Category: Daily Devotionals

But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.  John 3:21

This scripture seems to indicate that I should do what is righteous so others can see it.  Is this a promotion of piety?  There are scriptures that warn against fasting for someone else’s approval, or praying lofty prayers to impress others, or making sure certain people know how much money was given to the kingdom.  Self-exaltation can’t be what is meant here. 

This is Jesus’ closing statement to Nicodemus and though this ruler of the Jews came to Jesus as one who probably believed he was living a life that pleased God, he left having been introduced to a new paradigm of what it means to live as a true disciple. 

Those who do what is right must first come to the Light.  It all starts with exposure of sin and the beholding of the Righteous One.  There is no way to spend time with the Him without an awareness that rule-keeping can be sinful if self is the focus.  I discover that the only way I can do anything that pleases God is to bask in His glory and depend on His grace to live as His child. 

From there, I want others to know that the ways that I choose to live (that might look impressive) are only possible because God changed this sinner’s heart.  I don’t want them to be impressed with me but, instead, enamored by a God who makes living like this possible.  When others see me do what is humanly difficult ~ forgiving others, trusting God instead of taking care of things myself, praying instead of worrying, giving grace to someone that doesn’t deserve it ~ these are indications that I am connected to God and something otherworldly is happening here. 

When I keep the rules and am proud of it, others notice but are turned off.  

When I depend on Jesus to help me do and say what He would do, people see the humility and power of a resurrected Christ. 

My witness and impact never starts and ends with me.  Amen

But the men [angels] reached out their hands and brought Lot into the house with them and shut the door. And they struck with blindness the men who were at the entrance of the house, both small and great, so that they wore themselves out groping for the door. Genesis 19:10-11

God is faithful to protect His children. The men who came to Lot and his family, the ‘angels unaware’, shut the door to the outside gang who had come to do Lot’s visitors harm. Knowing their numbers and their strength, knowing they could probably still break down the door, the angels struck the members of the gang with blindness. Even that didn’t stop them. They were still obsessed with finding the door and breaking in ~ so strong was their obsession with sexual perversion.

What does it take to break under the hand of God? Personally, it has taken a lot. My own heart was so darkened that it took a lot of time and pain to bring me to the end of myself. I wanted what I wanted ~ and I was obsessed in my own private and stubborn way. I have since learned that if not taught the sweet fruit of submission when we’re young, the desire for personal autonomy magnifies over time. So much harder to submit at 45 than at 4 years of age. That’s why we teach our children to obey the first time. We’re preparing them to say, “Yes, Lord!” when Jesus calls them.

You may be watching the Lord break the will of a loved one. You may be shaking your head at how stubborn they are. (And also humbled at the memory of how stubborn you were.) You wonder how much longer. Though they have felt the heavy hand of God, they are still groping for the door that leads them to satisfy their cravings for sinful pleasures.

Though it may look hopeless today, it is not. Not all believe, we know that. But those who burn the brightest for the kingdom experience a pivotal moment when they surrender in the fire. As you watch the crushing of that person you love, know that God knows their limits and frame. You can trust His hand that afflicts – even in your tears for their repentance.

Lord, you hear my cry. It’s hard to watch someone fight before they bow their knee. I know Your justice but I am comforted that You are also limitless in mercy. Amen

Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. Then we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him, and we will see what will become of his dreams.” But when Reuben heard it, he rescued him out of their hands, saying, “Let us not take his life.” And Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him”—that he might rescue him out of their hand to restore him to his father. Genesis 37:20-22 

There is a father who will take out his anger on his children today. He will cut them to shreds with a sharp rebuke and they will shrink and go into hiding. He’s done it before. He even saw the damage in their eyes but that did not deter him. 

There is a middle-aged woman who will see dreaded circumstances repeat themselves. She will say, “Oh no, not again!” but she will make the same disastrous choice she made the last time. She does not see that God is giving her another chance in order to do something different.

Reuben, for all his faults, did make a different choice. (Although not one that was drastic enough.) He had sinned against his father many times throughout his youth and had experienced the stab in his own heart as he saw his father’s pain. The last offense he committed was sleeping with Bilhah, his father’s concubine. With that fresh in his memory, he will not agree to take the life of Joseph, his father’s favored son. He could not bear the thought of Jacob’s grief yet again. 

Do I really learn from my mistakes? The magical answer is ‘yes’. Who is going to repeatedly put their hand over an open flame? That is naive. When bad behavior is generational, thoughts of stopping the pattern don’t come easily. By default, we live as our fathers did. 

Jesus told Nicodemus two critical things. 1.) ‘That which is born of the flesh is flesh.’ We are like whom we came from. I am a product of a mother and father and will possess not only their physical characteristics but their holy and sinful bents as well. I will not deviate without spiritual transformation. And, 2.) ‘That which is born of the Spirit is Spirit.’ I am to be like by new Father because I was born of His Word and His Spirit. So here’s the question that replays in my mind? Am I more like my new Father than my earthly parents? I should be if the new birth and the things of the Spirit are nurtured. 

How does this relate to learning from my mistakes? When I repeat the foolishness of my youth, the Spirit of God calls to me. “Why are you doing that? You’re now my own daughter and I’m calling you out to be like me, not them.” Past mistakes are a mirror. I see the reflection of my former self against the reflection of my brother, Jesus, standing next to me. With just a glance, I walk away and have no appetite for the former things.

Forget my last name today, Lord. I am Christine – of God’s heart. In Jesus’ name, Amen

For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. I John 3:8

That is a thought provoking verse ~ that Jesus came to earth to destroy the works of the devil. Wait, didn’t he come to die to redeem mankind? Yes. But God’s over-arching mission was that the works of the devil might be destroyed through Jesus’ incarnation, through His survival as a toddler under Herod’s murderous rampage, through the crucifixion of the innocent Lamb, and through His resurrection unto glory. Throughout His ministry, Jesus didn’t ignore His enemy. He engaged him by often imposing limits on his freedom.  (“Do this, not that, go here, not there. Be quiet!”) He engaged him, too, by the relentless deliverance of people from sickness and demon possession. 

And, Jesus engaged Satan in the desert ~ ever giving us a template for how to handle temptation. (Luke 4) Jesus looked behind Satan’s smokescreen, identified the real intent, and quoted appropriate scripture.

 
Satan said, “If you are the son of God, turn this stone to bread.” Behind the smokescreen was ~ “Prove you are God and fill your stomach now.” The issue was not hunger but getting Jesus to do something God didn’t tell him to do.

Satan said, “I’ll give you all this authority and its glory.” Behind the smokescreen was ~ “Waiting is hard and I’ll give you kingly rule early if you worship me.”   Satan’s desire for worship was what originally caused him to defect from his place in heaven.

Satan said, “Throw yourself down and see if angels will take care of you.”Behind the smokescreen ~ “Let’s just see if God takes care of you.” This time it was Satan who quoted scripture, “For He shall give his angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways.” Psalm 91:11  Jesus was savvy and quoted Deut. 6:16 back at him. “You shall not test the Lord your God.”  What did that mean? ‘Testing the Lord your God’ means to doubt God’s care and goodness.

There are numerous ways for me to deal with my enemy as well. When I obey God, trust God, step out in faith, and when I believe His Word over my own instincts, all of these destroy the works of the devil. In intercessory warfare, when I rise up to use my authority in scripture, limits are placed on Satan’s activity once again. And when I ask God for the spiritual eyesight to see behind the smokescreen of each temptation so that I can quote appropriate scripture back at him, his works are destroyed. 

Lord, our enemy is not acting like a defeated foe. But he is. He acts like he has all power. But he doesn’t. With Your Word, make my mouth a sharp sword. Amen

All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed.  John 3:20 NLT

Whether infant, boy child, or adult Jesus in full time ministry, He was the Light of the world. Throughout His ministry, He told us what Light does.  It draws and warms the searching heart but it also exposes and convicts.  It probably wasn’t long after Jesus’ birth that His righteous gaze saw clear through people, even the souls of His parents. Their sins had to be an open book.  Was Jesus ever punished simply because the adults in His life felt exposed by the light of His glory?  And what about His siblings?  Talk about tension in the house!

Though scripture doesn’t fill in the blanks of Jesus’ childhood, these are the kinds of things I can safely assume because of what Jesus revealed about Himself.  His light exposed darkness ~ whether child, adolescent, or adult, Roman solder, or Jewish leader.  It divided child’s play and it challenged the rabbis in the temple.  It most assuredly pierced conversations at family gatherings.  

His Light still exposes. My own sin is under His gaze.  How many times have I felt the burning in my heart!  It happens when I’m just thinking about wrong-doing and it gets really intense when I go ahead and do it.  The burning is conviction and guilt, but it is also sadness that I have grieved Jesus.  Exposure can cause anyone, even the most seasoned saint, to wonder if God’s love will be faithful in the face of failure.  The same Light of the world that exposes also bathes the sinner in a love that melts away all fear.  

Thank you for exposing my sin.  I get to be freed from its clutches and also feel the warmth of Your embrace.  Amen

All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. John 3:20 NLT

The darkness makes mischief-makers bold.  Most sexual abuse happens at night because victims are probably sleeping and can easily be preyed upon.  Many other crimes happen at night, too.  Under the cover of darkness, evil men creep around to unleash destruction, whether person or property.  The fact that no one can see them lessens the risk of them getting caught.  The intensity of the crime increases as they are emboldened by their invisibility. 

I’m convinced that the dark forces of Satan’s kingdom work in the dark too.  Though most of us have never seen a demon, we imagine that they lurk in the shadows.  Paul warned in Ephesians 4:12 not to stuff our anger out of sight lest we put it down into the darkness.  The implication is that nothing good happens outside of the Light of God’s grace. 

Add a few spotlights to a home property and you have more protection.  Light exposes what is hidden.  Just as it is in the physical, it is often in the spiritual.  The Light of the world enters the room and men instinctively know that He can see clear through to their soul.  The intents of their hearts, their innermost secrets, are not hidden from the Light of His gaze.  For the one who loves his sin, there is much to hide.  The evil person shrinks back and runs back into the shadows. 

If only sinners could stay long enough in the Light, they would experience uncomfortable exposure, yes, but they would also bask in Jesus’ love and hear the call to adoption.  It is a wooing to leave captivity in exchange for freedom.  To leave a life of sin in exchange for a life of conformity to Christlikeness.  To leave the shadows for God’s circle of light.  What peace awaits anyone who decides to embrace Christ and live in His presence.  No need to hide.  No need to fear.  No need to fear disclosure.  This is the person who sleeps peacefully at night.  Few regrets.  Whatever remains is calmed by the assurance of God’s redemption. 

The question for each person, and I’m asking myself this as I write ~ ‘Am I, in any way, afraid of the Light of my Savior?’

I want to live, always, confident in our eye contact.  I am a dancer in the Light.  Amen

God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil.   John 3:19  NLT

Jesus announced that He was the light of the world but we all loved darkness rather than light.  Instead of Light being attractive, we were repelled.  Christ was just not desirable to us.  His glory was too bright and we shielded our eyes and turned away.  

So, who will believe if all people love darkness?  The ones God specifically calls; the ones whose eyes are opened to see His glory.  Ah, this call is personal.  This call comes to us by name.

Whenever God speaks a word, it is effective.

• God spoke a Word and this dead planet began to pulsate with life.  What once looked like Mars began to grow green.
• God spoke a Word to a dead man, a decaying man, wrapped up like a mummy, and this man came to life.  His body regenerated.  “Lazarus, come forth!” was the call.  God’s Word produced life out of death.
• God spoke a Word, called my name, and I was awakened out of spiritual death.  The call prompted me to turn and look into the face of Christ.  I understood His message of salvation and believed.  If He hadn’t spoken to me and opened my eyes, I would have continued on my death march.

Nobody knows whom God will call.  Because of that, my heart reaches out to God in prayer for those who haven’t yet heard their name spoken by God.  The call is powerful like dynamite.  It transformed a brutal murderer into a zealot.  The Damascus road was the place it happened.  Paul was the man.   I know this transformation, too.  Don’t you?  The longer I live near Jesus and soak in His Words, the more I cease to know the old me.  You’ll never know how many times I read old journals and respond out loud, “What was your problem, Christine?”  

The call is to a new life.  Don’t walk!  Run to Calvary if you are hearing your name whispered in your soul. 

For anyone battling, arguing, even deciding to ignore You, let Your kingdom come this day to their spirit.  Amen

For God so loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.  John 3:16 NLT

The word ‘so’ makes such an impact when speaking.  I was thinking earlier this morning about some contrasts like the ones below.

My baby is hungry.  My baby is so hungry.

My friend is happy. My friend is so happy.

She looks thin.  She is so thin. 

I am loved.  I am so loved.  

This little word expands the effect.  It enhances the meaning many times over. 

God so loves.  Not just likes.  Not just loves.  So loves. 

And who is the blessed recipient?  The world.  Sounds so impersonal and that would be concerning were it not for the personalization of God’s specific words to His children.  He speaks to one person at a time.  He has each of us engraved, one at a time, on the palms of His hands.  When he looks down, He does not see a picture of the world.  He sees each of us.  And when He does, He so loves.  

Oh, and it doesn’t end there.  He is so invested.  He is so grieved by sin.  He is so moved by our worship.  He is socelebrant when a child returns home.  He is so nurturing.  He is so protective.  He is so encouraging.  He is so hopeful that my faith will remain till the end. 

But more than anything ~ He just longs for me to know that the word ‘so’ is true. I have always been so loved.  I am so loved right now.  And I will be so loved forever. 

Forgive me when I’m skeptical.  With You there is no shadow of turning.  Rest, real rest, can be mine right now.  Amen

And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life.  John 3:14-15 NLT

This is the Gospel.  God is holy and must deal with our sin.  God is also love and offers us mercy.  To receive it, we must turn from our sin through repentance and look to Christ. 

The last thing the Israelites wanted to do was to look at a snake, a brass likeness lifted high up on a pole. Seeing the snake reminded them of the curse God had brought upon them because of their grumbling.  Only some were willing to look at it – and live.  The rest chose to nurse their grudge against God for whatever reason or they felt God’s remedy was preposterous and refused to humble themselves.  They chose death over life.  

The last thing any of us want to do is look at the gruesome scene of a crucifixion, to someone lifted up high on a cross.  Couldn’t there be some other extension of mercy than to have to look to Jesus, beaten and bruised, suffering unspeakable horrors?   Anything else would be easier to take.  Only some are willing to look to Him – and live. The rest choose to nurse their grudge against God for whatever reason or they feel God’s remedy of His only Son is preposterous and they refuse to humble themselves at the foot of the cross.  They choose death over life. 

This is ultimately a love story.  Bitten by sin, we all face a death sentence.  We are cursed.  There is only one remedy and we don’t get to decide how we’ll be saved.  But the One who does decide is a Savior who loves us ~ so much so that He was willing to take our curse upon Himself and die in our place.  He was hung, high and lifted up, on a cross.  Our curse was put on Him and He was despised, shamed, and rejected.  Oh, but when we look to Him, consider and then repent of our sin, we live.   

Jesus, sometimes the power of the story of the Gospel washes over my soul in a fresh way.  This moment is one of them.  Thank you.  Always, you are high and lifted up.  Amen