Catch-Up

January 27th: Who's in Charge?

"Does it take being flat on our backs for us to realize that we're not in charge? What might it take for us to genuinely believe that prayer is the essential work and that when we prioritize it, we're drawn into God's perspectives and presence?" The pace of life can squeeze out prayer; yet ironically, it is prayer that enables us to cope with life. "Prayer is a discipline before it is a joy, and it remains a discipline even after it becomes a joy," writes Ben Patterson.

January 28th: What Love Does

The response to Jesus' love becomes our strength. "Knowing that God loves us personally gives us a sense of identity and security so we can approach life with purpose and drive...Obedience without love is a miserable affair. Obedience with love is faith dancing." Romans 5:5 says, "We know how dearly God loves us because He has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His love." What a wonderful image, as the Bible is. We KNOW how dearly our Lord loves us.

January 29th: Healing in Chicago

"None are exempt from broken hearts," writes D. L. Moody, and how true he is. "Moody then referred to Jesus' reading Isaiah in Luke 4:18: 'The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the Gospel to the poor; to heal the brokenhearted; preach deliverance to the captives; and recover sight to the blind; to set liberty to them that are bruised.'" Jesus is always listening to us, no matter what our needs are. Psalm 119:27-28 says, "Help me understand the meaning of Your commandments; and I will meditate on Your wonderful deeds. I weep with sorrow; encourage me by Your word."

January 30th: Don't Forget the Devil

"Calvin Miller warns us that the devil is the lord of 'feel-good,' and he will teach us the fun of license rather than the power of self-denial." He says Satan relabels sinful acts as gray and then makes us think about whether we've truly sinned or just made a little mistake. "In our media-saturated world, we hear articulated back and forth everyone's opinion about every moral dilemma and enticement. As we sample the smorgasbord of compelling images and impassioned arguments, the devil whispers that it's all a muddle. 'Don't try to figure it out-- just do what FEELS good.' WRONG. Miller offers "counsel that he says he learned in the shadows...Enjoy Christ. Bask in His love. Count His presence in your life the chief of all joys, but never forget the opposite force at work. The devil will circle you with gloom to obscure those moral values you learned from Christ." So what do we do then, when we know this is true? "When we do sin, we must NOT believe Satan's lie that we are always doomed to failure. We must repent and seek God's cleansing. To gain victory in the battle with Satan, we must first be indwelt by the fullness of Christ in the person of His Spirit. We must clothe ourselves with His strength and not our own. Matthew 4:10 says, "Get out here Satan," Jesus told him. "For the Scriptures say, 'You must worship the LORD your God and serve ONLY Him."