Thoughts from the Diary of a Desperate Man: A Daily Devotional

by Walter A. Henrichsen

yes!

wife?

My precious Joy!!

When you ask for forgiveness or mercy, you acknowledge guilt; people only need forgiveness when they have done wrong. The believer approaches the tribunal of God freely acknowledging his guilt, pleading His mercy on the merit of Christ’s substitutionary death. God’s willingness to forgive the sinner by satisfying justice through the death of Christ is the ground of salvation. The Cross answers the question, “How can a just God forgive sin?”

Succinct. Clear.

You will carry into eternity the product of your investment in this life. Life is too short and the stakes too high to live mediocre lives.

Sobering truth.

Do not confuse discipline and mercy. When you discipline a person and it is suggested that you show mercy, someone is not thinking biblically. The objective of mercy is withholding justice. The objective of discipline is correction, not justice. Justice is the objective of punishment. Godly behavior is the objective of correction.

wise!

Men crave both autonomy and affirmation.

So true of us. Lord, help us/ME to trust You!

FEBRUARY 3 Day 34 Eternal Accountability “If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.” I Corinthians 3:15 Many passages of Scripture teach that there is eternal accountability for temporal behavior, but possibly none quite as poignantly as I Corinthians 3. In verses 10-15 we learn that the servant of Christ must invest his life in concert with the Foundation laid by God, and that he will be judged by God on the kind of investment he makes. You are in the construction business and you can bring to the job two kinds of materials, symbolized by “wood, hay and straw,” and “silver, gold and precious stones.” The former, according to the Apostle Paul, represents the wisdom of the world, and the latter the wisdom of God. You invest in your own life as well as the lives of others. Upon death you are ushered into God’s presence where He lays your investment upon a conveyor belt which passes through a furnace. On the other side the two of you discuss the results. If you have refined “gold, silver and precious stones,” great is your reward. If your “wood, hay and straw” burns, so that all you have is a small pile of ash, you will “suffer loss, but… shall be saved; yet so as by fire.” This loss you carry with you into eternity. Life is too short and the stakes too high for you to invest with “wood, hay and straw.” God gave you your days upon earth to prepare you for an eternity with Him. You may not have a great deal to sa...

No one will go to heaven glad that they sinned, but they will be glad they obeyed.

Wow! This makes perfect sense.

Following Jesus has always been hard. After delivering His discourse on the bread of life, “many of His disciples went back, and walked no more with Him.”1 Turning to the twelve disciples, Jesus said, “Will ye also go away?”2 The door to discipleship opens both ways. Jesus will hold the door open for you to enter, or to exit. God did not design the life of discipleship so you can do Him a favor. Rather He did it as a favor to you. The day you no longer see discipleship as God doing you a favor, you should exit.

For my CBMC friends here and around the world. A good reminder .

You can know that you are judging illegitimately when your standard rests outside of Scripture, such as judging motives. Clearly, judging the motives of another places you outside the parameters of legitimate judging.

Important reminder for me.... and you?

FEBRUARY 11 Day 42 The Sacrifice of Praise “By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name” Hebrews 13:15 What do you give to someone who has everything? What do you offer to God who has no need? The Psalmist addresses this question: God says that He owns all. “If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world is Mine and the fullness thereof.”1 Although He has no needs, He does say that there exits one thing He desires. “Offer unto God thanksgiving.” He delights in the “sacrifice of praise.” Thanksgiving becomes a sacrifice when, in the midst of your hurts and disappointments, you affirm His goodness. You delight the heart of God when you don’t feel grateful and yet thank Him. People and circumstances cause pain when they impact you in ways contrary to your expectations. Life is full of such hurts. It is easy, even natural, to thank God for that which you perceive to benefit you. To believe that pain comes from a benevolent God showing love, and to give Him thanks for that pain, this reflects the kind of faith that pleases Him. Thus He calls it “the sacrifice of praise.” A sacrifice costs, else it is not sacrificial. When you give the Lord thanks in the midst of your pain you affirm His goodness. During such times you do not want to thank Him; you want to question His goodness, for why does a loving, caring God inflict pain? Content that you can never answer the question “why?”, you re...

Powerful explanation, in part, of God's purposes in difficulties and pain and disappointments.

FEBRUARY 12 Day 43 Mercy and Truth “Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.” Psalm 85:10 The Psalmist anticipates the cross with these words. Only in the death of Jesus Christ do we find a perfect blend of mercy and truth. You cannot have truth without justice and you cannot have justice without judgment. The violation of God’s command demands justice and that justice was satisfied by Christ’s death on the cross. Christ’s death allowed God to be merciful toward the sinner without doing violence to His truth. John the Apostle opens his gospel acknowledging that Jesus was “full of grace and truth.”1 Just as His death made it possible for mercy and truth to meet, so His life was characterized by a blend of grace and truth. And so God deals with His people today. Truth sets you free. Grace and mercy shifts the blame for your sin from you to Jesus. You need both. If God dealt with you in truth, you could not handle it. You pray, “Lord, show me the wickedness of my heart.” God answers, “I cannot show you such a thing, for the revelation of your heart would destroy you. I will show you only what you are able to endure.” In this we see the mercy of God. As you relate to others you must maintain a balance between mercy and truth. Men used to say to me, “Be honest, tell me what you really think.” So I would tell them the truth and they became offended. It was easy for me to blame them for asking since they really didn’t want the truth, until...

Whenever you conclude that God is unjust, you can know that you err biblically. Behind your misconception you will find the beautiful, gracious work of God.

wonderful.

FEBRUARY 15 Day 46 Walking By Faith “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1 You walk by faith biblically when you act on the promises or commands of God. Faith must be demonstrated in one of two areas: “things hoped for” and “things not seen,” the future and the invisible. “Faith is the substance of things hoped for,” i.e., you exercise faith in the direction of your hope. “Risk,” another word for “faith” reveals your hope or values; you only take risks in areas that you consider to be of value. “Faith is the evidence of things not seen,” i.e., your faith in the invisible demonstrates your trust in the unseen. Peter says, “Whom having not seen you love.”1 You love and follow One you have never seen. All people must walk by faith; God built “commitment before knowledge” into the fabric of existence. Whether taking a prescription drug, flying on an airplane, or getting married – you are forced to walk by faith. The object of your faith determines what you call it: If the object of your faith is dice, you call it gambling; if the doctor, you call it medicine; if the stock market, you call it business; if your spouse, you call it marriage – and so forth. The object of your faith determines the validity of your faith; not how much faith, but what you put your faith in, determines its validity. Let’s imagine you and I in the mountains of Colorado during the cold of winter. I need to cross a lake with six feet of ice, and as...

God did not give you the Bible to make you a smarter sinner, but rather a holy saint. Application, not knowledge, pleases God.

Strong admonition....... to me. and to you??

You can approach the application of Scripture in two ways: First, from the perspective of “doing.” Doing is important to God. James says, “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.”1 I remember a number of years ago reading a little Inter-Varsity devotional in which it suggested application in the form of “a command to obey, a promise to claim, an error to avoid, a sin to forsake,” etc. You must do what God says. Second, from the perspective of changing how you think. Paul’s admonition that you “be transformed by the renewing of your mind” forms the heart of biblical application; all else flows from it. What you know influences who you are, which in turn influences what you do. As James cautions, you can hear without doing, but this aborts the sanctification process.

Absorption of Scripture is an essential counter-balance to the background noise of the world.

And the current foreground noise of our cellphones !!

Thus it is easy to see how your awareness of your indebtedness to God influences the totality of your life. When you acknowledge that God is good in all that He does, and you affirm His goodness by a life of gratitude, it appreciably influences your ability to get along with others, mitigates your propensity to anger, and fills your life with contentment.

Ah! The secret to a contened life. Regardless of the circumstances.

If you want to love God, you must get to know God, for you cannot love whom you do not know.

The more I get to know God, the more, I find, I do love Him! And it is wonderful.

MARCH 6 Day 66 The Value of Knowledge “Ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make your free.” John 8:32 These words are carved over the doors of university buildings. Obviously, how the university and Jesus use this phrase differ. Jesus said of Himself, “I am Truth.”1 And again, “If the Son shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.”2 Secular knowledge can free you in a specific sphere. A child’s knowledge of how to swim can free him from the fear of water. Knowledge of antibiotics can free you from infection. Knowledge liberates. God wants us to know. Paul says that your liberty in Christ flows from knowing how God wants you to live. In the opening verses of I Corinthians 8, Paul uses the word “know” to distinguish between theoretical or speculative knowledge and the intimate knowledge of a relationship built on love. In Romans, Paul says, “Who when they knew God, glorified Him not as God.”3 To the Corinthians he writes, “The world by wisdom knew not God.”4 In Romans he refers to theoretical knowledge, in Corinthians, intimate knowledge. Having made the distinction, you must be careful never to try and separate them. Everyone knows that the theologian can spend years studying God without knowing Him. The astronomer can learn a great deal about God while denying that He exists. But it is also true that if you wish a close, intimate relationship with God, you must spend the effort studying and applying theology, which is another way of saying, learning His ways. Yo...

And, yes, this Scripture was even inscribed on Throop Hall, Caltech's former administration building. While there in the 60's I was clueless, as were (and still are) most of my colleagues.

MARCH 7 Day 67 Sexual Sin “Shun immorality. Every other sin which a man commits is outside the body; but the immoral man sins against his own body.” I Corinthians 6:18 Curbing your appetites forms an essential component in the Christian life. Two appetites must be kept in check: First, the appetite for wealth and establishing limits on how you can use the civil courts to settle disputes; and second, sexual appetites. “Food is meant for the stomach, …the body…for the Lord.”1 When you die your old body will finish its slide toward decay, and disappear, but your new body will be resurrected upon the return of Christ. Your stomach houses food, but your body houses God. “Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit?”2 For this reason sexual immorality is a uniquely hideous sin in the sight of God. You would think Paul wrong when he says, “every sin a man commits is outside the body.” Alcohol and drugs appear to be more destructive to the body than sex. The union of a man and woman, however, has a mystical dimension. During the time of Paul’s writing, temple prostitutes were used in pagan religions as a spiritual exercise, but Paul likens marriage to the union of Christ and His church. Because your temporal body is the temple of Christ, to bring a harlot into union with it is to defile Christ’s temple. It would be analogous in the Old Testament to bringing a prostitute into the Holy of Holies. Such a thing is too reprehensible to contemplate. All sin is wicked and...

MARCH 11 Day 71 Fear and grace “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” Romans 3:18 In Romans, before revealing God’s wonderful plan of salvation in Jesus Christ, Paul lists four characteristics of the unregenerate: “No one is good. No one understands. No one seeks God. None fear God.”1 When you meet a person who begins to understand his depravity, seek, or fear God, you know that God is at work in him. During the description of God’s wrath in Revelation, again and again John tells us that “they repented not.”2 People do not naturally fear God. When people do fear God, a work of grace has begun in their hearts. People do not want to fear God because of their commitment to their own autonomy and they do not want to have to give account for their behavior. If you understand that there are eternal consequences for temporal behavior, even for those secure in Christ, you will fear. Grace does not eliminate accountability. The absence of fear indicates a misunderstanding of God’s grace. You must be careful lest God’s gracious dealing with you lulls you into believing that you need not fear Him. Love, hope, grace, and fear weave together into a beautiful tapestry of what a healthy relationship with God in your life looks like. 1 cf. Romans 3:10-18 2 cf. Revelation 16:9, 11

Learn two things from Solomon’s example: You cannot run fast enough to stay ahead of sin, and you cannot foresee or anticipate the consequences of your disobedience.

wow. invaluable

MARCH 17 Day 77 Children By Adoption “And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.” Romans 8:23 Adoption is the most secure relationship you can have with your parents. Your birth may be accidental or unwanted; possession by purchase means that you can be sold; inheritance may mean that you were not wanted. Adoption is a choice sealed with a legal transaction. Thus God talks about your relationship with Him in terms of adoption.

MARCH 26 Day 86 The Power of a Sanctified Life “And every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was discontented, gathered themselves unto him; and he became a captain over them: and there were with him about four hundred men.” I Samuel 22:2 Those who were agonizing, in debt, unhappy with the status quo – these were the kinds of men that gathered around David, eventually becoming his mighty men. You become like the people with whom you associate. Giant killers train giant killers. David killed the giant Goliath. “There was again a battle with the Philistines at Gob: then Sibbechai the Hushathite slew Saph, which was of the sons of the giant.”1 If you wish to be godly, associate with godly people. If you have a heart for evangelism, spend time with those doing it. If you wish to think biblically, spend time with those who have the same desire. Jesus was the friend of publicans and sinners, and you should emulate the Savior. Christianity is a religion of mission. God wants you involved in the lives of those that do not know and love Him “that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”2 The sanctified life always calls attention to its source; they know that your goodness comes from being with Jesus. Because He calls you to be the friend of sinners, and because you become like the people with whom you associate, it is imperative that you counter-balance your association with sinners by a band of godly brot...

food

APRIL 9 Day 100 Viewing People Correctly “Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more.” II Corinthians 5:16 Viewing people correctly is one of the most important qualifications in becoming Christ’s disciple. To illustrate its importance, Paul says that there was a day when he saw Jesus as a carpenter’s son from Nazareth, the son of Joseph and Mary, a troublemaker who spread discontent and heresy among his followers. Now Paul sees Him as God sees Him: The eternal Son of God who became the propitiation for our sins. Just as Paul now sees Jesus as God sees Him, so also all people. Before his conversion he viewed people from a human perspective. Some were attractive and others not; some were intellectually stimulating and others dull; some were powerful, important people, and others the opposite. Jesus Christ changed all of that. Paul now sees everyone as equal in value and importance, created in the image of God and of eternal worth. This does not mean that you condone sin any more than Jesus approved of the Pharisees. Good or bad, right or wrong, all people bear God’s image and are of eternal worth. You can no longer view people “after the flesh.” All are of equal worth and significance in the economy of God, and you must view them through that lens. This does not come naturally. You must discipline yourself to treat people with the dignity and respect that is theirs by virtue o...

Easier said than done. Nevertheless, my desire and goal, by His enabling.

APRIL 9 Day 100 Viewing People Correctly “Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more.” II Corinthians 5:16 Viewing people correctly is one of the most important qualifications in becoming Christ’s disciple. To illustrate its importance, Paul says that there was a day when he saw Jesus as a carpenter’s son from Nazareth, the son of Joseph and Mary, a troublemaker who spread discontent and heresy among his followers. Now Paul sees Him as God sees Him: The eternal Son of God who became the propitiation for our sins. Just as Paul now sees Jesus as God sees Him, so also all people. Before his conversion he viewed people from a human perspective. Some were attractive and others not; some were intellectually stimulating and others dull; some were powerful, important people, and others the opposite. Jesus Christ changed all of that. Paul now sees everyone as equal in value and importance, created in the image of God and of eternal worth. This does not mean that you condone sin any more than Jesus approved of the Pharisees. Good or bad, right or wrong, all people bear God’s image and are of eternal worth. You can no longer view people “after the flesh.” All are of equal worth and significance in the economy of God, and you must view them through that lens. This does not come naturally. You must discipline yourself to treat people with the dignity and respect that is theirs by virtue o...

good

God makes you an incredible offer:You can give your life in exchange for the same thing for which Jesus spent His life – people. People last forever. For good or bad, they are eternal. Spend your life helping them prepare for their eternity. Don’t give your life to mediocrity. Life is too short and the issues of eternity too significant.

This is my desire, albeit executed inconsistently. Recomitted to this 4/11/19. 4/10/22 recomitted. 4/10/23 again, rededicated.

APRIL 11 Day 102 Hope “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.” Titus 2:13 When it comes to hope, people divide themselves into four categories: No Hope – These are people who have lost a reason to hope in anything. Since everyone is motivated in the direction of their hope, they are unmotivated. Certain existentialist fits this category, for they see no purpose for existence, considering life futile. In the United States during the 1960’s a number of young people lost hope, wasting themselves on drugs and alcohol. Illegitimate Hope – These are people who embrace an unbiblical hope; they hope in the promises of the world with all of the trappings of success, and leave the world empty-handed. “Like wilted leaves, they slither down the drainpipe of history,” is how one author describes them. Divided Hope – This category catches a great number of those that call themselves Christian. They hope in heaven, while also hoping in the promises of the world. Jesus said, “No man can serve two masters:.. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”1 The Bible calls this double-mindedness. These people, although they wouldn’t want to admit it, believe that Jesus is mistaken. Legitimate Hope – Possibly the smallest group, these embrace the biblical promises, living for the eternal rather than the temporal. Of the four categories, those with an illegitimate hope and those with a biblical hope are most likely to be happy; biblical peopl...

“Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will.”1 God did not create you for your good pleasure, but for His own good pleasure according to His will.

My Challenge is to live this way. 4/14/22 this is my commitment. Now, 4/14/23, in NYC for Amy's birthday celebration, I renew this commitment, knowing my weaknesses and failures. Therefore, I plan to have a close accountability with Nelson Cook and Jim Morrill to help me.

APRIL 16 Day 107 The Return of Christ “Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts and saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.” II Peter 3:3-4 The New Testament writers had in common a belief in the imminent return of Christ. Paul, writing to the Corinthians said, “So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.”1 It never occurred to the Apostles that two thousand years would pass between His first and second advent, so much so, that when Peter writes his second epistle he warns of those who weary while waiting for His return. Are you foolish if you live as though Christ will return at any moment and live all your life with Christ not returning? What should you do today if you believe in His imminent return that you wouldn’t do if you thought His return would not happen in your life? Jesus said, “I must work the works of him who sent me, while it is day; night comes, when no one can work.”2 The night of life comes all too quickly for everyone. If the promises of God are true, and we who hope in Him believe that they are, then when He returns should make little difference in how we live. Your purpose in this life is to prepare you for eternity, and how you invest each day appr...

APRIL 26 Day 117 Preach the Correct Sermon “Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband.” Ephesians 5:33 Some messages in the Bible are directed to specific audiences. Be diligent in preaching the correct sermon to the correct audience. Few things are as unattractive as listening to someone preach the proper sermon to the wrong audience. Although there are a number of biblical illustrations, one of the most glaring is the message to husbands and wives. To the wife Paul says, “wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands.” He does not say, “husbands, make sure your wives submit to you.” And to the husband Paul says, “husbands, love your wives;” he does not command the wife to preach to her husband, “love me like Christ loves the Church.” For your marriage to stay on track, you must preach your own sermon to yourself. The prayer of the spouse should always be, “God make me a better partner.” This does not mean that you can never confront others over behavioral patterns in their lives, for biblical love compels such confrontation. “Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any fault, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Look to yourself, lest you too be tempted.”1 Note that your objective is “restoration in a spirit of gentleness,” not justice, nor the desire to make your own life more pleasant. If, for example, in your marriage you cannot convince God that your moti...

APRIL 29 Day 120 Letting Others Invest “…I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant!…You ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him, and give it to him who has the ten talents.”’ Matthew 25:25-28 The Savior calls attention to two kinds of servants, and alludes to a third: He discusses faithful and unfaithful servants and closes by suggesting that the unfaithful servant could have “invested My money with the banker.” Many Christians fit the description of this third option; they are willing to invest if someone will do it for them. For example, you ask a friend to come to a meeting and he does, but when the meeting is over, he does nothing more. You invite him to a Bible study and again he joins and does nothing more. He will become involved if you drag him with you, but he will take no initiative. The faithful steward takes initiative and assumes ownership. He doesn’t wait for others to tell him what to do. He prayerfully analyzes his options and by faith exploits those he feels best serve the cause of Christ. A self-starter, he doesn’t need the prodding and cajoling of others to motivate him. At the local high school assembly, recruiters from the various branches of the armed forces presented to the student body the benefits attached to joining them. The Army, Navy, and Air Forc...

Joy and bliss compose approximately five percent of your life, with terror and pain composing approximately five percent more. You spend the remaining ninety percent in simply living – doing your job, relating to your family and friends, washing dishes, and pulling weeds. The authenticity of your Faith will be seen in the part Jesus plays in the mundane of your life.

You should read and study God’s Word like you read the morning newspaper.

The fundamental question of religion is how does a just and holy God take a sinner to heaven without violating God’s justice and making heaven dirty. Only the propitious death of Jesus Christ answers this question. When Jesus Christ died He justified and sanctified you; He justified and sanctified you through acts of imputation. When He became your substitute, He declared you both righteous and without sin, satisfying the justice of God and making you holy.

Christ is not blind submission, but intelligent assent. You cannot follow Christ without the use of your reason. “Try the spirits whether they are of God.”1 Testing requires the use of your mind. God gave you a rational mind to think and to judge, and a free will to accept or reject. Revelation presupposes reason, for it communicates truth to the mind, and this assumes that the mind has the capacity to receive it. In religion, the primary task assigned to reason is your mind’s understanding the revelation of God in Scripture. Much of what God says you will find to be counterintuitive: you must honor your parents while forsaking them; you must die in order to live, give in order to receive, etc. This is different, however, from saying that revelation is impossible to believe. Scripture is perfectly consistent within the framework of its presuppositions. It may appear counter-intuitive, but evidence of its validity can be verified for those willing to accept its presuppositions by faith. For example, you can verify the reality of Christ in you by opening your heart and inviting Him into your life, even though “Christ in you, the hope of glory” may be a counterintuitive thought. A lack of comprehension is different from a contradiction. The Bible does not contradict itself, but unless you are willing to believe the incomprehensible, you are destined to live in darkness. “For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.”2 1 I John 4:1...

Exceedingly reasonable! A favorite "appetizer" is this devotional book by Walt Hendrickson.

Repentance is essential, but never presume to come to God with a broken heart of repentance without acknowledging your dependence upon Jesus Christ’s death as the sole basis of God’s mercy. It is only in His name and for His sake that God promises to forgive you.

important truth for me to share with everyone I can.

“…walk in My statutes and execute My judgments, and keep all My commandments…” Nothing you ever do for God can act as a substitute for a life of obedience.

Important reminder for me! You? Yes, for me today 5/18/23 as well!

MAY 21 Day 142 Hope and Skepticism “For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?” Romans 8:24 Skepticism destroys hope, for it questions the possibility of expectations. George Meredith once said: “Who can think and not think hopefully?” Only the skeptic can, for he lacks faith. Hope is the reason a person takes the risk of faith. You would love to marry and have a family, but you are skeptical that anyone could love you, so you don’t take the risk and ask the person you love to be your spouse. Thus, your hope never materializes, simply because you are a skeptic. In this we see that skepticism destroys hope. If you become skeptical of the historicity of biblical events, you will discover that your hope in God will erode, for your hope of eternal life flows from your trust in the Revelation of God found in Scripture. If you are skeptical regarding Jonah and the fish, or the virgin birth, then on what basis do you hope in the promises of God? If you are skeptical regarding some parts of Revelation, then how can you legitimately hope in other parts? The Bible is reasonable if you accept the assumption of its writers that the Sovereign of the Universe both acts and speaks. Thus, Scripture does not seek to prove, it only declares. “For I delivered unto you that which I also received…”1 The assumption of the follower of Christ is that the Bible in its entirety is God’s revelation. If you are skeptical of its parts, ...

MAY 22 Day 143 The Life of Death “So death is at work in us, but life in you. Since we have the same spirit of faith as he had who wrote, ‘I believed, and so I spoke,’ we too believe, and so we speak.” II Corinthians 4:12-13 Death is at work in every person. It is the natural progression of life. Paul realized this and elected to participate willingly by purposely putting himself to death by spending his life on others. Because Paul died, the Corinthians lived. Quoting King David out of the Psalms, he says that sharing the biblical faith of those who went before him, he believed, spoke, and then knew. You cannot know that you have eternal life until you die; you must walk by faith. Faith or belief must come first. If you truly believe, you will speak the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ. This will produce life in others and death in you, for the world is hostile to the messenger of Christ. The afflictions and dangers to which Paul was exposed were adapted to discourage and drive him to despair, but the opposite was true, for he believed. He was willing to endure, realizing that not until he died would he know. “While we look not at the things which are seen, but unseen. For the things which are seen are temporal; the things which are not seen are eternal.”1 You cannot know until after you believe and speak; that is the order: believe, speak, know. You cannot alter it. You can spend your life seeking to save it while you live for self, or you can recognize that because death...

So motivating for me!

MAY 23 Day 144 Who is Watching? “The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good.” Proverbs 15:3 A person will do in front of God what he would never do in front of other people. You will think thoughts and commit acts in the isolation of your own life that you would never do in the presence of your friends. For example, if your private life and thoughts over the past several weeks were filmed and then shown to your friends, how would you feel? If you are like most people, you would be embarrassed and uncomfortable. And yet Scripture assures you that God sees all and will call you to account “in the day when God will judge the secrets of men’s hearts.”1 In part, you are willing to do and think in His presence what you would not do in the presence of others, because the Bible assures you that the Lord accepts you for the way you are, not on the basis of what He hopes you will someday become. You may also feel that God will be less judgmental than the people you know. Whatever the reason, such people do not fear God. They forget that they sin against God, a truth clearly seen by King David.2 Remember, however, that the One whose judgment counts is the One who sees all. Whatever accountability you face before your friends and family, your accountability before God counts far more. He does accept you, but He will also judge you more absolutely than any human tribunal. If you don’t want other people to know what you are thinking, then you probabl...

MAY 24 Day 145 Used by God “Then lie upon your left side, and I will lay the punishment of the house of Israel upon you; for the number of the days that you lie upon it, you shall bear their punishment. For I assign to you a number of days, three hundred and ninety days, equal to the number of the years of their punishment; so long shall you bear the punishment of the house of Israel.” Ezekiel 4:4-5 God anointed His priest Ezekiel in Babylon at the beginning of Israel’s captivity. He called Ezekiel to be a prophet, and then warned him not to emulate Israel in her rebellion.1 Ezekiel became an object lesson for the nation, communicating God’s displeasure by lying on his left side for over a year. In this you can see the utter disregard God has for the physical wellbeing of Ezekiel. God shows no pity on his discomfort or how he spends his life. When Ezekiel protests that he doesn’t want to prepare food with human dung, God grants him cow dung!2 If you accept God’s call to be His servant, you must understand that in your eyes your life here on earth counts for nothing. You must die to self, holding your life in utter disregard. “He who seeks to save his life shall lose it; but he who loses his life for My sake and the Gospel’s shall find it.”3 This runs counter to every instinct in life. You cannot ascertain it naturally by reason, but only supernaturally by revelation. You cannot expect family and friends to affirm you; you must return to the Lord on a daily basis for renewe...

God will forget your sin and iniquity in the sense that it will not adversely affect your relationship with Him. His acceptance of you is total; He will never taunt you with a past transgression or allow it to influence adversely His relationship with you. Nor are you on probation in the Christian life. The Lord’s acceptance of you is based on perfect knowledge; you may disappoint Him, but you will never surprise Him.

An amazing, comforting and encouraging truth. Yea!!

This does not mean, however, that you will not stand before the judgment bar of God and give an account for how you lived the life God gave you. He will remember every thought, motive, word, and deed in your life, and you will be judged accordingly. Your relationship with Him will not be under consideration, but your eternal fruit will.

Important addition to consider.

price? God will give Satan his way in your life, not to satisfy either God’s or Satan’s curiosity, but rather so that you can know that you have no price.

“Count it all joy, my brethren, when you meet various trials, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.”1 God will never place you in the crucible without a purpose. Although you may never know the sum of His purpose, you can know that He wishes to test your surrender – for your own good.

JUNE 10 Day 162 Two Kinds of Vessels “In a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and earthenware, and some for noble use, some for ignoble. If any one purifies himself from what is ignoble, then he will be a vessel for noble use, consecrated and useful to the master of the house, ready for any good work.” II Timothy 2:20-21 The context of Paul’s observation is the need for commitment if you wish to become engaged in the affairs of Christ. In this section of his epistle to Timothy, Paul talks about commitment to the development of your own character. He uses as an illustration what all people know to be true: People use two types of vessels. You use one kind, such as a drinking cup, for sanitary purposes, and the other kind, such as a garbage pale, for dirty purposes. You use both kinds, but you do not mix them. So also God uses two kinds of vessels. You are a vessel and God will use you. You must decide what kind of vessel you wish to be. If you want the Lord to use you for holy purposes, you must clean up your life and live like a holy vessel. Failure on your part ensures your being used by God for ignoble purposes. In the following verses, Paul gives specific instructions on what a clean vessel looks like. “So shun youthful passions and aim at righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call upon the Lord from a pure heart,”1 etc. He says that you need personal holiness in order to help other people. To become involved...

JUNE 15 Day 167 Perform for the Correct Audience “Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men; knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.” Colossians 3:23-24 In the raising of our children, one of the most important lessons my wife and I sought to impart was the necessity of picking an audience. Everyone plays to an audience. All seek to please others. Few decisions in life are as critical as picking the right audience. Who do you seek to please? Whose approbation do you long to have? Your parents? Your employer? Your spouse? The apostle Paul echoes the Mind of God; you seek to please Him and Him alone. The reason: You serve Christ, and He determines “the reward of your inheritance.” Interestingly, Paul polarizes the issue; you work for Christ and not man. You cannot do both. Jesus said you cannot serve two masters,1 and the object of your desire to please is your master. You seek to please others for Jesus’ sake, but only in so far as you do not have to compromise your priorities and convictions. Only you can know if the kind of job you do and the hours you work are “as for the Lord rather than for men.” It is important for you to spend time alone with Jesus reviewing the object of your desire to please so that you will “not shrink from Him in shame at His coming.”2