apostle Paul was correcting a false teaching in the churches of Galatia.  Some false teachers were saying new believers needed to become Jews and follow the Jewish tradition of the Law and be circumcised.  In verse 5:1 Paul states that was no longer necessary because Christ has set us free from such a yoke. Believers were free from these obligations that once were required of the people of Israel – the Jewish nation.  Instead freedom was what Christians were called to.  This was and is a promise that legalism is a thing of the past.  Paul then cautions the Galatians to be certain that their freedom was not abused by taking advantage and using it to fulfill lustful desires.  The promise of freedom, that we all have been given in Christ, is given so that we can, through love, serve one another.  This may be very pertinent for our present situation as many have the need of help. So, let’s serve one another in our freedom for God’s honor and glory. 

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March 7 – Whatever Comes

“Ah Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! Nothing is too difficult for You,”  - Jeremiah 32:17 (NASB)
“Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh; is anything too difficult for Me?”  - Jeremiah 32:27 (NASB)

We find the context of our verses today to be the time God has pronounced the ruin of Judah and Jerusalem through Jeremiah.  His prophet Jeremiah was called to proclaim God’s judgment on His people.  This is a stark example of the sovereignty of God.  If God chooses and for His purpose in our lives, He may allow wicked and evil forces (this time Nebuchadnezzar) to come against us.  As His children we are not spared discipline from His hand.  Our promise is in both verses.  Nothing is too difficult for God.  Whatever needs to be done, whatever God has called us to endure and whatever instructions and commands He has given to us, can be carried out.  We may see it as an impossible task to bear up under but God is always with us even in the times He is disciplining us.  God also promises, “They shall be My people, and I will be their God;” (Jeremiah 32:38).  “Just as I brought all this great disaster on this people, so I am going to bring on them all the good that I am promising them.” ;” (Jeremiah 32:42)

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January 9 – Hearts of Stone – Hearts of Flesh

“And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.”  - Ezekiel 36:26  (ESV)

We recognize that the prophet Ezekiel was delivering God’s word to His people and the promise was what God was going to do in the future. For us it is a promise of what God does in us today when we accept the gift Jesus Christ has for us.  The gift of eternal life results in changing the hearts of all who choose to believe by faith in God.  One day as Jesus entered Jericho, He captured the attention of Jericho’s Chief Tax Collector.  Zaccheus, a powerful and wealthy man had enriched himself by cheating others as he collected taxes.  That was the graft practiced by corrupt tax collectors. So, they were despised by all the people. Zaccheus was also a short man who needed to climb a tree to see Jesus over the crowds and from above.  Jesus called him out of the tree and Zaccheus came to believe.  He received a new heart and spirit from Jesus that day.  It changed Zaccheus’  life, just as God promises to change our lives when we believe.  Let's be thankful for the new heart God has given to us when we accept Him as our Lord and Savior. 

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July 30 – Filled With Life and Peace

“For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.  For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.”   Romans 8:5-6 (ESV)

Our promise today is one that gives great comfort in our world full of distractions and attractions to things from our natural nature – our flesh.   We have the choice each day to follow the leading of God's Holy Spirit who lives in each person that has accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.  Or, we can choose to follow the things that our old human nature finds attractive.  If we fill our thought with desires out of our human nature, or our flesh, then our mind will be filled and thinking about those things.  If we fill our thoughts with desires out of what God's Spirit desires, that is what we will be thinking about.  The promise here is that if our minds are filled with natural desires of our flesh, the result is death.  But if our minds are filled with desires from the Holy Spirit, the result is life and peace.  With God's help and because we are in His family, let's fill our mind with thoughts and desires which please God. 

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June 13 – Completed For Us

“I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”  Galatians 2:20  (NASB)

When the Apostle Paul wrote these words of testimony in his letter to the faithful believers and Christ followers in the cities of Asia Minor, he was teaching them and us what our faith in Jesus means.  Believing and accepting what Jesus Christ did when he died on the cross and rose from the grave means that Christ's sacrificial action was on our behalf and is therefore counted to us as well.  Christ's crucifixion has effectively become ours and we do not face that death because Christ faced it for us and credited it to our account.  We too have been crucified with Christ – this is a promise we can cling to.  So now just as that was by faith in Christ, we now live in our mortal bodies by faith because Christ is living in us.  All these promises are true and have become real because Jesus, the Son of God sacrificed Himself for each of us who believe and receive the gift of eternal life.    

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June 2 – Press On

“My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”  Psalm 73:26 (NIV)

This is the testimony of Asaph, the writer of this psalm.  He is expressing the promise that God's strength is his forever even in the face of extreme conditions.  This can also be our testimony as much as it was Asaph's testimony.  We will and we do face times in our life as Christians when we feel weak and we feel like giving up.  Our heart is no longer in the work we have been given and we are tired.  Some may call it 'reaching burnout' but our promise is that even in those times, we have from God the strength to we need to and we can take heart again.  And it is ours forever, as much as we need.  Reading the words in the previous verse is the affirmation we can declare, just as Asaph did.  “Whom have I in heaven but You? And besides You, I desire nothing on earth.”  Today, lets remember this promise and if we are on the verge of tossing it all in because of fatigue and/or discouragement, God has promised us the strength to press on.  Press On in His strength. 

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March 28 – Whom Have We But God?

“My flesh and my heart may fail, But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”   Psalm 73:26 (NASB)

The verse we have selected was written by Asaph* and it is a remarkably honest in its words regarding our tendency to falter in our walk with God in this life.  It is true that living a Christian life is not an easy path.  But God is our path-maker and our guide.  In this verse the psalmist reminds us how the Lord was with him helping him through his life.  We believe that our Lord is also with us helping us in our Christian life.  We can recognize and admit as this psalmist does that there are times when things around us seem to be too much for us to handle.  Our troubles and failures cause us to question how we might make it through the day.  Those are the times we need to remember that our God has promised to be with us to help us and to strengthen our hearts.  As we put our trust in the Lord at times like this He will always be faithful.  We may fail but He never will for God will bring us all the way through.  We too can praise God for He is indeed the strength of our heart and He is all we ever need.  

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* Asaph the Psalmist

February 27 – Not Us But Him

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”  Galatians 2:20  (ESV)

In these words the Apostle Paul gave his testimony as to how he was living the Christian life.  We have selected this passage today because the words remind us of important principles in our Christian lives too.  We are not living our Christian lives by ourselves or by our own effort.  When we accept Jesus as our Savior He comes to live with us.  So then, we keep on living by faith in Him and as we trust in Him each day, He guides us in the decisions which we have to make.  Why is this worth it?  Because the Son of God, Jesus, loved us enough to give His life for each of us.   He also helps us to overcome problems and to bring glory to Him in our testimony to others.  Today and everyday these promises are for us and our Christian life is by faith in our Savior every day.  

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August 22 – Living By New Life

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”  Galatians 2:20 (ESV)

When we accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior, God gave us a new life.  This is what the Apostle Paul was writing about to the Christians in Galatia in this letter.  This is his testimony and it is ours as well if we have believed in Jesus.  Because, when we do believe, at that moment, God gives us a new life.  We still live in the bodies we have, eating, drinking sleeping and working as we did before, but there is a wonderful new element in our living.  We now have a spiritual life and relationship with God which we maintain by faith.  This new life we live by faith believing in Jesus.  He died for us to give us eternal life.  We trust in His love to take care of all our needs while we're living still here on earth.  And He promises to be working in us to prepare us to live with Him forever in Heaven.  Today, we can each renew our faith and trust that God will always be with us and will fulfill this promise.  

Note: If you have found hope and encouragement in these daily blogs, please share them with your friends.  

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December 17

“Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.” Hebrews 2:14-15 (NIV)

Behind all the interesting stories of the coming of Jesus as a babe in Bethlehem is a very important truth. It was all a part of God’s plan to reach out to us in our need. That baby born in Bethlehem was the Son of God taking human form to set us free from the fear of death. Now we can think of the death of our bodies as opening the gate for us in a glorious future – an unending future. And this is true because Jesus lived as a human being and died as a human being and he was raised in his transformed body to a new life. And this process was set in motion by the virgin birth of Jesus!