Hope for Each Day Deluxe, page 4
JANUARY 29
GLORIOUS RESPONSIBILITIES
If anyone serves Me, him My father will honor.
JOHN 12:26
Young people seek adventure and excitement, but youth wants more—it wants something to believe in; it wants a cause to give itself to and a flag to follow. Without a purpose greater than themselves, young people know they will end up with empty hearts and meaningless lives.
The only cause that is big enough to satisfy the yearning of our hearts is the cause of Jesus Christ; and its flag is the blood-stained body that was lifted on the Cross of Calvary for the redemption of the world.
This invitation to discipleship is the most thrilling cause we could ever imagine. Think of it: the God of the universe invites us to become His partners in reclaiming the world for Him! We can each have a part, using the unique gifts and opportunities God has given us.
Christ’s call is for us to be His disciples every day. How are you responding to His call?
HOPE FOR TODAY
Every moment lived for the Lord has the potential to be heavy with glory. When we pick up our crosses and follow Him, our days will never be mundane, and our lives will definitely matter.
JANUARY 30
LIVING STONES
You also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house.
1 PETER 2:5
I have a friend who lost his job, a fortune, his wife, and his home. But he tenaciously held to his faith in Christ—the only thing he had left. Like Job in the Old Testament, he would not abandon God, no matter what happened. And yet like Job, he couldn’t help but wonder why.
One day he stopped to watch some men doing stonework on a huge church. One of them was chiseling a triangular piece of stone.
“What are you going to do with that?” asked my friend.
The workman said, “See that little opening away up there near the spire? Well, I’m shaping this down here so it will fit in up there.”
Tears filled my friend’s eyes as he walked away, for it seemed that God had spoken through the workman to explain the ordeal through which he was passing: “I’m shaping you down here so you’ll fit in up there.”
HOPE FOR TODAY
I will focus on You, Lord, when I’m left confused and wondering, Why? I will trust that there is purpose in my pain and that my circumstances are causing me to look a little more like You.
JANUARY 31
GODLY THOUGHTS
Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
ROMANS 12:2
The Bible teaches that our minds are to be brought under the control of Christ. The reason? How we act will be determined by how we think. If God is to change our lives, He must first change our minds.
The human mind cannot be a vacuum. It will be filled either with good or evil. It will be filled either with Christ or with carnality. What will make the difference? It depends on us, and on what we allow to enter our minds.
Negatively, our minds must be turned away from evil. We must be careful what kind of television programs we see, what kind of books we read, the things that occupy our thoughts.
But it isn’t enough to put bad thoughts out of our minds. Positively, they must be replaced with good thoughts—thoughts that are shaped by God and His Word, by prayer and worship, by fellowship with other Christians.
Deliberately turn away from every evil thought today and ask God to fill your mind instead with Himself from this moment on.
HOPE FOR TODAY
It is a dangerous thing to go out into the world empty; everything the enemy presents will seem sweet (Proverbs 27:7). Choose to fill yourself with the things of God so that you won’t be tempted by the world’s offerings.
FEBRUARY
“No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”
JEREMIAH 31:34
FEBRUARY 1
A GLORIOUS OPPORTUNITY
May the glory of the LORD endure forever; May the LORD rejoice in His works.
PSALM 104:31
C. T. Studd, the famous Cambridge cricketer and missionary pioneer, wrote the following couplet while still a student at Cambridge:
Only one life, ’twill soon be past;
Only what’s done for Christ will last.
Life is a glorious opportunity if it is used to condition us for eternity. If we fail in this, though we succeed in everything else, our life will have been a failure. There is no escape for the man who squanders his opportunity to prepare to meet God.
You will never live this day again; once it is gone, it is gone forever. How will you spend it—for yourself, or for Christ? Remember: “Only what’s done for Christ will last.”
HOPE FOR TODAY
What can you do to love the Lord and to love your neighbor? Worldly accomplishments are soon forgotten, but today is a glorious opportunity to live for Christ and be a part of something that will last forever.
FEBRUARY 2
ALWAYS WITH US
No good thing will He withhold From those who walk uprightly.
PSALM 84:11
Many times we make the mistake of thinking that Christ’s help is needed only for sickrooms or in times of overwhelming sorrow and suffering. This is not true. Certainly, God is with us in times of distress, and that is a comforting truth. But listen: Jesus wants to be part of every experience and every moment of our lives.
He went to the wedding at Cana as well as to the home of Mary and Martha when Lazarus died. He wept with those who wept and rejoiced with those who rejoiced. Someone has said, “There are just as many stars in the sky at noon as at midnight, although we cannot see them in the sun’s glare.”
I seriously doubt if we will ever understand our trials and adversities until we are safely in Heaven. Then when we look back, we are going to be absolutely amazed at how God took care of us and blessed us even in the storms of life. But God is with us in the good times also, and we should thank Him for them and commit them to Him just as surely as we do the hard times.
HOPE FOR TODAY
Thank You, Lord, for being completely invested in the lives of Your people. You are intimately acquainted with the joys and sorrows of the flesh, and You have promised to be present with us through it all.
FEBRUARY 3
ABOVE THE CLOUDS
Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
PSALM 36:5
My home is on a mountain nearly four thousand feet high. Many times I can see below me the clouds in the valley. Some mornings I wake up to find that I am in lovely sunshine, but the valley below is covered with clouds. At other times thunderstorms come up, and I can see the lightning flash and hear the thunder roar down below while I am enjoying beautiful sunlight and clear skies above.
Many times I have sat on our rustic front porch and watched the clouds below. I have thought of the clouds of discouragement and suffering that temporarily veil the sunlight of God’s love from us. Many people live with a cloud hanging over their lives.
The Bible has a great deal to say about clouds, for they sometimes symbolize the spiritual forces that obscure the face of God. But He has not abandoned us. He is still there, and in faith we know we can trust His promise: “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5).
HOPE FOR TODAY
Have you ever felt as if others were enjoying sunshine while clouds obscured your view? Remember that the clouds that seem to hide God’s presence can never hinder His power. He has not lost sight of you.
FEBRUARY 4
LOVE DEMONSTRATED
He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
1 JOHN 4:10
The word love is used to mean many different things. We say that we “love” the house that we have just bought or that we “love” a particular vacation spot or that we “love” a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. We also “love” a certain television program, and we “love” our husband or wife. Hopefully we don’t love our spouse the same way we love a peanut butter and jelly sandwich!
The greatest love of all, however, is God’s love for us—a love that showed itself in action. A friend once observed, “Love talked about is easily ignored, but love demonstrated is irresistible.” The Bible says, “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Now, that is real love! How will you respond to His love today?
HOPE FOR TODAY
Teach me to love as You love, Lord. Give me the boldness to bring Your light into dark places and the compassion to carry Your beauty to broken people. May my life be evidence of Your irresistible love.
FEBRUARY 5
LONGING FOR GOD
My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.
PSALM 84:2
Have you ever been under water for a period of time that is longer than you had expected? You know, as the time ticks away, how desperate you become to reach the surface and breathe the air. The greater the time you are under water, the more you long for a breath of air, until that desire overwhelms you, and you rush to get to the surface as rapidly as possible. You have no other thoughts but quenching your need for air.
That is what it means to “long for God,” to feel unfulfilled without Him. It means we know we desperately need Him, even more than we need air, and we yearn to be filled with His presence. “My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.”
God wants us to be satisfied with nothing less than Himself. And we are never more fulfilled than when we know Him. Ask God to give you a new hunger for Him, so you may become filled with “the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13).
HOPE FOR TODAY
How many times have you felt something missing in your life but couldn’t seem to fill the void? You’ve tried possessions, people, and prestige, but at the end of the day, the longing remains. Only Christ can fill the emptiness within.
FEBRUARY 6
TRIUMPH AND GLORY
The day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night.
1 THESSALONIANS 5:2
Christians have no cause to go around wringing their hands, wondering what they will do in the face of the present world situation. The Scripture says that in the midst of persecution, confusion, wars, and rumors of wars, we are to comfort one another with the knowledge that Jesus Christ is coming back in triumph, glory, and majesty.
Many times when I go to bed at night I think that before I awaken Christ may come. Sometimes when I get up and look at the dawn I think that perhaps this is the day He will return.
But until that day, God is still working—and so should we. In a world filled with turmoil and hopelessness, we are to pray, and we are to do all we can to alleviate suffering and bring Christ’s love to others. May Jesus’ words become true in your life: “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).
HOPE FOR TODAY
It’s tempting to sit back, study the signs, and attempt to guess when Christ will return. But our command is to keep working until He comes (Luke 19:13). Let’s be about our Father’s business.
FEBRUARY 7
THE BREAD OF LIFE
He who wins souls is wise.
PROVERBS 11:30
We have bread to give to a hungry world—the Bread of Life, Jesus Christ. People may be so busy feeding on other things that they ignore Him or refuse Him, but we must keep offering Christ to a spiritually dying world.
We have water to give to a thirsting world—the Living Water, Jesus Christ. People may seek to quench the thirst of their souls in a hundred other ways, but we must keep crying out, “Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters” (Isaiah 55:1). Sometimes they can’t come, and we have to carry it to them.
We must persevere. We must never give up. Christ never gave up, but “became obedient to the point of death” (Philippians 2:8).
All around you are people who hunger and thirst for God, although they may not even realize it. Will you point them to Christ, who alone can satisfy their deepest longings?
HOPE FOR TODAY
Who do you know who is hungry for something more? Who around you is parched and longing for something to refresh their spirits? Don’t let them leave your presence without a catching a glimpse of Christ.
FEBRUARY 8
THE STORM IS BEHIND US
You have cast all my sins behind Your back.
ISAIAH 38:17
We shall never understand the extent of God’s love in Christ at the Cross until we understand that we shall never have to stand before the judgment of God for our sins. All our sins—without exception—were placed on Christ, and He took the judgment we deserve. He finished the work of redemption.
Once while crossing the North Atlantic in a ship, I looked out my porthole when I got up in the morning and saw one of the blackest clouds I had ever seen. I was certain that we were in for a terrible storm. I ordered my breakfast sent to my room and spoke to the steward about the storm. He said, “Oh, we’ve already come through that storm. It’s behind us.”
If we are believers in Jesus Christ, we have already come through the storm of judgment. It happened at the Cross. Don’t be bound by your guilt or your fears any longer, but realize that sin’s penalty has already been paid by Christ—completely and fully.
HOPE FOR TODAY
Guilt is the game of the enemy; he wants you to focus on every wrong you’ve done or had done to you. Choose, instead, to be consumed with the Cross of Christ and embrace the grace available to you.
FEBRUARY 9
POWER TO CHANGE THE WORLD
You are my hope, O Lord GOD; You are my trust from my youth.
PSALM 71:5
We still wrestle with the same problems that preoccupied Plato and Aristotle centuries ago: Where did we come from? Why are we here? Where are we going? We search for answers, but the signs all seem to say “no exit.”
But the Cross boldly stands against the confusion of our world, a beacon of hope in the midst of darkness and doubt. In the Cross, Christ not only bridged the gap between God and us, but there we find the answers to life’s deepest questions. There we discover our true identity: forgiven sinners who now belong to God. There we discover our true destiny: a glorious eternity with God in Heaven. There we discover our true purpose: to love God and serve Him with all our might.
Never underestimate what Christ did for us through the Cross. By it our salvation was won, and by it our lives—and our world—can be transformed. What difference does the Cross make in your life?
HOPE FOR TODAY
The Cross made clear Your love for me, God. No matter what comes my way, I will never question the sincerity of Your love or the lengths to which You would go to make me Your own.
FEBRUARY 10
THE MASTER KEY
The LORD our God we will serve, and His voice we will obey!
JOSHUA 24:24
I knew a wealthy father who refused to get his son a bicycle because the boy’s report card showed disgracefully low marks, the yard was not raked, and other assignments had not been carried out. I’m sure the father would not have been wise to lavish gifts upon such a disobedient and ungrateful son. He wasn’t being cruel or stingy; he simply knew his son needed to learn responsibility.
God, too, wants us to learn responsibility. Yes, we are saved by His grace—but we are also called to be responsible disciples, learning to follow Christ by obeying God’s will. The Bible warns, “If you do not obey the voice of the LORD, but rebel against the commandment of the LORD, then the hand of the LORD will be against you” (1 Samuel 12:15).
If you want God to hear your prayers, surrender your selfishness and stubbornness to Him, and then humbly seek His will. Obedience is the master key to effective prayer.
HOPE FOR TODAY
Do you want to unleash the power of prayer in your life? Ask God to open your eyes to any area of disobedience that may be hindering your efforts. Then, watch what He can do with the prayers of a righteous person.
FEBRUARY 11
NOT FAITH BUT SIGHT
“The Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels.”
MATTHEW 16:27
Today Christ is hidden from our view (although through the Holy Spirit He lives in our hearts). Today is the day of faith; as Paul wrote, “We walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7). Only in the future will we “see Him as He is” (1 John 3:2).
Christ’s first appearing was quiet, almost unnoticed—a humble manger, simple shepherds, an insignificant corner of the Roman Empire. His second appearing will be glorious and universal. He will be accompanied by His angels and will defeat every enemy until He subdues the whole earth.
How easily the events of the moment crowd out the promise of eternity! The present seems so real; the unseen future seems so illusory. But in reality the opposite is true. Don’t let the present consume you. Instead, “seek those things which are above, where Christ is” (Colossians 3:1).
HOPE FOR TODAY
The things of this world, both the pleasures and the pains, are temporary. Learn to look beyond them and to seek your Father’s face. His presence is a constant in an ever-changing world.
