Too Much

Daily Devotional, December 29, 2010

Too Much

read›
Ecclesiastes 7:15-18
Pay attention to these
instructions, for anyone
who fears God will
avoid both extremes
(v.18).

The other day I was putting air in my car’s tires. The
small wording on the side of the tires warned me,
“Maximum pressure: 35 psi.”

I’m no mechanic, but this is good information to know.
I’ve been told that too much air in a tire will negatively
affect braking, cornering, and overall stability. Less of
the tire touches the ground when tire pressure is too
high. As a result, a car will tend to bounce around on
the road and its tires will lose traction. We all need air
in our tires, and we won’t get very far on a tire that is
low or flat. But as with many things in life, too much of a
good thing can be detrimental.

Take, for example, something as basic as food. We
all need to eat. But the Bible clearly warns against the
dangers of overeating (Proverbs 23:20-21).
Needing too much of a good thing can also show
up in our relationships. For instance, the Old Testament
character Leah (Rachel’s older sister and Jacob’s first
wife) was a woman who seemed to need her husband’s
love too much. From the start of a marriage that was
born out of deception, Jacob made no bones about the
fact that he loved Rachel much more than Leah (Genesis
29:30).

Coming in second place left Leah heartbroken. Sadly,
she thought she could win more of Jacob’s affection and
attention by giving him children (29:32,34). But her plan
never worked. It only drew her deeper into a jealous rivalry with Rachel that she
would never win (30:1-24).

Leah’s desire for her husband’s love was legitimate, but it began to consume
her when it became the primary focus of her life. Is there something good in
your life you need too much? —Jeff Olson

more›
Do you like honey?
Don’t eat too much, or
it will make you sick!
Don’t visit your neighbors
too often, or you will
wear out your welcome
(Proverbs 25:16-17).

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Watching

Daily Devotional, December 24, 2010

Watching

read›
Psalm 59:6-10

You, O God, are my
fortress (v.9).

My 7-year-old son, Wyatt, loves chess. I first
taught him to play on the chessboard in our
local coffee shop, and last Christmas he asked
for his own set to enjoy at home. Recently, we were
playing after dinner, and Wyatt became infatuated with
the knight—the piece that moves two squares, then one
more square (like an “L”). His strategy was fixated on his
desire to get the knight to move all over the board. So,
with his focus fixed on the knight, I methodically moved
one pawn (the piece that can move only one square at a
time) across the entire board, taking out his pieces along
the way.

We’re tempted to fixate on all kinds of things: our
image, another person’s opinion of us, our success or
our failures. When things go poorly for us (bad health
news or relational disappointments or financial woes),
we search everywhere and look to anyone in a flailing
attempt to figure out how to change our situation. We try
very hard to save ourselves.

The psalmist knew serious trouble. He spoke of violent
men who were hunting him down, “snarling like vicious
dogs” (Psalm 59:6). Their assaults were not merely
physical: “Their words cut like swords,” he wrote (v.7).
Do you feel as if someone is after you or as if some
circumstance has consumed you? Are you experiencing a
relationship that’s painful, that cuts to your soul?

Rather than working frantically to find your own remedy (which never ultimately
works), Scripture invites you to turn to God, knowing that He’s the only One who
can rescue you. The psalmist encourages us to quiet our heart, turn fully to God,
and proclaim, “I watch for You” (v.9 NIV). We don’t watch for ourselves or our
friend or our spouse. Our true help doesn’t come from these sources. We watch
for God. —Winn Collier

more›
I look to the Lord for help.
I wait confidently for
God to save me, and
my God will certainly
hear me (Micah 7:7).

next›
Who or what do you
watch for when you need
help? What happens
when we’re slow to
watch for God?

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Compassionate Anger

Daily Devotional, December 22, 2010

Compassionate Anger

read›
Mark 3:1-6
He looked around at them angrily and was
deeply saddened by their hard hearts (v.5).

Some things make me angry. Newspaper columnists
who belittle life-long marriage; radio hosts who
rile against refugees; the big glossy advertisements
for brothels in my local newspaper; climate-change
proponents who label their critics ”deniers” to silence them;
climate-change critics who label their opponents “alarmists”
for the same reason. Yes, some things make me angry.

Jesus became angry (John 2:13-17;11:33). One
Sabbath He was preaching in a synagogue when a
number of His critics were present. In a provocative
move, Jesus called to a man with a crippled hand and
had him stand in front of the group. “Does the law
permit good deeds on the Sabbath,” Jesus asked, eyeing
His critics, “or is it a day for doing evil?” (Mark 3:4).
Silence. “Is this a day” (we can imagine Him speaking
louder now), “to save life or to destroy it?” Still silence.

God made the Sabbath as a time for rest and renewal
(Exodus 20:8), but by Jesus’ day the religious leaders had
made its strict observance a sign of one’s righteousness.
No work was to be done on the Sabbath, including, in the
Pharisees’ eyes, the healing of crippled men. And Jesus
was angry about that—angry at the Pharisees’ hard hearts.
But, astonishingly, we find Jesus being “deeply
saddened” by them too (Mark 3:5). His anger at evil
wasn’t accompanied by hatred for its perpetrators, but by
sadness, grief, compassion.

I ask myself, to what degree do I feel compassion for that columnist, radio
host, or brothel owner? Do I feel sad about that angry driver or climate-change
critic? I’m not sure how much of my anger is the least bit righteous, let alone
combined with compassion.

To feel anger is human. To feel compassionate anger is divine. I want to be
more like Jesus. —Sheridan Voysey

more›
• Proverbs 14:29
• Ephesians 4:26,31
• James 1:19-20

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Sellout

Daily Devotional, December 21, 2010

Sellout

read›
1 Kings 21:1-29
You have sold yourself to
what is evil in the Lord’s
sight (v.20).

Anthony Marshall conned his mother out of millions
before she died at age 105 in 2007. Her money,
advancing age, and struggle with Alzheimer’s
disease made her an attractive target. Marshall’s mother
was Brooke Astor—famous New York City socialite and
keeper of the vast Astor family fortune. Ironically, her
senior-citizen son was already wildly wealthy, and yet he
conspired with his lawyer to ratchet up his inheritance!
Marshall’s actions confirm what the Bible says:
“Human desire is never satisfied” (Proverbs 27:20). But
greed is not always about acquiring more money. It’s
about wanting more of something than what we need.
King Ahab wanted more land (1 Kings 21:2). He
suffered from a greedy fixation on a vineyard next to
his palace. Problem was, the property-owner (Naboth)
wasn’t selling. So Ahab went home and pouted until
his wife appealed to his sense of entitlement, his status,
and his ability to have anything he wanted (v.7). Acting
like greed incarnate, Jezebel urged Ahab toward selfindulgence,
rather than self-control.
Jezebel then hired two thugs to falsely accuse Naboth of
cursing God and the king. As a result, the villagers stoned
Naboth to death, and Ahab “immediately went down
. . . to claim [the property]” (v.16). He never questioned
Jezebel’s means for procuring the vineyard. Greed says it’s
OK to trample people to get what we want.
Although we may not see it, God does. He does not want us to follow Ahab’s
example and become sellouts to greed (v.20). To avoid this, the Bible advises us
to “be satisfied with what [we] have” (Hebrews 13:5). Contented living guards
us against self-indulgence and a willingness to hurt others to acquire our heart’s
desire. It allows us to want only what we need, instead of needing what we
want. —Jennifer Benson Schuldt

more›
• Colossians 3:5
• Luke 12:15
• 1 John 2:15

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Small Sins

Daily Devotional, December 20, 2010

Small Sins

1 Samuel 13:1-14
“How foolish!” Samuel exclaimed. “You have
not kept the command the Lord your God gave
you. . . . Now your kingdom must end, for
the Lord has sought out a man after His own
heart” (vv.13-14).

Fish farmers in the southern U.S. had a small
problem. Algae was filling their ponds, so they took
the seemingly innocent step of importing Asian
carp—which can grow to 100 pounds and eat 40
percent of their body weight each day—to clean the
bottom of their ponds. But flooding swept the carp into
the Mississippi River, which they navigated until they
entered the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, a mere
40 miles from Lake Michigan.
Now the entire region has a large problem, for if the
Asian carp reach Lake Michigan, their insatiable appetite
for plankton may upset the food chain and disrupt the
Great Lakes’ $7 billion-per-year fishing industry.
Little acts can have large consequences. King Saul lost
his kingdom for two small sins. His first mistake was not
waiting for Samuel to arrive to offer sacrifices. But who
can blame him? Samuel was late (from Saul’s perspective)
and Saul’s army was slipping away. If Saul didn’t seek
the Lord’s favor soon, he would go to war without God’s
blessing (1 Samuel 13:5-9).
Saul’s second failure came on the heels of a signature
victory. His armies defeated the Amalekites; but rather
than destroy everything as God had commanded, Saul
and his men “kept the best of the sheep and goats, the
cattle, the fat calves, and the lambs—everything, in fact,
that appealed to them” (1 Samuel 15:9).
The root of these seemingly insignificant sins was the sin of fear. Saul feared
losing his army, either by not offering the sacrifice fast enough or by sacrificing
something his men wanted. But he feared his men more than he feared God, and
God responded by revoking his kingship.
Learn the lesson of Saul: some sins are understandable, but none are
excusable—and all are devastating. —Mike Wittmer

more›
• 1 Samuel 15:1-23
• Luke 16:10-13
• Acts 5:27-32
next›
Do you feel pressured
by circumstances or
other people to do
something that you know
is wrong? How might
you use this opportunity
to demonstrate your trust
in God?

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Waiting

Daily Devotional, December 17, 2010

Waiting

read›
Psalm 5:1-3
Each morning I bring my requests to You and
wait expectantly (v.3).

We have some friends, a young married couple, living with us. Finished with one part
of their university studies, they’ve applied to a variety of graduate schools to continue their
coursework. But they have no idea where they will end up. The possibilities are all over the map—from Boston
to Vancouver to Pittsburgh to Atlanta. They’ve filled out many applications and requested numerous grants.

There have also been interviews and carefully considered options as they’ve considered their future every which way. Now, all they can do is pray—and wait for the day when the postman brings news of what their future holds.

Psalm 5 begins with a straightforward request: “O Lord, hear me as I pray; pay attention to my groaning”
(v.1). The psalmist, King David, was in a gloomy place. We don’t know his situation, but David was experiencing some measure of loss, sorrow, or torment. He was in pain, “groaning.” And in his difficult place, David wanted God to hear his agony. He needed God to listen to his “cry for help” (v.2).

David didn’t run to his advisors or his wife or the many wise sages of his court for aid. None of them could
help him. He didn’t roll up his sleeves and pore over documents, figuring out some solution to his predicament.
David knew he couldn’t help himself. He went directly to the only One who could meet him in his darkness. “I pray to no one but You,” David said (v.2). David waited, watching for God.

David’s only work was to not work. He decided to bring his heart and his hope to God and then to “wait expectantly” (v.3). The Message puts it this way: “Every morning I lay out the pieces of my life on your altar and watch for fire to descend.” —Winn Collier

more›
Come quickly to help me, O Lord my Savior
(Psalm 38:22).

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Not a Minute Late

Daily Devotional, December 15, 2010

Not a Minute Late

read›
Habakkuk 2:2-20
If it seems slow in coming, wait patiently,
for it will surely take place. It will not be
delayed (v.3).

Jason took a trip to New York during spring break. One afternoon, he piled into a cab with some friends
and headed for the Empire State Building. The ride seemed totally chaotic and dangerous to Jason. After
arriving at their destination, the group headed up to the observation deck. Once there, Jason paused to
take in the view—102 floors above the ground. To his amazement, he saw order and design in the city streets
where—only a few minutes before—he had experienced chaos. Jason was struck by the change of perspective.

Jammed in a cab amid the honking horns of turbulent traffic, he had one view of life. But his perch up on the
Empire State Building gave him an entirely different take. To Habakkuk, God seemed indifferent to the evil
permeating Judah. And he was greatly disturbed when God said He would use the wicked Babylonians to judge His people (1:5-11). God responded to Habakkuk’s complaints (1:12–2:1) without explaining why He chose to use the Babylonians.

Instead, He gave Habakkuk a divine perspective. Habakkuk 2:2-20 reminds us that God is all about
righteousness. He might choose to use wicked people to further His purposes, but that doesn’t mean He approves of their sin. No, God will ultimately punish the wicked for the evil they’ve committed. It’s reassuring to know that the sinful deeds of men can’t thwart the purposes of God. God is sovereign. He will work things out in our lives for His purposes. His plans will be completed and on His schedule.

As humans, our perspective is limited. We can’t view the whole picture from our “cab ride” through life; only God can see it all from “His holy temple” (v.20). Things may seem chaotic in your life. But take heart, for “the Sovereign Lord is [our] strength” (3:19). —Poh Fang Chia

more›
In just a little while, the Coming One will come
and not delay. And My righteous ones will live
by faith. But I will take no pleasure in anyone
who turns away (Hebrews 10:37-38).

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Running From Nineveh

Daily Devotional, December 16, 2010

Running From Nineveh

read›
Jonah 4:1-11
Nineveh has more than 120,000 people living in
spiritual darkness, not to mention all the animals.
Shouldn’t I feel sorry for such a great city? (v.11).

Sixty-six-year-old Nita Friedman was not the sort of person you would expect to lead the police on a
15-mile car chase. But that’s exactly what police chief Mike Hutter encountered on US Highway 95 in
Bonners Ferry, Idaho.

After receiving a call about a reckless driver, Hutter spotted Friedman and turned on his lights and siren.
Rather than pull over, however, Friedman kept on going. Apparently, she was confused and didn’t think his vehicle was a real police car. Although she never exceeded the speed limit, Friedman was eventually charged with eluding a police officer.

Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about a biblical character who also made a run for it. Unlike Nita Friedman, this guy intentionally ran away—not from the law, but from God. He wasn’t confused. He flat out didn’t want to go to the place where God had called him to go. His name was Jonah (Jonah 1:1-3). A part of me understands Jonah. Who in their right mind would want to go to Nineveh—a city that tortured and killed its own people? But running away from God didn’t turn out so well for Jonah (vv.3-17). After he had a change of heart (ch.2), God called him again to go and warn Nineveh of its impending demise. This time he went. The city repented, God showed compassion, and Jonah was furious (ch.3–4).

It’s not merely that Jonah ran. What’s so problematic is why he ran. He bolted because he refused to accept the wildly amazing truth that God’s grace is for all—even people as wicked as the Ninevites. Are there people that we’ve judged as unworthy of God’s grace? Perhaps because of their behavior or the way they look? It’s time to reach out to them in God’s love. Who is your Nineveh? —Jeff Olson

more›
God is so rich in mercy, and He loved us so
much, that even though we were dead because
of our sins, He gave us life when He raised
Christ from the dead (Ephesians 2:4-5).

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Curses & Conflicts

Daily Devotional, December 14, 2010

Curses & Conflicts

read›
Genesis 3:1-15
I will cause hostility between you and the
woman, and between your offspring and her
offspring (v.15).

Conflicts. I haven’t found anyone who truly enjoys them. I, for one, will do anything possible to
avoid conflicts. For I desire and strive to live at peace with everyone (Romans 12:18; Hebrews 12:14).
Genesis 3:15 is about hostility and animosity. In this verse, God declares that He will cause enmity between
Satan and Eve. Why would God deliberately create enmity between the two?

Satan had succeeded in getting Adam and Eve to disobey God (vv.1-7). But he couldn’t get their
allegiance, because God intervened. God’s judgment, a curse on Satan, is tinged with hope and provides
a blessing for us today. It’s God’s first gracious and merciful act immediately after the fall. God caused the
hostility between the devil and Eve (v.15) in order to prevent Eve from giving her full allegiance to Satan.

The devil wants us to think of him as a friend (2 Corinthians 11:14). In setting up hostility between
Satan and Eve, God reminds us that Satan is no friend. He’s our great enemy! The apostle Peter, writing from
his own painful failure (Luke 22:31-34,56-62). warns us to “stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the
devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). Genesis 3:15 speaks of Eve’s offspring (seed NKJV).

Many theologians believe the seed of the woman foreshadows the virgin birth of Christ. For in nature, the seed is in the male, not the female. So it appears that the promise of the Savior was first announced in the Garden of Eden—immediately after Adam and Eve had sinned. At that early time—the grace of God was revealed that allows us to be set free from the curse and conflict that came with sin. —K.T. Sim

more›
• Romans 16:20
• Galatians 3:16
• Hebrews 2:14

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Failure

Daily Devotional, December 13, 2010

Failure

read›
Matthew 26:69-75
Go and tell His disciples, including Peter, that Jesus
is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see
Him there, just as He told you before He died (Mark 16:7).

According to columnist Perry Buffington, a licensed psychologist, failure takes on a life of its own
because the brain remembers incomplete tasks or failures longer than successes or completed activities. It’s
called the “Zeigarnik effect.” Buffington states, “When a project or a thought is completed, the brain . . . no
longer gives the project priority or active working status. . . . But failures have no closure. The brain continues to spin the memory, trying to come up with ways to fix the mess and move it from active to inactive status.”

Peter failed in many ways, but Jesus fixed the mounting mess of the apostle’s failures and moved his blunders
from active to inactive status. Peter failed in at least two ways that people most fear: being powerless in a crisis
and awkward in a social setting. In the most important times of his life with Jesus—the Caesarea Philippi scene
(Matthew 16:20-23), the transfiguration scene (17:1-4), and the foot-washing scene (John 13:4-10)—Peter said
the most inappropriate things. He failed because the deluge of his pride overpowered him, and he attempted
to blanket himself in his own strength. At the arrest of Jesus, he collapsed and became a pathetic coward
(Matthew 26:69-75). His heart deceived him and he denied his Teacher and Lord. But Jesus gave him a
second chance and moved his failure from active to inactive (Mark 16:7; John 21:15-17).

Jesus can move our failure to inactive status when we realize that He’s bigger than our failures and He’s willing to give us another chance. If our failures are the result of sin, then we should confess our sins to God and genuinely repent (1 John 1:9). When we fail, we can and should get up again (Proverbs 24:16).
And we should press on in Jesus’ power (Acts 3). —Marvin Williams

more›
• 1 Kings 19:9-16
• Psalm 37:23-24
• Galatians 6:1

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Wrong Directions

Daily Devotional, December 10, 2010

Wrong Directions

read›
Psalm 1
Oh, the joys of those who . . . delight in the law of the Lord (vv.1-2).

Last summer, a couple from Sweden took a wrong turn on their way to paradise. The duo was determined
to reach the beautiful island of Capri, Italy. As they headed out from Venice, however, they went the wrong
way. You see, they had accidentally entered “C-A-R-P-I” into their car’s GPS, not “C-A-P-R-I.” So when the two found themselves in the northern town of Carpi, Italy—some 660 kilometers away from Capri—they were redirected to the place where they hoped to pursue happiness, Capri.

Have you and I set a course for happiness that leads to anything but that blissful state? Fortunately, the psalmist provides clear direction: “Oh, the joys of those who . . . delight in the law of the Lord” (1:1-2). When we follow hard after God and dig deep into His Word—taking it to heart—we can be blessed . . . and happy.

In verse 1, we also find that certain things don’t lead to
happiness:
• Following evil advice. Is our pursuit of happiness
based in the ideals and things of this world, or in God’s
blessing?
• Standing with sinners. Who’s influencing us and our
path? God leads the godly to good things (v.6).
• Joining with mockers. How have we mocked what is
sacred in our striving after what is silly and worthless?

In verse 2, the psalmist writes that we should be “meditating on [God’s Word] day and night.” We often
“meditate” on things that can never bring happiness. We long for this and that. Objects become our focus and our passion—consuming our thoughts. But even if we get what we want, the short-lived pleasure doesn’t lead to long-term happiness.

Only when we place our full focus on God and His Word will we be like “trees planted along the riverbank” (v.3), flourishing in happiness that comes only from God. —Tom Felten

more›
• Psalm 144:15
• Proverbs 16:20
• Jeremiah 17:7-8

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Little Pieces of Sin

Daily Devotional, December 9, 2010

Little Pieces

read›
Romans 6:1-13
You also should consider
yourselves to be dead
to the power of sin and
alive to God through
Christ Jesus (v.11).

Cleaning my home is not my preferred choice
of activity most days, but I do enjoy the fruit of
my labor once the task is done. I don’t mind the
dusting or the vacuuming; it’s the endless prerequisite
task of straightening that bores me. The other day, when
I found a small puzzle piece, I was tempted to throw it
away. I had bigger tasks to tackle and didn’t want to be
sidetracked. I realized, though, that without that small
piece the puzzle would remain forever incomplete, and
the other pieces would soon follow the one into the trash.

Like throwing away an inconvenient, left-behind puzzle
piece, we may find it tempting to brush aside what we
define as a small issue of sin. We reason that its impact will
be minimal because it seems inconsequential. The call for
every believer, however, is to pursue character that reflects
God’s own (Philippians 1:6,9-11). Reminding us of God’s
love for us, the Song of Solomon reveals that we have a
role in protecting our love relationship with Jesus: “Catch
all the foxes, those little foxes, before they ruin the vineyard
of love, for the grapevines are blossoming!” (2:15).

When describing the death that sin brings, Romans
6:23 doesn’t differentiate between size or category. Any
sin we willfully hang on to brings separation from God
(Isaiah 59:2) and eventual death. In our spiritual lives,
we can keep away the little foxes by:
• Guarding our hearts. The enemy often uses our
desires and temptations to open the door to sin (Proverbs 4:23).
• Confessing our sins. Admitting our failings reminds us that in our own strength
we miss the mark, but through God transformation is possible (Romans 6:7).
Keep dealing with the small sins in your life, before they lead to something
much larger and more costly. —Regina Franklin

more›
• Psalm 32:2
• Hebrews 12:1
• Revelation 3:19

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What I Need

Daily Devotional, December 8, 2010

What I Need

read›
Genesis 21:8-20
Seek the kingdom of God above all else,
and live righteously, and He will give you
everything you need (Matthew 6:33).

Diane was devastated. Despite her husband’s absence for nearly half their 8-year marriage, she
had faithfully supported him in his military career. Then, abruptly, he announced that he was leaving her and
their children for another woman. Now she sat in a clinic awaiting test results that would let her know if he had left her with any “parting gifts”—STDs.

An elderly woman seated across from Diane noticed her telltale red eyes. “Are you all right?” she gently inquired. With nothing to lose, the younger woman decided to
share her plight. As providence would have it, this woman had also been divorced after 8 years of marriage—
more than 5 decades earlier! And she, like Diane, was a follower of Jesus. She knew exactly what this young
mother was going through. As her new friend quietly prayed for her in the waiting room, Diane knew that
somehow God would bring her and her children through this difficult season. It was enough grace for the moment, at just the right moment.

In Genesis, we read of another woman who knew rejection and abandonment. Hagar, a servant to Sarah,
had been sent into the arid wilderness by her owner (Genesis 21:8-14). Having run out of water, she put her
son in the shade some distance away so she wouldn’t have to watch him die (v.16). But the angel of the Lord met her there and provided for their needs.

In Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, He spoke of meeting our basic physical needs (Matthew 6:25-33). But He also provides what we need for the vast array of experiences that life throws at us. For some of our biggest needs are emotional.

Life is hard. But we have Someone who knows what we’re going through. He will never abandon us. He’s within reach of our next heartfelt prayer. —Tim Gustafson

more›
What does Matthew 6:25-33 tell us about
how God provides for us? What does Romans
3:23-26 tell us that God did to meet our
biggest need?

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Escape

Daily Devotional, December 7, 2010

Escape

read›
Our Daily Journey 7 2 Timothy 2:23-36
Then they will come to their senses and escape
from the devil’s trap (v.26)

Seventeen-year old Shirin arrived at Afghanistan’s Heart Regional Hospital with 90 percent of her
body covered in third-degree burns. The official story given to hospital staff was that Shirin had suffered
a cooking accident. Later in private, however, the teenager told doctors that she had set herself aflame.

Sadly, such acts are not rare. Many young Afghan women feel powerless and isolated. French nurse Marie-
Jose Brunel explains their predicament: “She [feels she] is here only to wash, to clean, to give baby . . . and
nothing more.” Trapped in a culture where they have no voice, women take drastic measures to escape.
The sensation of being trapped, confined, and bound, with no way of wresting free, is a horrible, suffocating
sensation. The Scripture describes the devil as one who works to ensnare all of God’s people and all of God’s
creation. The devil’s work always results in some form of bondage: a father compulsively driven to achieve
corporate prestige or to pad his reputation, a mother consumed with image—hers and her family’s. Some
people are addicted to heroin, but others are addicted to religious perfection. In each case, we’re trapped. And
eventually, we will all find ourselves desperate to be free.

The devil is the “father of lies” (John 8:44), and his traps showcase his many ways of twisting the truth. Our
way to be free, then, is to “learn the truth,” to see the false promises we have believed and the false hopes we have nurtured for what they are: lies that ensnare (2 Timothy 2:25-26).

And the truth we are to learn is not primarily facts or ideas, but a person— Jesus, for He is “the truth” (John 8:32). His name literally means God saves. This is an affirmation that He has already provided for our escape. —Winn Collier

more›
I fear that somehow your pure and undivided
devotion to Christ will be corrupted, just as
Eve was deceived by the cunning ways of
the serpent (2 Cor.11:3

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Glorious Mess

Daily Devotional, December 6, 2010

Glorious Mess

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Philippians 3:12-14
I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved
these things or that I have already reached
perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection
for which Christ Jesus first possessed me (v.12).

In 1998, Dr. Larry Crabb wrote the book Inside Out. The book encourages Christians to stop pretending
they have it all together and to be honest about what’s going on in their hearts. As they do so, Crabb
reveals, God can free them up to become more of who they were meant to be.

After the book was published, Larry half-jokingly said that he wished it had been titled I’m a Mess, You’re a
Mess. He knew it wasn’t the most attractive title, yet it reflected something that is true of every one of us.

Take, for example, King David. Even though God considered him a man after His own heart (Acts 13:22),
he was not without his struggles and faults. Second Samuel 11 records a time in David’s life when he was
troubled by a lack of direction and purpose. Floundering in his kingly calling, David abused his power by
summoning a married woman to his bedroom, and then arranged for her husband’s death to cover up what he
had done.

Perhaps one of the reasons the Bible includes this sordid part of David’s life is to remind us that none of
us has arrived. It’s not an excuse to be a mess, but it’s a reminder that we’re a “glorious” mess in process. In other words, we all have room to grow.

It’s important to envision who we can be, but let’s not deny where we are today. Referring to the life that is
ours in Christ, even the apostle Paul acknowledged, “I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection” (Philippians 3:12).

Don’t pretend that you’re farther along in the Christian life than you are. God works in our lives where we are, not where we think we should be. —Jeff Olson

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Solomon loved the Lord and followed all the
decrees of his father, David, except that
Solomon, too, offered sacrifices and burned
incense at the local places of worship
(1 Kings 3:3).

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Acceptable Apology

Daily Devotional, December 1, 2010

Acceptable Apology

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Genesis 50:1-21
We, the servants of the
God of your father, beg
you to forgive our sin
(v.17).

After fighting with his wife, one man in Saudi Arabia decided to apologize. Unfortunately, his wife had
already moved back in with her parents. So he created a banner with his plea for forgiveness printed
on it, hung it near his in-laws’ house, and commented, “I hope she will accept my apology and come back home.”

There are lots of ways to say I’m sorry—banners, greeting cards, Web sites, public speeches, or just
a simple hand-on-the-shoulder discussion next to the refrigerator. No matter how we express the idea, an
acceptable apology should cover some basic points.

First, it’s important to name the offense. Years after Joseph’s brothers sold him as a slave, they sent him this
message: “Please forgive your brothers for . . . their sin in treating you so cruelly” (Genesis 50:17). Although
they didn’t go into the details of the sale, they did address the heart of the matter, which was their cruelty.

Second, once they established the issue, the brothers focused exclusively on their own wrongdoing. They didn’t remind Joseph of his bratty behavior and superiority complex back when they were growing up. Like the
brothers, we should not try to justify our offense by pinning blame on the other person.

Third, sometimes an apology includes taking action to make things right. Joseph’s brothers bowed before him,
proclaiming, “Look! We are your slaves!” (v.18). This fulfilled a prophetic dream of Joseph’s in which he would reign over his family members (37:5-8). The whole situation had come full circle and his siblings’
repentant action was a final act of restitution.

The Bible urges us to “work at living in peace with everyone” (Heb. 12:14). Sometimes this means giving an acceptable apology—identifying and owning up to our fault and then doing what it takes to made amends for our offense.

—Jennifer Benson Schuldt

more›
• Psalm 38:18
• Romans 12:18
• 1 John 1:9

next›
What should you do if someone refuses to
forgive you? How has forgiveness changed
your life?

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