by Aaron Hanzel | Jan 10, 2019
What if every decision we made as Christians was prefaced with the perforating reality of the grace of God? Imagine that: What time am I leaving for work? Who do I need to meet with? What will I have for lunch? Should I rest or go out tonight? What will I wear? Iced or hot coffee?
Imagine every one of these activities beginning with “wow, God, I don’t deserve Your grace but thank You for loving me so much to send Your Son to take my punishment”? It almost sounds silly, doesn’t it?
What do any of those decisions have to do with eternal righteousness in Christ? How can any of those decisions relate to the all-powerful Creator of time, matter, and the universe? I must admit that I am guilty of this skepticism.
Everything in my world fits into nice, equally-sized boxes. Work, family, time, friends, finances, career, success and home—they all have their place that I put them.
I have expectations and familiarity with each box. Some contain fun. Some require discipline. But all have one thing in common: I know their dimensions. I can close my eyes, run my hands along the corners and tell you, without a shadow of a doubt, if it’s mine. I can press my fingertips against their imperfections—their bumped or bruised, weathered usage. Their size and contents contribute to their value.
If, for example, I took my family box down from the shelf and opened it, I would find comfort, encouragement and love. The family box possesses each character and uniqueness of every family member. I know it by heart, and I know what it stirs up within me.
So, if I took any of those boxes and said to myself “each time I take each of you off the shelf, I can’t help but be overjoyed in God” it would sound silly…wouldn’t it?
I recently went on a mission trip to Central Asia. I had lived my teenage years in this country, so I had a pretty good picture of what to expect when going back—the food, the culture, the people, all of it. In my mind, this is a good thing. It gave me something to look forward to. I knew this box even if I had to brush off some of its dust that had gathered over time.
After spending some time in the country, I realized that my box was still very accurate, minus one thing. There was nothing more valuable to the local Christians’ lives than the overwhelming joy of being a child of God. Everything only had value because of what Christ had done on the cross. Time, people, lunch, activities, rest, clothes and tea—all were good because they were common grace from God.
I was confused. Were they not familiar with the box system? Things have value because of where they are in our minds. The box’s size, location, familiarity, bumps and bruises, and the people inside them! I was crushed. I couldn’t believe that my daily life had gotten so overly saturated that I had missed this joy.
When the local pastor spoke about his brothers and sisters in Christ, those spread out across the city and the country, it was with overwhelming joy of salvation. When he spoke of their gifts and talents, their prayer requests, their worship, and even their poverty it was with outflowing purity of righteousness. Christ had come, the Son of God had come and created clean hearts! Therefore, let each word and expression and encounter be fueled with natural glory to God.
How have we missed this as Christians living in America? Why hasn’t the piercing justification completely shaken our religious culture to the core? Is it the distractions? Is it the comfort? Is it the need to make our mark or live a quiet life? What box is so important that we don’t fit the reality of the grace of God in?
I think it’s all of them. We create cultural boundaries, hierarchy of acceptance and systematic reductions upon truth—the truth that is greater than any dimension or metaphysical structure we may create.
The truth is, because The Creator loves us so much. He offered His Son as the sacrifice for our sinful rebellion, so that we may be reunited with Him in glory.
Brothers and sisters, when we reduce this reality, we reduce the magnitude of His glory. We take the mystery and wonder of the depth and majesty of God and put walls around it for our selfish comprehension and comfort. When we do this, we say “I appreciate you this much, but no further for now.”
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love He predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will—to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the One He loves. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that He lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, He made known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ” (Eph. 1:3-10).
As we enter 2019, I want to encourage you, reader. Before you eat breakfast, get dressed, plan your day, or get into your car, understand one of the most important realities ever: You were bought with a price, and there is nothing more valuable than that. Let that sink in. Let it glorify God. Heaven inches just a little closer when we see through the lens of grace.
by Amy Spear | Jan 2, 2019
“Suddenly, a man with leprosy approached him (Jesus)” (Matt. 8:2)
“… a Roman officer came and pleaded with him (Jesus)…” (Matt. 8:5)
“That evening many demon-possessed people were brought to Jesus” (Matt. 8:16)
“Some people brought to him a paralyzed man on a mat” (Matt. 9:2)
“Approached”, “came”, “brought”.
In each of these instances, the people drew near to Jesus. They came seeking healing from their physical ailments, and in each instance, Jesus healed them. They realized Jesus was the miracle maker. They needed a healer, someone to do for them what they couldn’t do for themselves.
It makes me wonder, do I take my handicaps to Jesus? Do I handle issues on my own when healing is waiting?
If I would take my wounded soul, my crushed spirit, my aching heart to Jesus, would He just leave me hanging in brokenness?
So many times I try to resolve my own problems before I go to Him. I exhaust plans A, B and C, and then when all else fails, I remember I have a God who can save me. Why does it take so long for us to remember Him, to remember He wants us to bring our brokenness before Him, to remember we have a God who is on our side?
Jesus longs for us to come to Him. All we must do is ask. “How much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask” (Matt. 7:11).
A—Aware: I need to be aware that I have a problem.
S—Savior: I have a Savior who can handle my problem.
K—Kneel: I need to kneel before the throne and ask God who can answer!
“Be healed! And instantly the leprosy disappeared” (Matt. 8:3).
“‘Go back home. Because you believed, it has happened.’ And the young servant was healed that same hour” (Matt.8:13).
“And the man jumped up and went home!” (Matt 9:7).
What if “healing” is waiting for you? Why wait for our plan to fail before we run to the Savior to heal? Be brave. Ask today! See how God bends down low to answer your earnest plea.
by Emily Howsden | Dec 31, 2018
The impending New Year brings much reflection. For some, 2018 was the hardest, most-trying and sorrow-filled year of their lives. For others, 2018 was filled with joy, new life, adventure and goodness.
I find that each New Year Eve I am inspired to tackle the things that fell by the wayside in the past year.
Sometimes that means making more health-conscious choices when eating, or a more consistent fitness routine. These things always seem to find their way on my list of New Year’s resolutions.
Other things on my list this year include taking the time to practice self-care. As a new mom, I have found that more often than not my general care can fall to the wayside as I focus all of my efforts on my sweet five month old.
This isn’t just because I’m a new mom, though. I will admit that even before the arrival of my son, I didn’t do my best when it comes to going to bed at a reasonable time, reading more, limiting my screen time and taking time to practice proper care techniques.
I love all of the reflections the New Year brings. I think if we would take the time to evaluate ourselves on a daily basis, like we do at the end of the year, we could more efficiently meet goals and overall be happier.
I was listening to a sermon the other night with my husband on our way back home after being with family for a week for Christmas. Ed Stetzer spoke about urgently sharing the Good News.
He talked about a time when he and his wife were in an Uber, and the driver was tastefully-yet-relentlessly trying to tell them about Jesus and what He has done for us. Stetzer even admitted to trying to redirect the conversation many times, with no success.
This made me think—Why is what the Uber driver was doing such a rarity among Christ followers, including myself?
Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you are surrounded by mostly strangers and you do something out of the ordinary because “I’m never going to see these people again, what does it matter if I embarrass myself?”
Maybe you haven’t, but I can assure you that I have. I’m NOT about to say that you should only share Jesus with people who you have no chance of seeing again, but what I AM saying is that sharing the Gospel with strangers should be one of the easier things we as Christians do.
We should urgently tell the lost world about the hope of Jesus Christ, to both strangers and the people we claim to know and love. It shouldn’t be another thing that ends up on our list of resolutions next to weight loss and skin care routines.
Don’t let 2019 be another year that you failed to do the one thing that we as Christians are called to do. This is what I’m telling myself as I look forward to 2019. This year, boldly proclaim the Gospel to the lost world like you never have before. Take hold of your life and live it purposefully and fearlessly proclaiming the Gospel.
I can assure you that at the end of 2019, you won’t regret having a part in the eternal life of those with whom you share the Gospel.
Happy New Year’s Eve!
by Brian Hobbs | Dec 31, 2018
For several people I know, 2018 was a rough year. An especially rough year. From job loss to disease to the death of loved ones, it has been gut wrenching to see people go through hard times.
This year had its own ups and downs for me, bringing to mind the phrase made popular by Queen Elizabeth II of England, whose own struggles led her to dub 1992 “annus horribilis,” the Latin term for “horrible year.”
When a hard year hits, it’s only natural to think, “Please bring on the New Year!” in hopes of better times. I think the same way.
Yet beyond this, I recently have come across three truths that have helped me, and may help you, through bad years.
Trust the Lord. One of my favorite verses is Prov. 3:5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.” When hard times hit, don’t try to make sense of it all. Try to trust Him more, and pray more in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Count your blessings. I love the hymn that encourages us to count our blessings and “name them one by one.” When we complain, we often make lists of all that went wrong. Why not turn that on its head, and list blessings from the Lord one by one? God can use this to lift your spirit.
Never give up. In Christian terms, we call this perseverance (Col. 1:11-12). Russell Moore reminded me recently through his book, “The Storm-Tossed Family,” that the popular trope, “You are either just coming out of a storm, you are currently in one, or you’re about to be in one,” is not entirely accurate. It’s probably more accurate to say that in life, we are always in a storm of some size in life, and it’s only God who will get us through.
Whether 2018 was a great year or horrible year for you, I hope these simple truths can help you as much as they have me in 2019… and beyond.
by Chris Doyle | Dec 28, 2018
Greetings!
For my final DHD of 2018, I thought I would feature six Bible verses that I studied and committed to memory. This was part of a group study I did about seven years ago. Many in the group are good friends, and it was a great experience of taking time to go over Bible verses in a topical memory system.
If you’ve considered getting involved in memorizing Scripture, I recommend this process that was developed by Leroy Eims, one of the longtime leaders in the discipleship ministry known as The Navigators. Here’s a link to the Topical Memory System.
What I am actually featuring is my own paraphrase to these verses. One of the components to the study is writing the verse in your own words. It will help you grow in your understanding of the verse. What you may want to do is check out the verse in your Bible, if you’re not familiar with the verse, and see if you come to a similar conclusion that I did.
Thanks again for taking time to read Doyle’s Half Dozen this year. May 2019 be a time of growth and encouragement, not only for yourself but through the influence you offer others.
- 1 Corinthians 2:12
What we should realize is we have the Holy Spirit, not the world’s spirit, and that is how we can understand and appreciate the things God gives us with no cost.
- 2 Corinthians 5:17
We are not the same when we are united with Christ. The characteristics of our former life are gone, and we take on new characteristics.
- Isaiah 41:10
God is constantly aware of your conditions, so there is no need to be afraid or worried about what is around you. He said He will definitely give you the strength you need and help when you need it, and you will be victorious in the battles you experience.
- John 14:21
If you love Christ then prove it by following the instructions He gave you. In return, God the Father will love you, and so will Christ who will give you an even greater understanding of who He is.
- Joshua 1:8
The Bible should be a part of your regular communication, and in order for that to happen, you need to intentionally focus on the Bible throughout the day. Then it will almost be second nature for you to apply what the Bible says to your life, and you will make good decisions and be successful.
- Romans 12:1
Please understand that, because of God’s mercy shown to you, I encourage you to live in such a way that would please Him, and not please yourself. This is just a practical way to demonstrate a lifestyle of worship to God.
by Ryan Smith | Dec 19, 2018
“Why couldn’t we do it?”
They had done it before, and Jesus celebrated! The news of their work had even reached the ears of the king causing him to greatly fear this new rival to his authority.
Yet here, with just a silent little boy and a desperate father, their combined efforts produced…nothing.
The Gospel of Mark, chapter 9, captures a stunning scene. The disciples who mere chapters before (6:12-13) were sent out by Christ Himself – proclaiming repentance and healing the sick – now found themselves powerless before a little boy.
You may be familiar with the story. Jesus comes back, the father begs Jesus to heal his mute and seizing son. In an extremely honest moment, the father shouts, “I believe! Help my unbelief!” Jesus commands the evil spirit to leave; the boy convulses and falls still; the evil spirit is gone. Jesus takes the boy by the hand and raises him up.
We have many accounts of Jesus healing the sick and casting out evil spirits. Yet this account includes a discreet postscript between Jesus and His disciples. Alone in the house with Jesus, they sheepishly ask, “Why couldn’t we do it?”
Jesus replied, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.” The deficiency Jesus points to is not personal prowess, but private prayer.
Interestingly, Mark doesn’t record Jesus praying before he heals the boy. Jesus directly rebukes the spirit. The spirit gives one final thrash and leaves – never to return. Why then does Jesus identify the key to success as something He does not appear at the instant to employ?
The answer is not that Jesus failed to pray at the moment, but that the disciples failed to be people of prayer, thus preparing them for the moment.
In their success as Jesus’s supposed understudies, the disciples were walking tall. The crowds grew large. The people celebrated. Heaven was bending to earth, and the disciples had a backstage pass to it all.
So why, at the height of their prominence, could the disciples not heal one little boy?
What happened to the disciples is what happens to many of us. Things start to go well. Our small group study seems vibrant. Our kids begin to behave. That sin we most struggle with appears to have relegated itself to the shadows. We are effectively leading in the church, at home and in the community. God is good. Ministry is fruitful.
In these times, it is easy to be thankful to God, yet also less-reliant upon Him. The storms that caused us to cling desperately to the Word pass and the wind slows to a quiet whistle. We thank God and begin to loosen our grip. The struggle-filled path of loving God, the church and our family starts to even out and our steps relax. We thank our Guide for His help and pack up the map.
However, God is not a sage we visit for guidance – He is the very sustenance we daily need to survive.
“Abide in me,” Jesus says in John 15. “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches…apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:4-5).
What we don’t see in Jesus’s exhortation in John 15 are the words, “when” or “if.”
The reason the disciples were powerless to cast out the demon in Mark 9 is that they had failed to abide in God through prayer. They had become branches with fruit that grew so heavy they fell from the vine and disconnected from their source.
When ministry goes well, it is easy to let our serving God replace our knowing God. Sadly, we often don’t recognize we have abandoned our power source until something goes wrong and ministry stops working. Then we turn to Jesus and ask, “Why couldn’t we do it?”
May I encourage you to remember the lesson I am so prone to forget: people of God must be people of prayer.
As Jesus reminded the disciples, the privilege of prayer is not an incantation of access, but continual nourishment at the table of God. We must pray not so that we may have success, but that we may have life. Whether God brings success or struggle is not the point. Ministry is not pragmatic. It cannot merely be measured in numbers. Ministerial “success” can be deceptive when measured by the ends and not the means.
May we first be people of prayer – then people of ministry. You alone don’t make your ministry effective, but prayer will make you effective in your ministry.
“Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing” – Jesus.