“We know that in all things God works for good with those who love him, those whom he has called according to his purpose.”
Romans 8:28 (GNT) Let’s face it. You and I do foolish things from time to time. We make mistakes. But nothing you ever do is beyond the capacity of God to use. You may make mistakes, but God doesn’t. The Bible says in Romans 8:28: “We know that in all things God works for good with those who love him, those whom he has called according to his purpose” (GNT). When you make a foolish mistake, God says, “I can fit that in too. I can use it all for good.” Let's be clear, though. This isn’t a promise for everyone. The verse doesn’t say God works everything out for good for those living in rebellion against him or for those who aren’t living for his purposes. The promise is for people who come to God and say, “I want to live for your purposes. I don’t always get it right. But I want to do the right thing. I want to follow you, and I want to trust you.” Do that, and God will take it all and use it for his good. That’s a reason for joy. When you put your life in his hands, it doesn’t mean you’ll never goof up again. You’ll still make bad decisions. You’ll still mess up. But God can fit it all into his plans. There is no plan B for your life. God knew all the mistakes you’d make before you were born. He also knew he’d fit those mistakes into his plan. That means you can relax. You can stop being anxious. You can move into the new year trusting God’s grace is active your life. Do your best with what God has given you. God will work everything into his plan.
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“God . . . does everything just right and on time, but people can never completely understand what he is doing.”
Ecclesiastes 3:11 (NCV) In many cultures today, fast is better. But that’s not the way God works. The Bible says in Ecclesiastes 3:11, “God . . . does everything just right and on time, but people can never completely understand what he is doing” (NCV). God has a plan for your life. He also has a timetable for that plan. Yet God never explains his timetable. He doesn’t have to—he’s God. And you can trust that he has your best interest at heart. One of the most painful things in life is when you’re in a hurry and God’s not. That usually leads to impatience. Impatience, basically, is a lack of trust. When you’re impatient, you’re saying, “God, I don’t really trust you and your timing. I don’t think you have my best interest at heart.” You get worried and hurried. Then you start scurrying because you don’t trust God to act at the right time and in the right way. As children grow up, part of maturing is learning the difference between “no” and “not yet.” A delay is not a denial. As a follower of Jesus Christ, you have to learn the same thing with God. His delays are not denials. God knows the right time and the right way. He has a plan and a timetable. And his timing is perfect. Has God given you a vision that hasn’t happened yet? You can trust that it’s coming—on God’s timetable. “There is only one God, and Christ Jesus is the only one who can bring us to God. Jesus was truly human, and he gave himself to rescue all of us.”
1 Timothy 2:5 (CEV) Christmas is all about Good News. But it’s not the good news of special gifts. It’s not the good news of a big meal. It’s not the good news of festive music and beautiful lights. Christmas, and every day, is about the Good News of God’s love. The Bible says every person desperately needs God’s love. In fact, you’re lost without it. You’re directionless, without protection, and without real joy. Your potential eternal impact upon the world is unrealized. Your eternity in heaven isn’t secure. The Good News is that God sent Jesus to seek and save the lost. The Bible says, “There is only one God, and Christ Jesus is the only one who can bring us to God. Jesus was truly human, and he gave himself to rescue all of us” (1 Timothy 2:5 CEV). If you’ve ever spent time in church, you’ve likely heard the word “salvation” many times. But you may not know what it means. The word is like a diamond; you can look at it from many different angles and still discover new facets. Salvation means:
As you look around this Christmas, you’ll see plenty of good in the Christmas season. But remember that best of all is the Good News of God’s love. Through Jesus, you can experience rescue, recovery, and reconnection with God. “We must show love through actions that are sincere, not through empty words.”
1 John 3:18 (GW) This Christmas give the gift of your time. Time is your most precious commodity because your time is your life. You only have a certain amount of it. God has already decided the number of days you are going to live. And you’re not going to get any more. You can always get more money, but you cannot get more time. So, when you give someone your time, you are giving that person a portion of your life that you will never get back. That’s why it’s a priceless gift. If nothing else, 2020 has reminded us that relationships should always take priority in our lives. But the truth is that many relationships are starved for time. People may live in the same home, but they pass each other like ships in the night, with a goodbye kiss here and there. Relationships die when time together dries up. Many things can rob a relationship of the time it needs to thrive. Work can rob a relationship. Activity can rob a relationship. Hobbies can rob a relationship. Even too much church involvement or ministry can rob a relationship. You may wonder, “How can I have more time for those I love?” Start by turning off the TV and setting down your phone! Those two simple changes will help you make time for others a priority. This Christmas slow down and make the time—give your time—for your family and for the other people God brings into your life. God has given you the gift of time so that you can give it away to other people. “Never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’”
Romans 12:19 (ESV) Life is not fair. God never said it would be! Life is unfair because there is sin in the world. Jesus came to make things right, and, one day, they will be. But, right now, sometimes bad people prosper. Sometimes good people suffer. Sometimes innocent people get hurt. If you have been discriminated against because of your race, culture, language, or gender, if you’ve been abused, if you have been harassed or mistreated—God has seen every hurt in your life, and he grieves over injustice, too. So why didn’t he stop it? God could stop all the evil in the world just like that. But it would mean taking away our freedom to choose. God may not stop a hurt from happening, but God is keeping a record. Not only that, but he’s “storing up your tears in a bottle” (Psalm 56:8). The Bible also says, “Never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord’” (Romans 12:19 ESV). Because God is loving, he is also a God of justice. To allow evil to hurt his children and not seek justice would be unloving. Since God seeks justice, you don’t have to spend your life holding on to hurts. In fact, God doesn’t want you to waste one second of your life on resentment, retaliation, or revenge. That’s just going to fill you with the poison of bitterness. Don’t waste your life on bitterness! Some might be allowing people who hurt you 10 years ago to still hurt you today because you’re holding on to the memory of that hurt. That’s foolish! They can only hurt you when you choose to hold on to the hurt. You have to let it go. Justice delayed is not justice denied. God is very aware of what people have done to you, and there will be a day of reckoning. Do you trust him? If you do, you’ll let it go. Surrender your hurt to Jesus, and let him settle the score. “Real wisdom, God’s wisdom, begins with a holy life and is characterized by getting along with others. It is gentle and reasonable, overflowing with mercy and blessings, not hot one day and cold the next, not two-faced. You can develop a healthy, robust community that lives right with God and enjoy its results only if you do the hard work of getting along with each other, treating each other with dignity and honor.”
James 3:17-18 (The Message) With so many people at home more during the pandemic, you might notice you’re a little more sensitive than usual. Maybe you’re quick to point out everything that’s wrong in the world or in your home. Maybe you jump on every mistake and error and feel duty-bound to remind people what didn’t work. Maybe you’re just overly picky about everything and determined to keep bringing up the past. This is a stressful season, and it’s understandable that you’ll feel like acting this way at certain times. But if you want to plant seeds of peace in your relationships, then you won’t emphasize other people’s mistakes. You’ll let go of your pride and choose to put someone else’s needs above your own. That’s not easy, even when you’re not under stress! But it is a mark of spiritual maturity when you can let something go for the sake of healthy relationships. “Real wisdom, God’s wisdom . . . is gentle and reasonable, overflowing with mercy and blessings, not hot one day and cold the next, not two-faced” (James 3:17 The Message). Mercy, the Bible says, is a mark of wisdom. Mercy is giving people what they need, not what they deserve. When somebody stumbles, you don’t judge them. You encourage them. Mercy is forgiving and gracious. It’s treating people the way God treats you. Proverbs 17:9 says, “Love forgets mistakes; nagging about them parts the best of friends” (TLB). Clara Barton, who founded the American Red Cross, was reminded by a friend of an especially cruel thing that somebody had done to her years before. Barton acted like she didn’t remember it, and the friend asked, “Don’t you remember?” Her famous reply was, “No, I distinctly remember forgetting it.” What are you choosing to forget out of love and wisdom? Emphasizing mistakes is not helpful. Mercy is what is helpful and loving. “Kind words bring life, but cruel words crush your spirit” (Proverbs 15:4 GNT). The words you say make a difference. Learn to let go of things in the past that are causing friction in your current relationships. Speak life to the people you love. “But the wisdom from above is pure first of all; it is also peaceful, gentle, and friendly; it is full of compassion and produces a harvest of good deeds; it is free from prejudice and hypocrisy.”
James 3:17 (GNT) More than ever, the world needs you to be a peacemaker. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God” (Matthew 5:9 NIV). Being a peacemaker takes intentionality and God’s wisdom. And someone who is wise understands that you can’t compromise the truth. When James says real wisdom is “pure first of all,” he’s talking about always telling the truth (James 3:17 GNT). Proverbs 15:26 says, “The Lord . . . delights in pure words” (NLT). If you apply God’s wisdom to your relationships, then you’re going to be truthful. You’re not going to lie to people. You’re not going to cheat them, trick them, mislead them, or take advantage of them. You will, above all else, tell the truth. A wise person uses pure and truthful words in their relationships. Why do you think God mentions purity first in James 3:17? Because all relationships are built on trust, and all trust is built on truth. You can’t have trust without truth. In order to build a solid relationship, you need to have trust. In order to have trust, you need to have truth. You have to tell the truth! God’s wisdom is pure, truthful, and full of integrity. You probably don’t know who Dr. Leonarde Keeler is, but you know what he co-invented: the polygraph. After testing more than 25,000 people on the lie detector, Dr. Keeler concluded that every human being is by nature dishonest. Of course, Christians know this already because we know how sin has corrupted our nature. Like everyone else on the planet, you are naturally dishonest. But God doesn’t want you to stay that way. “God wants us to grow up, to know the whole truth and tell it in love” (Ephesians 4:15 The Message). Read that again: God wants you to know the truth and then tell the truth in love. When you practice lovingly speaking the truth, you will be at peace in your relationships and model peace for the world. “When you go through deep waters and great trouble, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown! When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up—the flames will not consume you. For I am the Lord your God.”
Isaiah 43:2-3 (TLB) When you became a Christian, did you expect life to suddenly be perfect? If you did, I bet you found out pretty quickly that there are all kinds of trials for Christians—including relational, financial, physical, and mental. Some people expect life to be heaven on earth. But this is not heaven! We pray for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven—because then it would be done perfectly. But on earth, God’s will is seldom done. Everything on this planet is broken. The weather, the economy, our bodies, and our relationships don’t always work right. We can be sure that, because of sin, bad things will happen. We can also be assured of God’s promises to support us in all the trouble we will face on this earth. “When you go through deep waters and great trouble, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown! When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up—the flames will not consume you. For I am the Lord your God” (Isaiah 43:2-3 TLB). When you go through deep waters and rivers of difficulty, God doesn’t promise that you won’t get wet. You’re going to go through some problems that have pain. You’re going to get wet. But God does promise that you’re not going to drown. When you go through the fire, it’s going to get hot. But God promises that you’re not going to burn up. You’re going to make it through. Philippians 4:13 says, “I can do all things [which He has called me to do] through Him who strengthens and empowers me [to fulfill His purpose—I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency; I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him who infuses me with inner strength and confident peace]” (AMP). That doesn’t mean that you can do anything because of who you are. It means you can have confidence in whatever trouble life brings because you face it with the power of Christ in you. You may not feel very strong right now. But the strength you need will come when you need it. The Bible doesn’t say to ask God for your weekly or monthly bread. It says to pray, “God, give me my daily bread. I need just enough strength for today.” God will support you in your trouble. He always gives you the strength you need for today. “For I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from his love. Death can’t, and life can’t. The angels won’t, and all the powers of hell itself cannot keep God’s love away. Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow, or where we are—high above the sky, or in the deepest ocean—nothing will ever be able to separate us from the love of God demonstrated by our Lord Jesus Christ when he died for us.”
Romans 8:38-39 (TLB) No matter how bad life gets, you can rest in one important truth: God won’t stop loving you. You’ll have things go right. You’ll have things go wrong. But God’s love will never end—you can count on that. That truth should be one of the most important sources of joy in your life! The Bible says it like this in Romans 8:38-39: “For I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from his love. Death can’t, and life can’t. The angels won’t, and all the powers of hell itself cannot keep God’s love away. Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow, or where we are—high above the sky, or in the deepest ocean—nothing will ever be able to separate us from the love of God demonstrated by our Lord Jesus Christ when he died for us” (TLB). That’s good news. When you put your hand in God’s hand, he grabs it and won’t let go. God holds on to you with all he has. You’ll have times in your life when you’ll want to let go of God’s hand. You’ll want to give up your commitment to Christ when times get tough. But God won’t let go of you—ever. Once you put your hand in his, it’s there to stay. If you could earn your salvation by working for it, you could lose it the moment you stopped working for it. But you didn’t earn your relationship to God. It was a free gift. Once it has been given, it can’t be taken back. That’s an unimaginable source of joy for the believer. “Wherever God's love is, there is no fear, because God’s perfect love drives out fear.”
1 John 4:18 (NCV) A lot of people think the opposite of fear is faith. It’s not! The opposite of fear is love. Love moves against fear. When love comes in the front door of your heart, fear goes out the back door. You can’t be afraid and loving at the same time—not with real love. When you have real love—God’s love—then you don’t have to fear. People don’t run into a burning building to rescue children because of faith. They do it because of love. Parents will put their lives at risk to protect their families because they love their babies. If love is the motivation of everything you do, then fear is going to disappear. “Wherever God’s love is, there is no fear, because God’s perfect love drives out fear” (1 John 4:18 NCV). When you start feeling fear rise up in you—maybe something you have to do is making you nervous—you need to pause at that moment. Then focus on how much God loves you. You may need to remind yourself out loud: “God, you really love me! You’re on my side. You want me to succeed in this. I’m going to do it in your strength and with your love.” God doesn’t want you to fail. He wants you to succeed at what you’re doing in life and fulfill your purpose. When you focus on his love, you won’t be afraid. Perfect love casts out all fear! When you’re fearful, you’re focusing totally on yourself. That’s not love! When you’re loving, you’re focused not on yourself but on what other people need. The more loving you are, the less fearful you are. So, if you make love your motivation for what you do, you’re not going to be afraid to do it. Make love your motivation, and move against your fear. |
AuthorTaken from Daily Hope by Rick Warren. Categories
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