that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears. (Hebrews 12:16-17 ESV)

An act done, can never be undone. We may be able to recant words we’ve spoken, apologize or lessen the consequences of an inappropriate action, but never can we undo what’s been done. At first thought, this is a sobering realization, even frightening. Still now, as we each stand upon the wrong side of poor decisions and wicked deeds, there is One who remains at our side and stood in our place. Jesus lived the life we should have but couldn’t, and for that we can rejoice as through faith in him there is “no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1).

Esau, however, serves as an example for all Christians in forsaking what is our eternal birthright for worldly gratification. He, like too many of us, forsook the greater promise as firstborn for the immediate satisfaction of the “here and now”. He was blinded by physical want and could not grasp the true value of his inheritance. How much more do we live this way? Look back upon your life, not in guilt, but with conviction, acknowledging the periods where you have lived to fulfill the immediate desires of the flesh at the expense of “the promised eternal inheritance” (Hebrews 9:15). See to it then that you look ahead to the promise that “being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life” (Titus 3:7).

What do you forsake your born again birthright for?

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And at the seventh time, when the priests had blown the trumpets, Joshua said to the people, “Shout, for the LORD has given you the city. ( Joshua 6:16 ESV)

We have all heard the story of Joshua fighting the Battle of Jericho.  If you grew up in the church, you might have even learned a song about it.  It is a popular story that many are familiar with, but there is much to learn about the way God worked in this narrative.

Joshua was leading the Israelites into the promised land and it came time to take their first city.  They arrived at Jericho only to face an extremely well fortified city.  It didn’t look good for the Israelites. God then told Joshua to march around the city for six days and blow horns, and in doing so, they would win Jericho (Joshua 6:1-6).  This sounds crazy, but it wasn’t, because God’s plan was to get the glory in that battle.  After the final shout and the taking of Jericho, there was only one person that could receive the glory, that was God.  He does this in our lives as well.  We might think we are up against an obstacle that cannot be moved, but we have a God who takes care of his people for his glory.

David Platt in his book Radical says about this scripture:

“This is how God works.  He puts his people in positions where they are desperate for his power, and then he shows his provision in ways that display his greatness.”

Are you letting God display his greatness today, allowing him to work in you to overcome your obstacles?

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You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. (John 8:44 ESV)

From Ryan:

Before we had a child and my wife worked outside the home, she worked with abused women. In fact, she even had a good friend that was in an abusive relationship. From my view on the outside and that of many others who see these relationships, we can’t help but wonder why women in these situations don’t leave. When one works with these women, it becomes apparent that there is a tremendous amount of psychological abusiveness and fear in the relationship. It isn’t necessarily that the women don’t want to leave, but that they are afraid. As I was studying and reading this text, these women and relationships came in to my mind.

Jesus was talking to the Jews and telling them that God really isn’t their father, but Satan is. He went on to describe what kind of father Satan is. One who bullies, abuses, lies, and eventually leads to death. This hit me like a two-by-four when I read it. Satan at one time was our father. But now, we as Christians, have been adopted into the loving family of God through the death of his son Jesus (Ephesians 1:5). This is great news. Like the women (or men) who are a part of an abusive relationship, we go running back to Satan every time we sin. We tell Jesus we would rather listen to our abusive father than follow what our loving adopted Father desires us to do.

Conviction and repentance came upon me as I realized that I took for granted the grace and patience my loving Father has showed me in the past, present, and the coming future. God has continually been there for me even when I went running to Satan to follow his hurtful desires.

As sin and temptation come to your mind, remember that these are the desires of an abusive father and not of you loving Father.

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And he blessed Joseph and said,

“The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked,
the God who has been my shepherd all my life long to this day,
(Genesis 48:15 ESV)

As literacy increases in our cultures and instant access to information on the web is so readily available, the need to pass down history through verbal forms or storytelling is gradually dying if not already dead in your part of the world. This was not the case in the Old Testament. As Jacob was blessing his son Joseph, he reminded him of his family history and how God was so important in it. We also see that God introduces himself to Jacob as this in Genesis 28:13 and again to Moses in Exodus 3:6. There is obviously something important about knowing your roots in God if this is how he introduces himself and we read throughout the Old Testament the Israelites constantly refer to God this way. Does God really want us to refer to him this way? Maybe.

We can also refer to him as the God who was the God of our grandparents and parents. That might seem weird because we may not really know the God stories of our parents or grandparents. They may not have been passed down to us. That doesn’t mean we can’t start doing it now for future generations. As the world becomes more hostile to Jesus and less writing reflects the positives of Christianity, we still have our oral stories that we can pass down from one generation to another telling of what God has done in our lives and in the lives of our family members. Maybe there isn’t a tradition of God stories in your family, this is fine. You can be the one to start them. You can be your family’s first Abraham!

What God story can you tell?

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Read more Daily Devotions.

As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience. (Luke 8:15 ESV)

The parable of the sower and the seed is ever popular. If you grew up in the church, you probably learned it as a child. We have all heard a sermon on it from a pastor. After telling the parable, Jesus then proceeded to explain it to the disciples. It is the last sentence in his explanation that we will focus on today. The seed that falls on the good soil is the seed that bears fruit in accordance with the Gospel. It is the seed that decides to follow Jesus during thick and thin.

What we learn though is that this seed takes time to bear fruit. This seed “bears fruit with patience”. We don’t like to read this. Aren’t we supposed to die to ourselves and be new creatures right away (Romans 6:6-7)? Doesn’t the Gospel produce the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-24)? The answer to these is Yes! But, it takes time. We want to produce the good fruit in our lives right away and get discouraged when we mess up again and again. Jesus knows this. We don’t have to act perfect or “fake it” for those around us. We just need to be honest and realize that with patience we will bear all the fruit that accompanies the Gospel. A plant doesn’t bear fruit overnight, and some take years to produce its first fruit. As followers of Jesus, we all have different struggles and vices. Some we can overcome right away, while others may take years or even a lifetime. Be encouraged today that Jesus doesn’t expect you to bear all your fruit in one day, but take it day by day, as you put your faith in Him.

Think on God’s patience towards us as we continue to grow and bear fruit.

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Read more Daily Devotions.

But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.  Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ  (Phillipians 3:7-8 ESV)

We can often get caught up in the relationships of our lives.  They might be with a spouse or loved one, maybe a good friend, or even someone we disciple.  Should these relationships be the most important things to us?  From the verse we have for today, probably not.  Our goal in life should be knowing Christ above everything and from there letting Jesus affect our relationships. In essence, we should first work on our vertical relationship and then let the love of  that relationship influence the horizontal relationships we have with those around us. Here are a few questions for you to ask yourself as you meditate on this verse today:

• What would my life and ministry look like if I focused on my vertical relationship first and then learned to bend that vertical fruit of love to all of my horizontal relationships?
• Is the life I’m living, the family we’re growing, the relationships I’m building, and the ministry I’m starting all really about Jesus?
• Am I trying to pray God into my agenda and my plans or am I faithfully responding to who He is and what He’s doing?
• What if following God’s path leads to greater suffering and sacrifice than I anticipated- is Jesus worth that much to me?
• Is everything in my horizontal life the overflow of a vibrant vertical love relationship with Jesus?

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Read more Daily Devotions.

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:1-2 ESV)

Every aspect of our lives is part of our worship. We worship from the moment our eyes open in the morning to the second they close at night. Worship is magnifying (or making much of) someone or something by our actions, thoughts or words. It is setting anything, be it God or otherwise, into the place of high prominence and authority in our lives. However, this understanding of worship is slipping from Christian belief and practice. Worship today is generally thought of as a genre of music or a thirty minute period in which we sing songs to God. Though the latter is a crucial component of worship (Ephesians 5:15-21) it does not encompass it.

In fact, we learn from today’s passage thatdiscerning God’s will from a transformed and renewed mind, and then actually doing it, is pivotal to right worship. We are called to be men and women and children who become like Jesus, instead of trying to make Jesus fit our desired mold for him. The wrong conformity is worshipping the gods of culture, while true Christianity is worshipping the One God in culture. When we hold such a small view of worship we lose sight of “what is good and acceptable and perfect” because we lose the ability to know it! Only through the giving and submitting of our entire lives can we rightly worship God and fulfill our purpose and mission on this earth.

Remember, worship isn’t simply singing songs as Christians outside of the broader culture, but worshipping the One true God inside of it. Read Jesus’ prayer concerning our place in the world in John 17:15-19.

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Read more Daily Devotions.

Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name. And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ. (Acts 5:41-42 ESV)

Have you ever suffered disgrace? Maybe there was a time when you were humiliated for your faith? Or, maybe you had an experience where you tried to do something for God and instead got extremely discouraged when things didn’t go according to plan. This is what happened to Peter and the other apostles when they stepped out in faith to perform miracles in Jesus’ name. Instead of receiving praise for the miracles they had done, they were arrested and flogged.

It is the apostles’ reaction to this disgrace that encourages us. Not only did they rejoice in suffering but, “Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopping teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ.”

In these times of discouragement, we must remember to continue to fight the good fight. Day after day, we must never stop teaching and proclaiming what Christ has done for us. It is from God alone that we receive fulfillment, and he is greatly pleased when we commit ourselves to Him at times when we are in the depths of despair. True fulfillment comes from living a life for Christ, no matter what the cost. Let us remember to continue to proclaim His good news everyday!

When you experience discouragement, do you have what it takes to wake up the next morning and continue to proclaim Jesus?

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Read more Daily Devotions.

This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. (John 15:12-13 ESV)

So what is love really? In the English language we have one word for love. We use this word to say…

I love that pasta dish.
I’d love to go on a hike in the woods.
I sure miss you bro. Love you man.
I’m really glad you are my wife. I love you baby.

But we don’t mean the same thing with the word love in each of those phrases. The Greek language, in which the New Testament was written, actually has 3 words that are translated as “love” in English:

Eros—physical, sexual, sensual love. From which we get the modern word erotic. Eros is about chemistry, physical attraction, passion, sexual desire, and romantic love.

Phileo—brotherly or friendship love. This where the city Philadelphia derives its name- “the city of brotherly love.” Phileo is about companionship, camaraderie, partnership, mutual affection, or giving and receiving.

Agape—unconditional love. The word “agape” was not used commonly in ancient manuscripts, save the New Testament. Many scholars believe that early Christians used and possibly even coined the word. Agape is all about unconditional, selfless, and sacrificial love- the love displayed by God through Jesus. There is this underlying idea of total commitment to the object of love even if it doesn’t deserve or desire it.

The problem with agape love is that it’s risky and dangerous, because if you choose to love someone else and expect nothing in return, to look out for their best interests at the expense of your own self-interests, at some point you are going to get burned, at some point the love is not going to be reciprocated. That’s exactly how Jesus loved us, and only through Jesus can we love others with this fantastic agape love.

Which of three Greek words for love most often describes how you love others? What prevents and hinders you from loving others unconditionally?

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Read more Daily Devotions.

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. (Philippians 1:6 ESV)

From Jordan:

I wish my testimony was one of unwavering faith and steadiness. I wish that you could go and talk to anyone I went to high school with and they would tell you about my commitment to the Gospel and my obvious love for Jesus. Now, some people would, because I do love Jesus and am committed to the Gospel. But others wouldn’t because they’ve seen me fall to sin and act pridefully. In fact, I’d wager that many of us are this way. We wish that we could have another chance at past situations or seasons. These were my thoughts prior to writing this. Pretty grim way to spend an afternoon, right?

But here was God’s answer to my angst and self-disappointment: “I’m not done with you yet.” He brought Paul’s words to light in my dark regret. I’m not finished, he’s still making me! I’m still being molded and shaped and conformed to Jesus’ likeness (Romans 8:29). And here’s more good news– so are you. God’s not done with us, we are still being drawn and invited into relationship with him. Jesus served us first, and from that place  of being served by him, we can serve him and his Church. What God did for me was turn my focus from myself and toward Jesus. This may seem simple, but it is a monumental gift of change and transformation.

When our hearts are focused on Jesus we see his servanthood and selflessness, we see his love for the Church (Ephesians 5:25), we see the image to which we’re being conformed. This changes us because we join Jesus in his mission and work on the earth. This is the context in which this molding, shaping and transforming takes place. No matter where we’ve fallen or cracked, our Maker has a grand design and intention for us that is not yet complete. Rest in hope and turn your focus upward and outward. Let the Father change your narrow scope from simply today, to that of eternity.

Do you let past failures dictate your standing before God? If so, stop! Rejoice today that we are being made more like Jesus as we accept God’s invitation to join him in his work. He isn’t done with us yet.

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