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January 13 - March 9, 2024
Women come to Jesus by grace through faith, but then live as if Jesus has no power.
But the gospel is simply this: the whole story of Christ’s work to save us.
He loves us in spite of ourselves. We are so sinful, so unable to bridge the gap between ourselves and a holy God, that He sent His Son to die on our behalf.
Everything you’ve read, heard, and believed about Jesus and the Bible helped shape your understanding of who God is and how He works in your life. This is your theological viewpoint.
Our self-discovery is not God’s goal. We are meant to know God and make Him known.
We don’t go deeper with God by reflecting more on ourselves, or even by reading God’s Word to look for insight about ourselves. Roots of spiritual growth develop as we seek God for who He is and allow Him to do the transforming work in our hearts that we can never do on our own.
By letting go of the idea that there is an ideal quiet time, we allow ourselves the freedom to know God through His Word in the toughest of seasons.
We live abundantly when we regularly expose ourselves to the work and Spirit of God. When we do, the things that used to bore us take on the color of abundant life.
Their devotion to God was just that—devotion. The time spent with Him was something they lived out in the minutes and hours of the coming day; it was not just a stopping point before breakfast.
Time with God always has a purpose. Contrary to what we see on social media, it’s not just to fill up on the Word or start the day right. The goal of time with God is worship of God.
Our worship is naturally revealed through our daily habits and behaviors.
a heart that attributes worth to Him.
God wants us to know Him and, by knowing Him, be known by Him.
(5:13-14). We mature in faith by “constant use” of God’s Word.
Reading what Christian authors say about God is still secondhand exposure. You need to read about Him firsthand. You need to see Him through the Word He inspired, the chapters and books that tell us who He really is. As the author of Hebrews put it, to do otherwise is to live on “milk” and to remain perpetually “not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness.”
But when a man-made rule
is elevated to the level of divine command, you’re looking at legalism.
Unless God leads us into
true heart change, external behaviors have no eternal merit.
Legalism is always the product of misinterpreted Scripture.
Following Jesus is not about doing whatever we want, but about doing whatever the Spirit leads us to do.
But the “right” way to be a Christian is to follow the Spirit according to the Word. When we live under condemnation, we naturally condemn others. But when we live under grace, we are
quick to offer compassion. We celebrate those growing in faith alongside us, not comparing how they work out their salvation to how we’re working out ours. Like the Samaritan woman, we are free to worship—not according to tradition or regulation, but in Spirit and in truth.
Anxiety is overcome when we make the choice to trust God more than we trust our emotions. We do this by stepping through the anxiety and bringing it to the throne of grace over and over and over again.
We trust in the character of Almighty God. And we believe for His saving power on our behalf. In a world of uncertainty, He is unchangeable.
In this moment I have a choice: I can depend on my own understanding, or I can lean on His. Lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight (Proverbs 3:5-6).
You don’t have to like your circumstances to depend on God in the midst of them.
Cultivating relationships often feels like stepping onto that ice. You’re risking a chilly dunk in failed friendship. There’s a chance of being left in the cold. You may jeopardize your own emotional safety. But God has shown us that relationship is worth it—not just by putting two people in the garden instead of one, but in pursuing relationship with us Himself.
Fear: We fear what others think of us, and ultimately we fear man more than we revere God and His heart for our lives. We’re so terrified of rejection by people we forget we are accepted by God. We let fear, not love, dictate our relationships.
A “house divided against itself will not stand” (Matthew 12:22-28 NKJV), Jesus said; we can’t stand together as a community if we are at each other’s throats.
How do imperfect people achieve unity? The answer is simple, but incredibly hard: by loving one another. You can’t love someone and condemn them at the same time!
Forgiveness is a hard word. But it’s a lot easier to give grace when you remember how much grace you’ve been given.
No matter what choices sinful people make, God’s goal is restoration. That should be my goal too.
Godly community grants us support and perspective. It checks our choices and motives. As we walk closer with God, we walk closer with His other children. This is perhaps the most beautiful part of all, because it gives us a little taste of heaven long before we get there.
We need men and women around us who are serious about following Jesus. Relationship is a risk, but it’s a risk modeled by Jesus and required by the Lord.
In one of life’s great dichotomies, we fear losing what we value most—even when the thing we value is destroying us.
A spirit of fear results in weakness, fakeness, and confusion. God’s Spirit leads us to a life of strength, kindness, and wisdom.
Reverence for God is recognizing that He is beyond us, yet also with us, striving for us because He loves us. When you know and believe the love God has for you, victory over fear becomes a lifestyle.
First John 2 says, “God’s word remains in you, and you have had victory over the evil one” (verse 14 HCSB). The Word of God is what the Spirit uses to help you walk in victory, declaring truth to you in the time of need. The truth of God abides, rests, and takes up residence in you when you intentionally invest time in the Word. This truth is the lens through which we view all worldviews, perspectives, and opinions. God is our first stop.
Before you take an action, ask yourself, “Am I doing this because I fear what someone will think of me? Would I still do this if I knew for a fact I didn’t need to in order to be the woman God desires me to be?”
Trouble. Hardship. Persecution. Famine. Nakedness, danger, and death—none of these things can remove us from the love of God. None of these things have more power over us than the power of the resurrected Christ.
Remember, condemnation is not the same as conviction! Conviction draws us near God through repentance; condemnation pushes us away from God through guilt.
Without grounding ourselves in the Word of God we can’t live by the truth of God. Without living by the truth of God we can’t live out the freedom of God. An overcoming life is the product of consistent exposure to God through His Word.
But the most motivating reason to share one’s faith is your own powerful experience with it. I wonder if more Christians experienced a vibrant walk with Jesus—one that transformed their daily lives—would talking about it come naturally?
heart. Christian evangelism in the early church wasn’t a duty. It wasn’t something people were forced into doing. It was the natural outflow of the Christian life. Evangelism was simple for the people who walked with Jesus.
While we should be constantly maturing in faith, God doesn’t tell us to work on ourselves before walking out His call. To the contrary, the early church was commissioned to start making disciples as they themselves were growing spiritually.
