“What shall we say, then? Is the law sinful? Certainly not! Nevertheless, I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law.” —ROMANS 7:7

If we were to stop people on the street and read them the Ten Commandments, the general consensus would be that most of the commandments are good. We may not get ten out of ten in agreement, but perhaps six, seven or eight. Yet although we agree that the Ten Commandments are good, we have to admit they are unrealistic because with the exception of Jesus, every single person has broken the law of God. That raises a very important issue: why has God given a law we cannot keep? 

If we ever get involved in making rules, a basic principle is that any rule people cannot keep is a bad rule, yet God has given a set of requirements in His law that we recognize as good, but are unable to keep. In fact, Paul says here, “I would not know what sin was except for the law. It is the law which actually makes me aware of my failure, because a failure I am.” We can be living in violation of the law with a totally clear conscience until we read the law. Suddenly we realize, “Uh oh, I’m a failure.” Is the purpose of the law simply to embarrass, humiliate and condemn us? That is the effect of the law, but is that the purpose? Why did God give the Ten Commandments? 

The law was given in order to reveal the moral character of God so that human beings might understand what we are to be like as we were created in His moral image. But in the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve acted in disobedience and at that moment, ceased to show what God is like. Since then, every man, woman and child have inherited a sinful nature and sin separates us from God. The point in God giving His laws was not as an arbitrary set of rules or guidelines so that we can sort out the mess our lives may be in, but so that we see ourselves in our unrighteousness and come to the realization that we need saving. As God knows we are incapable of keeping His law, He provided a solution in sending the life of His Son to indwell us in order to reconcile us to Himself. 

Christ is the exact representation of the Father, and the only one capable of keeping the law of God. Without Christ, we are still in our sin, but when coming in humble repentance to Him, our sin is forgiven, washed away, and we have the transforming Spirit of Christ who works in us so that we may increasingly reveal what God is like.

Dear Lord, thank You for revealing what You are like and for the work of your Holy Spirit in conforming me to your likeness.

Which of the Ten Commandments do I need the Lord’s help with the most? 

“Placing his hands on Saul, he said, ‘Brother Saul, the Lord – Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here – has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” —ACTS 9:17

Though Saul of Tarsus met Jesus on the Damascus road, he did not in truth become a Christian at that point. The definition Paul gives of a Christian is one in whom lives the Spirit of Christ. In Romans 8:9, he says, “And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ.” The immediate consequence of Paul’s encounter on the Damascus road was not regeneration, which is the receiving of new life, but revelation, the receiving of new understanding.

The immediate result for Paul was a state of blindness that lasted three days, which symbolized the darkness of his soul in the natural state of separation from God. In Damascus, God spoke to a man named Ananias and sent him to the house where Paul was staying. Saul had experienced a vision of Ananias coming to him and placing his hands on him in order that the work of God, which had begun on the Damascus road, might be completed.

After Ananias came to Paul, two things took place, both of which constitute the ingredients necessary to spiritual birth; Paul’s sins were forgiven and he received the gift of the Holy Spirit. The decisive issue that precipitated Paul’s change of heart was the discovery that Jesus Christ was alive. Christ being alive has, to Paul, both an objective and a subjective aspect. Objectively, he summarizes the irreducible content of the Gospel to “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures...” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).

The objective truth of the resurrection of Christ must also become a reality in subjective experience. Writing to the Galatians, Paul says, “But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me…” (Galatians 1:15). Paul is saying that the revelation of the risen Christ to him became the revelation of the risen Christ in him. Having been raised from the dead, Christ’s purpose is to impart His resurrected life to the believer experientially. Paul tells us, “Christ, who is your life” (Colossians 3:4); “Christ in you, the hope of glory (1:27); “I no longer live, but Christ lives in me” (Galatians 2:20). 

Jesus is not only the giver of life, but the life itself. The reception of this life constitutes regeneration. It is being born again of the Holy Spirit, and given new life – the life of Christ to indwell us. 

Thank You, Lord, for indwelling me and giving me your life, which I pray will take over mine. 

Having been regenerated by the life of Christ, what changes have I noticed most in myself? 

“My companions saw the light, but they did not understand the voice of him who was speaking to me. ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ I asked.” —ACTS 22:9-10

The Christian life is a very personal one. Every one of us begins the Christian life alone. We do not become Christians by inheriting something from our parents or associating with other Christians and somehow picking it up. Becoming a Christian involves a deliberate, wilful response to God at some point in our lives. It is like getting married. There comes a moment when we say “I will”, and at that moment something happens. Our relationship changes, our status changes.

Paul was previously Saul of Tarsus. He was the arch enemy of the church of Jesus Christ, intending on doing everything he could to annihilate the new wave of believers in Christ. On that fateful day when he encountered Jesus on his way to Damascus, Paul discovered two things. The first is that Jesus Christ is alive. Christians are not following the teachings of Jesus who once was. He is alive and willing to live His life in us. The second thing Paul discovered is that Jesus has the power to transform his life. 

In response to Jesus stating who He was, Saul asked, “What do you want me to do?” Jesus told him to go into Damascus where he would be given an agenda for the rest of his life. Paul was to become a witness for Christ among rulers and Gentiles, which would involve hardship, suffering and persecution. All of this worked out in the remaining days of his life. The point is this: Paul had bowed his knee to the Lord Jesus Christ; Saul of Tarsus was never the same again. 

There has to come a moment when we say “I will” to Jesus, and make that complete surrender to Him. Until we come to the point of saying, “Lord Jesus, take over my life”, we are not yet Christians. We may be religious, have grown up in a Christian home and be God fearing people, but there has to come that moment, as it came for Paul, when the Christian life becomes personal, and we come as sinners to Jesus. What we will discover is that Jesus loves sinners and specializes in cleaning us up. He does not come alongside us, but in us, and is Himself the power to transform lives. And in our honest moments, we know there are things about us that need changing. The Christian life is personal!

Lord Jesus, I want to say “I will” to You, so that your work and your life is lived in me and through me. Amen.

Have I made the conscious decision to accept Jesus as my Lord and Saviour? If not, am I ready to do so? 

“If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.” —PSALM 139:9-10

We all long to live a life of substance, but in the grand scale of things, we are given such a brief time to do so. The book of James tells us our lives are like a vapour. It appears for a short while then disappears. So how do we make the most of the time we have? 

Many of us would think it wonderful to have some sort of spiritual GPS to map it out for us. “Go to this university and study these subjects. See that girl over there. Marry her. Get this job. Buy this home and live happily ever after.” That would take the guesswork out of everything, but God does not work that way. In the grand scale of things, there is a big picture, and it is not about our agendas, but God’s agenda. 

We can look at it this way. If we were on the hunt for a new job, the first question we would ask of the company is not, “What would you like me to do?” The first question would be, “What is the nature of the business?” Then having understood the nature of the business, ‘what would you like me to do’ makes sense in light of our capabilities, and becomes significant in the bigger role and purpose of the business. That is why the question, “What is the will of God for my life?”, while certainly valid, is not the best question to ask. It should be, “What is the will of God?”…period. What is the big picture of what God is doing, and how can I, as an individual, play a role?

We only discover God’s personal will for our lives when we understand the general will of God for the world. His plans for us play a key role, which furthers His agenda. As Christians, we are called to be partakers of God’s work in this world, and God Himself will assign each of us the role He has for us. We do not pull the strings. We do not orchestrate anything. We simply walk through the doors God opens and it will be a case of the right people at the right time for the right purpose. 

In our service to God, He has the big picture in mind, and so must we. Psalm 139:16 says, “All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” That is the wonder of being created and coming into this world. God already has a divine plan for us in which He promises His guiding hand.

Dear Lord, thank you for the privilege of being given a role for your agenda in this world. I can’t imagine a higher calling.

Am I walking through the doors God opens? 

“For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.” —ROMANS 6:14

If there is one thing we all share in common, regardless of how long we have been Christians, it is our struggle with sin. Sin is a problem; temptation is a problem, and so one of the big questions we are faced with is: “What are we supposed to do about sin?” 

There are two extreme attitudes Christians take in dealing with sin. One is ‘legalism’, and the other is ‘license’. Legalism is basically reducing Christian living to a set of rules, which make us feel secure, because we are living within those rules. It says things like, “You shall only listen to approved music. You shall not drink alcohol at any time. You shall not wash your car on Sundays,” etc., etc. When many people first come to Christ, they experience a new liberty and freshness, but little by little, become strangled by legalism, which unfortunately is often induced by other Christians. The telltale symptom of legalism is that we begin to insist everyone keep the rules, and judge them according to how well they keep them.

The other extreme is license, which says because God is so kind, so merciful and gracious, and because we have been justified before Him, it does not really matter how we live. We can sin, come back to God, and He will cleanse and forgive us. In any case, we are going to heaven, so we begin to live more and more as we please. This is what Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a Lutheran pastor who was put to death near the end of World War II, called “cheap grace.” It is tempting, but reveals little, if any, change in us. 

Paul adamantly rejects both legalism and license as the means to holy living. So what is his answer to sin? Is it a compromise where we allow a bit more liberty with the law, or is it exercising a little more restraint in license to stop us from going too far? Paul’s answer is not in taking a middle ground, but he says that we are to, “offer every part of ourselves to God as an instrument of righteousness” (Romans 6:13). 

The all important thing about an instrument is whose hands it is in. Who is operating it? When we allow Christ the freedom to work in us, we become His instruments in which He plays His tune of righteousness in us. Dealing with sin does not come by trying, but by trusting in the sufficiency of Christ. We are not made holy by legalism or license, but by life – the life of Christ dwelling in the heart and soul of every believer.

Dear God, I submit myself wholly to You, so that You can produce in me your character and righteousness. Thank You, God. 

How can I combat veering off into legalistic or license-like attitudes?

“I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts.” —JEREMIAH 31:33

In the beginning, God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness…” (Genesis 1:26). The image God is talking about is His moral character, and we were created for the purpose of displaying His moral character. God gave Moses the Ten Commandments in order to reveal to humanity what He is like, so that we may understand what we are supposed to be like.

But since the law was given, the one word that could be written across the pages of the Old Testament is ‘failure’. The historical books recall the details of that failure. The prophetic books preach about it and the poetic books weep and mourn over it. When we come to the end of the Old Testament, we do not look back and say what a glorious history Israel has had. It is a history of failure, because humanly, it is impossible to keep the Law of God. 

In the New Testament, something wonderful happens. Jesus comes on the scene, and the expectancy of the people would have been that He would make the law less demanding or even dispense with some of it. But in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus clearly says, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them” (Matthew 5:17). This tells us the New Covenant is not going to involve a revision or rewriting of the law, but a relocating of the law. Until then, it had been written on tablets of stone. We could stand back, read it and go home feeling utterly condemned, because we cannot keep the commandments. The New Covenant is not a revision of the law, because it is absolute, and reveals the moral character of God which is unchanging. 

The nature of the Gospel is about restoring the character of God into human experience. In Ezekiel 36:27, God says, “I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.” As a man on earth, Jesus was the exact replication of the moral character of God, and it is His Spirit God imparts to us. What we try so hard to do ourselves in keeping the law become liberating promises with the indwelling Spirit of Christ. The law is expressed by the outworking of an appetite on the inside, which Jesus calls ‘a hunger and thirst for righteousness’. Under the New Covenant, Christ is our enabling, conforming us day by day into what our heavenly Father is like.

Dear Lord, thank you for giving us Jesus, our only means of expressing your moral character, and fulfilling the purpose for which we were created.

How has the indwelling of Christ changed my view of keeping the commandments?

“I am the way and the truth and the life.” —JOHN 14:6

Some years ago, I visited the flight deck of a Boeing 747 on a flight from western Canada to London. I asked the Captain if it was somewhat boring to fly a plane once it was in the air. He told me that he was constantly checking his position and direction, and that the routing to London was an extremely narrow one.

If the plane was one degree off course on the compass bearing, that would take us hundreds of miles in the wrong direction. I was very glad we had a pilot who was interested in the narrow way! I would not want a Captain who perceived that all routes went to London, put his feet up on the instrument panel, and took a nap. It is in this sense the road to life is narrow. 

Paradoxically perhaps, it is in travelling the narrow road, which deprives us of many indulgences the secular world offers, that true freedom is found. To illustrate, our cars work best when we put gas in the tank, not ginger ale. Our engines work best when we lubricate them with oil, not syrup, and our tires work best with the right poundage of air pressure, not the right poundage of bananas. To insist on gas, oil and air for our cars may seem restrictive, but in keeping with those instructions, the car is free to function as intended. And that makes us feel good and confident about driving the car. Why? Because our car is sufficiently taken care of and we can drive it at liberty.

Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life.” He does not simply show us the way and tell us the truth, so that we may enjoy the life, but He is Himself, the way, the truth and the life. That is why, if we were the car, we cannot put ginger ale in the gas tank, syrup in the engine or bananas in the tires. Human beings are not meant to run on anything but the indwelling Spirit of Christ. If we fail to bring Jesus into our everyday lives, and lean instead on our own way of thinking, our own understanding, we are running on insufficient power. Our compass bearing will be off course, and we will be taken hundreds of miles in the wrong direction, one that will inevitably lead to the broad road and the wide gate. 

Entering the Kingdom of Heaven through the narrow gate – we simply cannot imagine what that will be like, but we know with certainty only Jesus can take us there.

Precious Lord, I pray for that deep, inner strength that comes from You to keep me on your path, and headed for the narrow gate. Thank You, Lord. 

Have I given thought to how much it would please Jesus to greet me at the narrow gate?

“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” —MATTHEW 7:13-14

Life is like a road. We are all going somewhere, but the big issue is in knowing where we are going. There are only two possibilities Jesus spoke of: a broad road and a narrow road. The broad road has a wide gate and plenty of company, but has a major problem in that it leads to destruction. The narrow road has a small gate and with only a few people on it, but it leads to life.

This passage is often used evangelically to good effect; the broad way being that of people outside of Christ, and the narrow way being the Christian life. However, the context in which Jesus said this does not suggest this as an accurate interpretation. Though many heard the Sermon on the Mount which was actually spoken to Jesus’ disciples, it can be addressed to every believer. It warns of the danger of a broad road, leading to destruction, on which a Christian may go. It is not the eternal destruction of the soul, but the destruction of all that might otherwise have been the fruit of their lives. 

Paul tells us, “For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work” (1 Corinthians 3:11-13). This is the end of the broad road of which Jesus warns.

The broad road appears more attractive, and the narrow road is not at all a popular concept. Most people would like to be considered ‘broad’ and tolerant, as it suggests a mark of maturity. However, to be ‘narrow’ is to be virtuous, because it is to be aiming at a godly target and going for it. Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31-32). 

The broad road takes down the perimeter fences of Christianity, and invites us to live pretty much as we please, but with many outside influences that will ultimately lead to destruction in this life. It is on the narrow road, confining our interests to those of Jesus Christ that we find real freedom, real contentment, real purpose and real life.

Lord, I have experienced and know how easy it is to travel the broad road. Be my strength and lead me on the narrow road. Thank You, Lord.

Am I aiming for the narrow gate?

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” —MATTHEW 7:24

The final story Jesus gives in the Sermon on the Mount is possibly the most familiar. It is the story of two men who each built a house, which to all appearances were equal until a storm broke. The rain hammered down, the streams rose and the winds beat against the houses. One of them remained firm and erect. The other fell with a great crash. 

The difference between the two houses was the foundations on which they were built. One was built on sand, and the other on a rock. The assumption frequently made is that the sand represents a foundation built on anything but Christ, and the rock represents a foundation in Christ. This, however, is not the case. Jesus said the wise man who built his house on the rock was the man who “hears these words of mine and puts them into practice.” The foolish man who built his house on sand was the man who hears the words of Jesus, but does not put them into practice. The rock represents obedience and the sand disobedience.

It has often been said that the greatest need of many Christians is not to know more, but to obey what they already know. To listen without obedience is deception. James tells us, “Do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says” (James 1:22). Spiritual growth is more than an intellectual process; it is a volitional process. The word of God is effectively read and understood only from a disposition of submission and obedience to God.

The more we know, the more our capacity for sin increases. James tells us, “If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.” (James 4:17). It is a sobering thought to realize every new lesson we learn, which does not meet with a response of submission, creates a new avenue for sin. With knowledge and understanding comes responsibility, and it is in submission to the word of God and obedience to the will of God that we build a rock foundation.

New trends, religions, philosophies, and new age thinking will come and go, but as Peter says, “the word of the Lord endures forever” (1 Peter 1:25). Jesus tells us, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them” (John 14:23). Obedience to the will of God is the rock foundation in which Christ is our stability and security, regardless of how fierce the storm is.

Dear Lord, help me build my life on the rock foundation and become more obedient to your word. Thank You, Lord.

In what areas do I need the Lord’s help in obedience?

“So Samuel said to all the Israelites, ‘If you are returning to the LORD with all your hearts, then rid yourselves of the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths and commit yourselves to the LORD and serve him only...” —1 SAMUEL 7:3

After two successive losses against the Philistines, the response of the Israelites can be summed up in three words: remove, return and rest. Firstly, they ‘removed’ all the foreign gods that had been imported into Israel. Secondly, they ‘returned’ with all their hearts to the Lord, and thirdly, they began to ‘rest’ in God’s strength and sufficiency. 

C.K. Chesterton famously said, “When people stop believing in God, they don’t believe in nothing, they believe in anything.” I would like to come alongside that and say, “When people stop depending on God, they don’t become independent; they don’t depend on nothing; they depend on something else.” If we are serious about God, we have to rid ourselves of every object of dependence other than God Himself. 

We may have dealt with the same sin many times, but like the Baals in Israel, they rear their heads again and again. If our guard is not up, just as the gods from Canaanite pagan religions had repeatedly infiltrated God’s own people, they will creep back into our lives and drive us increasingly further from God. We need to confess them, and bring them in humble repentance to God. 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” This is not passive, but active. We are not simply confessing our sin, but are returning to God to serve Him only. 

One of the biggest needs in our Christian lives is not actually to go on, but to go back. Jesus said to the church in Ephesus, “Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first” (Revelation 2:4). Growth in the Christian life is not a growth from one point to another, but a growth in our relationship with Christ; in our knowledge of Him, dependence on Him and experience of Him. We do not grow out of anything as we are sealed by the Holy Spirit, but we can slide away, and Christ says we need to return and remember the love we first had for Him.

Having removed the barriers, and with all our hearts returned to God, we are to rest in His sufficiency. Resting in God is living every day dependent on Him, not only for material needs, but in every circumstance we face. Victory in the Christian life is never won, but received, yet many are still living in a frantic self effort to accomplish what only God can accomplish. Returning to God with all our hearts is what allows us to rest in His total sufficiency.

Dear Lord, I ask for your help to remove any form of dependency there is in my life other than on You. Thank You, Lord. 

Do I feel a need to return to God with all my heart?

“Why did the LORD bring defeat on us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the LORD’S covenant from Shiloh, so that he may go with us and save us from the hand of our enemies.” —1 SAMUEL 4:3

What God blesses as an expression of Himself, He will condemn when it becomes a substitute for Himself. This has been the case throughout the history of the Israelite people, and is a commonplace among Christians today.

The Ark of the Covenant had brought success to the Israelites before, but after losing a battle against the Philistines, the Israelites believed bringing the ark from Shiloh and taking it into their next battle would bring them victory. They did this, and not only did they suffer an even greater defeat, but the ark was captured by the Philistines. Wherever the Philistines brought the ark, God caused an outbreak of tumours. After seven months, it was returned to the Israelites, and brought to a place called Kiriath Jearim. 

1 Samuel 7:2 says, “The ark remained at Kiriath Jearim a long time - twenty years in all. Then all the people of Israel turned back to the LORD.” Samuel then tells them to rid themselves of foreign gods, commit themselves to the Lord, and He will deliver them from the Philistines. “So the Israelites put away their Baals and Ashtoreths, and served the LORD only” (7:4). The people fasted and confessed their sin. They said to Samuel, “Do not stop crying out to the LORD our God for us, that he may rescue us from the hand of the Philistines” (7:8). God gave them victory, throwing the Philistines into such a panic they ended up killing their own men and running from the Israelites. Throughout the rest of Samuel’s lifetime the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines. 

Something very different is happening now. The people recognized their own ideas and means of dependence were bankrupt of any power. Only God is alive and active. Detached from God, the ark was a lifeless piece of furniture, and merely representative of God. All the pagan gods imported and erected in Israel were, of course, useless. The subtlety of our day is that the better the object of our trust, the greater the illusion we have. 

What are the arks of our day that represent hope that help us? Perhaps family, friends, pastors, counselors, programs, techniques or self help books? These may be of tremendous value, but there is no substitute for dealing with God Himself. After the Israelites' victory, Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it ‘Ebenezer’, meaning “Thus far the LORD has helped us.” If we bring God in and if we keep Him in, the Lord will help us.

Dear Lord, may I never fail to bring You into every circumstance as my source of strength and deliverance. Thank You, Lord. 

Have I substituted dealing directly with God with something else?

“The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” —1 SAMUEL 16:7

How do I become someone after God’s own heart? What is He looking for? What will please Him? In Acts 13:22, Paul records what God says about David. “God testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do’.” 

David’s predecessor was Saul who disobeyed God in order to please the people. He said, “I was afraid of the men and so I gave in to them” (1 Samuel 15:24). David, in contrast, obeyed God, and always “inquired of the Lord”. In every generation, the views and expectancy of others can be so influential we tend to think like Saul. Life is easier to go with the flow, but a person after God’s own heart does not make their own plans, but will go against the flow, because their ears are tuned into the voice of God. 

A person after God’s own heart does not manipulate their own process. David spent years on the run from Saul, but did not do anything to instigate or speed up the process of getting himself on the throne of Israel. Though he had several opportunities to slay Saul, he refused to even harm him, leaving the course of events entirely up to God. When we sense God’s leading, there is often opposition that will block our way, and the temptation is to manipulate it out of our way. But then, it becomes our fight, our responsibility. Rather than trying to fight God’s battles for Him, our role is to trust Him, and allow God to bring about His purpose His way. 

A person after God’s own heart does not manufacture their own power. David was fully aware of his own inabilities, but at the same time, fully aware of the power of God. He said to Goliath, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty…” (1 Samuel 17:45). Saul would have been the likely candidate to battle Goliath, but he trembled in fear, because his strength was no longer sourced in God, but in himself.

To be someone after God’s own heart is being obedient to Him, doing what He says, and knowing that every day we live in dependence on Him, aware of His presence and being grateful for it. God is the fixed point for any crisis, any temptation, any illness, anything that frightens us, and we not only trust Him in these times, but live in His strength, confident He is working out His good purpose for us.

Lord, help me to live in your strength, dependent on You every day, and trusting You in every circumstance. Thank You, Lord. 

In my actions, does the voice of God take priority over what others may think?

“For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his.” —ROMANS 6:5

Six times in the opening verses of Romans, Chapter 6 Paul describes us as having died with Christ or having died to sin. What does he mean? How have we died with Christ? And how can we die to sin, when we know very well that even if the devil were to die tonight, we would still sin tomorrow? 

In verses 4 & 5, Paul talks about being united with Christ in His death, burial and resurrection. To be united to Christ is to be made one with Him, and to be made one with Him means that what is true of Christ is declared to be true of us. In other words, what happened to Christ is legally regarded as having happened to us. In the reckoning of God, it was not just Jesus who was crucified outside the city of Jerusalem, but as our representative, in the legal councils of heaven, we also were crucified with Him outside the city walls of Jerusalem. 

Death in Scripture is almost always associated with sin, and is the consequence of sin. In the beginning, God said to Adam, “…but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it, you will certainly die” (Genesis 2:17). Sin and death are intricately connected. Turning to the end of the Bible, we read in Revelation 21:8 about the final destruction of all sinners; the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, and the murderers, the sexually immoral, the idolaters and all liars. This is the second death, the first being physical death. 

Paul tells us in Romans 6:23, “The wages of sin is death,” but when Christ died, He satisfied the just wrath of a just God. He received in full the wages of sin and having died, sin no longer owes Him anything. As He took upon Himself all our sin, and became our substitute, we too have met the demand that sin incurs. It has paid its wages. It has produced its death, is now fully spent, and no longer holds power over us. 

When Paul says we died to sin, he does not mean we are unresponsive to it, but it no longer has the ability to destroy us as it once had. We will, of course, still battle with sin and its earthly consequences, but it will not defeat us, because our identity is in Christ, and our union with Him means we are already conquerors of both sin and death.

Dear Jesus, I acknowledge my sin and the fact that along with it, I was crucified with You. Thank You for taking my place and living in me now.

As a Christian, do I understand how I died with Christ?

“And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best…” —PHILIPPIANS 1:9-10

It is from the heart and hub of our prayer, communion and alignment with God that we are able to minister to the world. This involves intercessory prayer and is actually not a simple thing at all. Oswald J. Smith’s book entitled, “I Have Walked Alone with Jesus,” is a book of daily readings, and his entry on January 1st reads:

“Intercessory prayer is without doubt not only the highest form of Christian service but also the hardest kind of work. To the person who is not an intercessor, such a statement seems absurd. Prayer to most people is looked upon as an easy occupation – that’s because they know nothing at all of the ministry of intercession. Their prayers for the most part are centered upon themselves, their loved ones, their own personal interests and an occasional petition for the perishing world. Their prayer life is spasmodic; it is considered a side issue and is readily neglected if other things demand attention. Such a person is in no way affecting the kingdom of Satan – hence prayer, so called, is easy.

But the Christian who enters into the ministry of intercession will pass through a very different experience. Satan will do everything in his power to hinder and obstruct. There will be a conscious realization of his presence and opposition. Then, too, discouragement will cross our pathway. We continue to pray for a certain time and then because the answer does not come, we grow discouraged and give up.

Thus Satan uses his most successful weapon against us and breaks down our determination to become intercessors. And then when all else has failed, he will burden us with work. Satan would rather have us work than pray anytime.”

Prayer-less work will be powerless and fruitless. If Satan can keep us so busy we do not have time to pray, he will have accomplished his purpose. Intercessory prayer is work. It is a battle. All of Paul’s prayers on behalf of others were for things only the Holy Spirit can give. The world we live in today desperately needs the work of the Holy Spirit. We can turn on the news at any time of the day, and are given plenty of reasons to make intercessory prayer a must in our lives.

Dear Lord, I am saddened by the strife and suffering in this world, and ask for discipline in making much more time for intercessory prayer. Thank You, Lord. 

Am I moved to spend more time in intercessory prayer?

“But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” —MATTHEW 6:6

We usually place value on prayers being answered, but in the above verse, Jesus places value on prayers being rewarded. What is the nature of the reward Jesus is talking about?

There are three significant ways in which prayer is rewarded. The first is that it brings us into an intimate communion with God. When Jesus taught His disciples to pray, He began with, “Our Father in heaven…” This is the first time in the Bible that God is ever addressed as ‘Father’ in a personal way. God is called ‘Father’ in the Old Testament in a metaphorical sense, and as the Father of creation, but in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus speaks 17 times of God as Father in an intimate way. This was radically new to the Jewish people as no one ever addressed God as their Father. But when Christ becomes our Saviour, God becomes our Father in that we become united with Christ, and share in His sonship with all the privileges a child has with their father.

The second reward is that prayer brings us into alignment with God. The communion with God in the first two clauses - “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name”, leads to alignment with God in the second two clauses - “Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth…” This is not about a middle road between our will and God’s will, but about being totally aligned with the will and purposes of God. Our communion and alignment with God are intricately connected, because we will not know God’s will if we are not in communion with Him. In coming to know God, we can confidently pray for God’s will to be done, whatever the issue, because He is sufficient for any situation, and we know we can trust Him.

The third reward prayer brings is provision from God. There are three personal requests: “Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts as we have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one.” This presents our physical, moral and spiritual needs. Physically, God provides today what we need for today. Morally, though we cannot put every relationship right because it takes two people, we can be forgiving as God is forgiving. Spiritually, the closer we come to God, the more we can be sure Satan will try to lure us away, and without God’s protection, we are no match for Satan. 

Intimate communion with God, alignment with God, and provision from God are received from Him, not as an answer, but as a reward. The answers are secondary to the value of our prayers.

Precious Lord, thank you for hearing me. Thank You for knowing my heart, and for your patience and love. I treasure my prayer time with You.

Does my prayer bring me into a deeper relationship with God?

“You have searched me, LORD, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. Before a word is on my tongue, you, LORD, know it completely.” —PSALM 139:1-2 & 4

It is not easy to be exposed, to have our hearts open and naked before God. Some of us are frightened of this sense of intimacy, and consequently, are reluctant to pray. We instead keep things buried inside for protection or as a defense mechanism. Nothing is hidden from God. 

Henri Nouwen, author of 39 books on spirituality, writes this about prayer: “Prayer is no easy matter. It demands a relationship in which you allow the other to enter into the very center of your person. You allow Him to speak there, to touch the sensitive core of your being and allow Him to see so much that you would rather leave in darkness, to let Him into that place where your life gets its form. And that is dangerous to us and it usually calls for defense.”

It is in that secret place of communion with God our hearts are scrutinized. Sometimes our lack of communion with Him is a defense against parts of our hearts we would rather leave untouched, because sadly, some of our sins we actually enjoy. Though we know they always pay a bitter price at the end, in our weakness, we still hold on to them. We all battle with sin and temptation, but if we cherish sin, accept it, tolerate it, defend or rationalize it, rather than battle with it, we will lose touch with God. 

Sin gives its rewards only for a season, but when we come to God in prayer, our sin is dealt with, and the reward is huge. Prayer is both the cause and effect of our intimacy with God. We may have to wrestle with getting into that place of being alone and honest with Him; this will be the door opening for a deeper fellowship and the way paved for God to work in our lives. 

The one place we can be absolutely disarmingly honest about our hearts is alone with God. He will not be shocked; it will not be out of His depth. In our reluctance to pray, we not only deprive ourselves of intimacy with God, but all that He would otherwise do in our lives. We have nothing to lose, but everything to gain when we come in humility before God; get honest with Him, and expose the truths of our hearts.

Help me in my weaknesses, Lord. I am unable to do it on my own, and pray for Your strength and Spirit to fill me. Thank You, Lord. 

Am I reluctant to pray because of a persistent sin in my life?

“One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished one of his disciples said to him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples’.” —LUKE 11:1

Prayer is, of course, the communication part of our relationship with God, and is paramount to the Christian life. It involves a perpetual state of heart, mind and spirit that remains unceasingly aware of God’s presence. Prayer becomes the setting for God to speak, and to show us things, not only in relation to what we are praying about, but things about ourselves.

Jesus was not asked, “Teach us how to pray”, as though there were techniques and methods, but simply “to pray”. Prayer is to come from the heart, presenting openly and honestly with thanksgiving our petitions before God. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, “And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words” (Matthew 6:7). The primary message Jesus gives here is that when our words exceed our hearts, as it did with the hypocrites, standing on the street corners “to be seen by men”, prayer becomes pretence. 

Praying is about being alone with God, behind closed doors where our hearts are most earnest and genuine before Him. It is not a mechanism by which we come to God. There are no rules, no hoops we have to jump through, no mediator we need, other than the Lord Himself. Prayer is a matter of the heart, and we are all blessed with the incredible privilege of voicing our hearts and minds directly with God. 

God said to Jeremiah, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13). Praying is seeking with all our hearts the heart of God, His will and His response to us. God answers prayers in many ways. Sometimes in His silence, He is telling us “no”, or perhaps a barrier must be removed in our lives or He may be waiting for the right time. Sometimes God answers in visions, dreams or words placed in our hearts. Just as there is no fixed pattern for praying, there is no fixed pattern God has in responding. He knows what pulls at our heartstrings, and speaks to each of us in His own unique way. 

Prayer does not make us Christians, it rather changes our hearts. The word “repent” literally means to ‘change the mind’, and it is the change of mind, settling into our hearts that changes our disposition toward God, where we are brought into relationship with Him. We must not make the mistake of thinking prayer is powerful. It is God who is powerful, but the measure of our prayer lives will be the measure of our intimacy with Him.

Thank you, Lord, for the privilege of having direct access to You. Thank You for understanding our hearts, and always being available to us.

Am I praying daily? 

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces.” —MATTHEW 23:13

Religiosity or legalism is again and again one of the great barriers to the Christian life. Jesus warned of three issues in particular that take away from the simplicity and freedom we are meant to have in Him.

The first issue is the imposition of laws and regulations by the Pharisees and teachers of the law replacing the relationship. When God gave the law to Moses, it was in the context of an intimate relationship with Him. Over time, the content of the law replaced the context in which it was given. Jesus said, “They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders…” (Matthew 23:4). The heavy loads were the commandments, which Jewish leaders had expanded to 613 laws, layer upon layer of new rules to qualify the Ten Commandments. All these laws were restrictive, oppressive, heavy, and above all controlling.

Any understanding that the Gospel imposes a heavy burden is the opposite of what Jesus came to do. He said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). If we are not enjoying a personal relationship with Christ, we will substitute the context of the law for the content. The context of the law is what enables us to keep the content, because it is Jesus in us who is our enabler.

Secondly, Jesus warned about the externals replacing the internals. He said of the Jewish leaders, “Everything they do is done for people to see” (Matthew 23:5). A mark of religiosity is that you are always looking over your shoulder to be seen by others. God does not enter into the equation, and if you do not have God, all you have is an audience. The third issue Jesus warns about is position replacing principle. The Pharisees loved to be called rabbi, teacher, father, but the position they enjoyed replaced the principle. That is, God Himself, and Christ, alone, is our Father and Master in the sense that He is the only one who imparts new life. 

What Jesus thought of religiosity is the very thing that crucified Him. The religious hierarchy of His day had the externals, but not the internals; the content, but not the context; and they held the positions, but not with God. When Jesus came on the scene and said that it was all about God, about life and relationship, liberty and joy, they crucified Him. But God raised Him from the dead in order that we might be indwelt by His Spirit, and enjoy a meaningful, intimate relationship with Him, free of the condemning and burdening restraints of religiosity.

Dear Lord, I know I cannot keep the laws without your indwelling Spirit. Thank You, for the work You are doing in me. 

Am I living in dependence on Christ in keeping the laws of God?

“I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” —ROMANS 8:18

Paul wonderfully explains that as Christians we can live with any burden when we live with the confident hope of a glorious future. In Romans 15:13, Paul calls God the ‘God of hope’. Hope is actually contagious. As the saying goes, there are things better caught than taught, and hope catches. In relation to our attitude towards life and our level of hopefulness, international evangelist, John Stott, said there are three kinds of Christians: the optimist, the pessimist, and the realist. 

The optimist is the one who wants everything now. They not only rejoice in all that is available in Christ, but they look for everything He has promised to be in the present. As a result, they are looking for no sin, no suffering, no sickness, and no troubles! That is the optimist, and they will get frustrated, because Scripture does not promise an easy road. In fact, the optimist’s expectations will likely impede their spiritual growth, because it is often in our sin and troubling circumstances that God does His best work.

Next, there is the pessimist who focuses on the future. Life for the pessimist is simply “grin and bear it,” and one day in the sweet hereafter they will start enjoying life. But this too is frustrating, not only making for a dull and stagnant Christian life, but a fruitless one, as the Christian life is not meant to be passive. We are not set apart to watch the world go by, but to get involved so that we may become a blessing to others. 

The realists are those who live between the tension of the present and the future. They get hold of all that is available to them now, and live in the good of it, but they know there is more to come. Paul writes, “When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession…” (Ephesians 1:13-14).This is the deposit, the down payment of the firstfruits of the Spirit. 

The realities of our present circumstances may appear to stand in contradiction to the things God has promised, but because we do fail and are subjected to hardships, the forgotten ingredient in many of our lives is hope. We need to be encouraged in the present by the power of God and the divine resources we have in Him. We also have wonderful hope for the future and can look forward with confidence to our heavenly home, which to the man on the cross beside Him, Jesus called “paradise”.

Dear Lord, keep me as the realist, enjoying all that is available in You, but looking forward to a glorious future in paradise with You. Thank You, Lord.

Which of the three types of Christians do I most identify with? 

“A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, ‘Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean’.” —MATTHEW 8:2

The faith exercised by those who were healed by Jesus was a disposition towards Him that trusted Him to do for them whatever He wished to do. Faith does not prejudge what God may do. It is the attitude of trust that allows Him to do whatever He may choose to do, and in whatever manner He chooses to do it.

If, for good reason, God chooses to allow us to remain ill, or in a difficult circumstance, or if He chooses to heal us or take us out of that circumstance is His prerogative, both results would be a result of faith. There are many times when our faith will produce good and wonderful results, but there are many occasions when God’s objectives are different from ours. It is not the consequences of our faith that measure its effectiveness. Faith in God allows God to be God in our lives, and when living by faith, we live with the certainty of His will being accomplished, whether it involves miraculous interventions or not.

The disposition of trust in Jesus does not prejudge His actions. Knowing His will in a particular situation is not a prerequisite to exercising faith in His ability. It has been stated that faith is not saying “God can”, but is saying “God will”. The above passage would suggest the reverse is true. The leper came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” In effect, he was saying, “Lord, I know You are able, but I do not know if You are willing.” Jesus’ response was to say, “I am willing. Be clean” (Matthew 8:3). A little later, He said to two blind men, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” (9:28). To believe Jesus is willing is to prejudge His actions, which is legitimate if He has disclosed His will, but is not legitimate if He has not disclosed His will.

To believe Jesus is capable is to have every confidence in His ability, but not necessarily to be aware of His intentions. When the blind men answered, “Yes, Lord,” Jesus touched their eyes and said to them, “’According to your faith let it be done to you,’ and their sight was restored” (9:29-30). Their faith was demonstrating confidence in His ability, and the readiness to let Him work according to His own agenda and purpose. How God chooses to work in our circumstances is up to Him, but the reality of His working is always in response to our faith.

Dear Lord, I know with You all things are possible, and it is my prayer that in everything Your will be done in my life. Thank You, Lord.

Am I praying for God’s ability to improve my circumstances or for His will to be done? 

“Once I was alive apart from the law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died. I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death.” —ROMANS 7:9-10

In the above verse, Paul refers to the Ten Commandments that God gave to Moses on Mount Sinai. It is the moral law of God, which reveals His moral character. Paul talks about this law as something negative; the obvious question is why.

One of the traps we can so easily fall into is when we begin to measure our relationship with God by our ability to keep the law. The problem with the law is that it can only be applied externally. It can demand what is right, but cannot accomplish what is right. If we seek to live by the law, all that will do is ‘house train’ us. We house train animals mostly by rewarding them, but they are not aware of why they are being house trained. We, however, are aware of what is right and wrong, and our struggle is often in doing what is right. We know whether we have been evangelically house trained if the way we behave when no one is around is different from when someone is around. 

The law will let us know what is good, what is right and proper, and although it can house train us as far as outward actions and behaviours are concerned, it cannot change us on the inside. The law remains purely an external force with demands that are humanly impossible to keep. What we need is new life and a new spirit that comes from within, and God has provided that.

Paul explains in Romans 7:5-6, “For when we were in the realm of the flesh, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in us, so that we bore fruit for death. But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.” We have died to the law, Paul says, and he sets the law and the Spirit in contrast with each other, not in their meaning, but in their empowerment to keep them. 

In dying to the law, we become alive to the Spirit, receiving the life of Christ, who is our enabling to keep what the law demands. Far from being house trained, the Christian life is being liberated, free to live in dependence upon the Spirit of Christ who transforms us on the inside so that our attitudes and behaviours reveal the moral character of God, for which we were created.

Dear Lord, I am grateful that the law exposes our need of You, and thank You we can go beyond that to receive new life by your indwelling Spirit. 

Am I trying to keep the law under my own steam?

“We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place…” —2 PETER 1:19

For many people, the Old Testament prophets and their books are a little like entering dark mysterious houses, and when you walk into the first chapter, you wish someone would turn on a light. It seems full of doom and gloom and confusion. There are many judgments and rebukes, but there are also glimpses of light. Amongst all the rubble, the lights are like finding diamonds in the rough, which are beautiful truths of Scripture.

A prophet basically talked about three things. They told the people what was wrong with the world, and in particular, Israel and Judah. Their messages were diagnostic in nature and would speak about what was happening and why. Secondly, their messages would deliver what God was going to do to bring about correction, which usually involved chastisement, judgment or the threat of an invading power that would overrun the nation of Israel. The third aspect was that in the midst of devastation and turmoil, there was the offer of hope. Chastisement was not an end in itself, but was always remedial, designed to bring people back into fellowship with God. 

One of the most dramatic ways God communicated through His prophets was their personal experiences. Jeremiah was melancholy and needed companionship, but God told him never to marry, because that would send a message that he believed in the future when God wanted to convey to the people that Judah would be destroyed. Ezekiel was not allowed to mourn in public the loss of his wife whom God had put to death. He had to grieve silently and privately. Hosea was told to take an adulterous wife, who left him, turned to prostitution, and he bought her back at half the price because no one wanted her. A great portion of his book reveals God’s broken heart over the adultery of His people with other gods. 

As it was with the prophets, if we are going to personally know God, with little exception, we are going to enter into a heart that experiences pain. The truth of God must come to us first before it can ever go through us. God gifts us with touching His heart in our pain so that we may become channels of blessing to others in the area of our suffering. In the process, we learn something of God’s heart, and in hindsight, can see those diamonds glittering amongst the rubble of our pasts, because God does not waste anything in our lives. He uses them not only to build and strengthen us, but greatly blesses us with a deeper revelation of Himself.

Precious Lord, keep me in harmony with your heart, and with an ever increasing desire to turn the hearts of others towards You. Thank You, Lord.

Do I think about God’s heart over people’s rejection of Him? 

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” —MATTHEW 7:7-8

All through life we are faced with needs and theoretically, at least, we know God has the solution to those needs. For that reason, a constant feature of life is to ‘ask’, to ‘seek’ and to ‘knock’. The promise is that everyone who asks receives, everyone who seeks finds and to everyone who knocks the door will be opened. It follows that the only people who do not receive are those who do not ask, do not seek and do not knock. This is the privilege and right of access to God that is open to every Christian.

The spirit of trust, however, in which we ask is a key characteristic of effective intercession. Jesus asks, “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?” (Matthew 7:9-10). The illustration is almost absurd. No decent father will give his son a stone sandwich in place of bread or snake and chips when he is expecting fish and chips. But that is exactly a fear many of us have where it concerns God. Jesus goes on to say, “If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” (7:11)

We do not need to detail the fine print of how we would like our prayers answered, but simply bring God in with the assurance He knows what He is doing and He does what is right. When bringing a need before God, we often fear the snake instead of the fish, because deep down we assume God may not be kind to us or we do not deserve what we ask. It is true God may not give us what we ask, for He is too wise, too kind and too knowing for that, but He does give us what is right!

It is in this spirit and with this confidence we are invited to ask, seek and knock. Our poverty can so often be attributed to one source, “You do not have because you do not ask.” When we ask with right motives and treat others as we would like to be treated, it is bread, not stone, and fish, not snake God gives us. God is actually on our side! He loves us and is committed to us, and we enjoy that to the measure we, in turn, love God and are committed to Him. In fact, our response to the love of God reciprocated in love for Him creates the relationship and framework from which all else derives.

Thank you, Lord, that we are able to come to You with our needs, knowing that what You give may not be what we ask, but it will be right!

Have my prayers been answered by God in a way I did not expect?

“And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” —PHILIPPIANS 4:7

In Rome, Paul was in chains for Christ and the whole palace guard knew it, yet Paul rejoiced and remained confident in the Lord. He wore his chains as a mantle to advance the Gospel, and dared all the more to proclaim it without fear. We are all bound by chains at one point or another, and they come in many forms; some merely troublesome, but others causing great anguish with no end in sight. Where then is this peace Paul talks about? How did he not only cope, but rejoice in chains? 

The chains that seep into our lives may simply be a rut we are stuck in; a lack of purpose and significance, which turns every day into a drudgery. We can be chained to a body that does not function; chained to financial stress, marital problems, addictions, or being deeply hurt, longing for intimacy, harbouring anger and resentment, failing at school or at work; dreams, hopes and aspirations dashed, loneliness; all these are chains that cause us to cry out inwardly or visibly.

How do we find peace in these circumstances? By his example, Paul demonstrates how to cast off those chains and be content regardless of circumstances. He lived with the eternal in mind, trusting wholly in Christ, and fighting the good fight, knowing God was accomplishing His purpose through Him. That brought Paul immeasurable joy, and at times when many would think God had deserted them, Paul praised and worshipped God. Through all the perils he faced, he drew upon the Spirit of Christ within him, and it was the peace of God which sustained and strengthened him.

Peace with God is not the same as the peace of God. Peace with God is received when we have acknowledged our sin, and are reconciled to God through Jesus Christ. Peace of God is experienced through tough, trying times where we do not know what the end will be, but like Paul, we are sustained and strengthened, knowing God is working out His will and purpose in our circumstances. 

We know we are experiencing the peace of God when with prayer and thanksgiving we have genuinely turned our chains over to Him. Anguish begins to dissolve, replaced instead with a deep inner confidence in a God who knows where we are at and exactly what He is doing. Paul writes, “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). “In all things” includes every circumstance, and the peace that transcends all understanding derives from Christ, guarding our hearts and minds as we trust Him and love Him.

Dear Lord, grant me your grace that by your presence in me, I will experience the path you have chosen for me in all that I do.

In times of hardship, am I truly able to trust the Lord to lead my way?

“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.” —MATTHEW 7:15

The art of falsehood is to appear genuine. To print counterfeit currency, for example, we would not print a three dollar bill for the simple reason it does not exist. For something to be counterfeited, it must have the marks of the genuine article if it is going to stand a chance of deceiving anyone. 

From the infancy of the church of Jesus Christ into our present day, false prophets have covered themselves well, and Scripture warns us they will continue to do so until the end of this age. False preachers convincingly play the role, learn the Christian language and give the appearance of performing good works. In Matthew 7:22, Jesus said, “Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’”

In today’s world, many people have become accomplished performers and exercise what appear to be spiritual gifts. They will plead with God on the Day of Judgment, and argue their case with the delusion that their deception may have extended even to Jesus. But the One who is never deceived replies, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!” (7:23)

Cults and aberrations of true Christianity rarely identify themselves as such in their initial stages. They generally appear as having rediscovered a neglected emphasis, and are careful to use legitimate language. Many of the more disastrous cults of recent decades have their roots in evangelical Christianity, from which they drew new recruits, training them to deceive people with familiar terminology usually for monetary gain. But they are describing something that proves alien. They are wolves in sheep’s clothing! 

“By their fruit you will recognise them, “Jesus said. (7:20). Fruit takes a while to mature. It is wise to test any new idea or movement which is ambiguous for its genuineness, not on the initial sweet smelling blossom, but on its maturing fruit. The fruit of any Christian movement is not to be measured by whether it does people good, for any movement would die a swift death if it did not have its beneficiaries. The measurement by which the genuine article may be assessed is not evident in luxury cars, tailor-made suits and seaside mansions, but in the salvation of souls and the making of disciples. The ultimate test of the fruit is its conformity to the person of Jesus Christ, for He is Himself Christianity.

Dear Lord, grant me discernment in recognizing falsehood in what many pass off as Christian teaching, preaching and healing. Thank You, Lord. 

Would I recognize false Christian teaching?