Category: YouTruth Devos

Grace – This is Not From Yourselves

a-Eph 2-8 imageThe YouTruth in Ephesians 2: 8

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.”

There are so many areas of life that are tied to performance. Your job or career is certainly that way. If you perform well, you are compensated well. If you don’t, you may not be compensated at all. If you have children, you can face a lot of performance-related feedback as a parent. If your kids behave well, you may get praises. If they don’t, you may face judgment. Just about every area of life in the world can be pressure-packed by the need to perform well. Much of the stress you may face in life can flow from this phenomenon.

There is great news. Your relationship with God is in no way based on your performance. Let me restate that: You do not have to perform for God in order to secure a personal, eternal relationship with Him. The measure of God’s love that flows to you through your relationship Him is always turned on full strength. If you make mistakes, it still flows full strength.  If you fail Him at times, it still flows full strength. Even in moments when you are acting purely in His will, it flows just the same. Nothing you can do can affect His love for you. It is a gift. All you have to do is receive it through faith in Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Nothing else is required.

There is more great news. You can carry this gift into every corner of your life in the world. This gift has great power to dissolve away the performance-related stresses you will face. If you have a bad day at work, God is still pouring out His love, full strength. If you lose your temper with someone close to you, God is still pouring. If your child acts out at the grocery store, you guessed it, God’s gift is unaffected.

Blessing, Keeping and Face Turning – The Lord’s Grace and Peace

a-Numbers imageThe YouTruth in Numbers 6:24-26

“The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace.”

What a powerful prayer this is! It is filled with so many good things, it’s hard to know where to begin!

You may recognize this as a benediction prayer used in many worship services to send the congregation forth after worship. It has been used in this way for thousands of years!

The imagery of God’s face in this prayer is powerful and is key to understanding how you can harness the stated blessings of grace and peace. In Old Testament times, the quality of your relationship with God was illustrated by whether God’s face was turned toward you or away from you. “Why have You turned Your face from me?” is a common cry in the Psalms. It is important to understand God’s perfect, unchanging nature in order to properly understand what was really happening. God would be right to  respond to such a psalmist’s lament with the same question, “No, why have you turned away from Me?”

This illustration can work for you today, too. When you seek after a closeness with God, He promises that you will find yourself in His light, face-to-face with Him. And when you do, you will be in prime position to receive the grace and peace He so longs to give you.

Seek His face today and receive the grace and peace He promises for doing so. (Don’t forget to pass on His bright-shining grace and peace to others, too!)

Yes, You Heard That Right – Love Your Enemies

a-Matt 5-43 imageThe YouTruth in Matthew 5:43

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.’”

Loving enemies. Now that’s a hard one. Don’t you wish Jesus would quit teaching us to do all this hard stuff? And yet, here it is, plain and simple. So let’s see how we can pull this off.

Two shifts in perspective will be helpful:

Who is the enemy, really?

When we are dealing with enemies, it is important to understand that enemies are not who they seem to be. The Apostle Paul taught powerfully on this subject when he wrote in Ephesians 6:12:

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

If we focus on people we may consider enemies, it is virtually impossible to love them. But if we understand that the true enemy is Satan, who has lured a person into the behavior of an enemy, then it is much easier.  This doesn’t mean that you have to put yourself in harm’s way, or that you have to consider the person a close friend. It just means that you pray for the person, extend kindness when there is a safe opportunity to do so.

What makes an enemy?

Conflict makes enemies of people. Without conflict, people cannot truly be enemies.  If your response to an “enemy’s” unkindness, is more unkindness, then you’ve made an enemy indeed. But if your response to an enemy’s mean-spirited action is forgiveness and love, the condition of conflict vaporizes. Just like it takes two to fight, it takes two to be enemies. If only one “enemy” is participating, then love can find its way into the situation, and perhaps, head off the whole enemy thing at the pass.

The Birthright – Seeing the Kingdom

a-John 3-3 imageThe YouTruth in John 3:3

“Jesus replied, ‘Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.'”

Nicodemus, a wise religious man, saw that Jesus was someone special, even if the ruling council, of which Nicodemus was a part, didn’t think much of Him. So Nicodemus came to Jesus alone, at night, to talk to Him. Before Nicodemus could even ask his first question, Jesus issued the statement above. Nicodemus was understandably confused. None of Nicodemus’ extensive religious training had prepared him to deal with such a profound paradox. We can only assume that Nicodemus left his conversation with Jesus with much to think about, paradigms to change, and new ways of understanding God’s Kingdom to process. Later in the book of John, we find out that Nicodemus, despite the ruling council’s severe objections to Jesus’ message, became a believer and follower.

We are all “Nicodemuses” in some way. And we can find great hope in Nicodemus’ story.

We live in a world that doesn’t entirely agree with Jesus’ message of grace and hope. It can beat us down at times. But we can know that we can come to Jesus, in the night if we have to, and ask Him about the Kingdom. And He will tell us profound, sometimes confusing, but always amazing things about eternal life.

We are all wise in our own way, and some of that wisdom will be off-target from the eternal perspective. But we can know that we can come to Jesus and ask Him which parts of our wisdom work, and which parts don’t. And He will tell us.

We may come away from these encounters confused or uncertain. But, as with Nicodemus, if we come to Him, with a yearning to understand, Jesus will leave that yearning intact and active, exactly what is needed to become deeper believers and truer followers of Him.

Oh, and by the way, Jesus wrapped up His explanation of the whole “born again” thing to Nicodemus in this way:

 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

When You Give a Banquet – Your Invitation List

a-Luke 14-13-14 imageThe YouTruth in Luke 14: 13-14

“But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

Not many of us are in the regular business of giving banquets. Huge lavish gatherings with hundreds of high-profile invitees and five-course meals don’t fill up the typical daily planner. Nevertheless, this passage has much to say to us. Whether we know it or not, we are all capable of throwing banquets on an incredible scale. We just have to understand banquets from the Kingdom’s perspective.

A man stands on a street corner with “Hungry, please help” scrawled on a piece of cardboard torn from an old box. You respond by buying an extra sandwich at the shop down the street and hand it to him. At that moment, that man has received his invitation to sit at Jesus’ banquet table.  You have ushered him into the banquet hall and shown him to his seat near the head of the table.

A women’s car is broken down on the side of the road. She has a crying toddler on her hip and a distraught look on her face. You respond by arranging for a tow truck, paying the towing fee, and providing some extra money to help with the repairs. That woman and her child have received their invitation to sit at Jesus’ banquet table. You have ushered them into the banquet hall and shown them to their seats near the head of the table.

You see, in God’s Kingdom, we can build our banquets one person at a time. And over time, the size of the banquet you give in Jesus’ name, can be far bigger than any lavish, celebrity event the richest of the rich could throw in this world. So have at it! Get your banquet invitations ready to deliver! God will put those in your path that He intends for you to invite.

The Guarding Peace – Do Not Be Anxious About Anything

a-Phil 4-6-7 image

 The YouTruth in Philippians 4: 6-7

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

So many things can cause anxiety. I’m sure you can recount situations or circumstances that created anxiety for you. You may even experience anxiety today. God has a prescription for the ailment of anxiety that has three equally important ingredients—prayer, petition, and thanksgiving.

It starts with thanksgiving. This can be the hardest part when you’re feeling anxious! But this is what makes the rest of it work. The one thing you can know for certain is that God loves you immensely. He sent His Son to die for you after all. In this grand love for you, God is always working to bring about what is best for you. It’s always good to remember that God exists eternally outside of the confines of time. Therefore, in every case of anxiety you face, He has already worked out what is best for you in your current situation (and for every future situation you will ever face)! It’s already done!

Armed with a state of thanksgiving all that is left to do is to talk to God about what is happening. Don’t hold anything back! He can handle it! Ask Him for things. Ask Him to take the anxiety away. Ask, ask, ask, all the while thanking Him for already having it all worked out.

When using these three ingredients together, not only does God take away the anxiety, He does you one better. He replaces it with a piece of Himself—the  peace  of Himself. You will recognize it right away because, though you will experience it, you won’t be able to understand it. It will come directly from eternity and will deliver you to an eternal peace that is out of this world.

Are you feeling anxious today? Try God’s remedy right away!

Binding and Writing – Let Love and Faithfulness Never Leave You

a-Prov 3-3 imageThe YouTruth in Proverbs 3:3

“Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.”

As Christians, we are commanded to make love and faithfulness an ever-present part of our character and witness. This is not news to most of us. We hear this throughout the Scriptures. There is also something implicit in the passage that must not miss. If we don’t do something to prevent it, love and faithfulness will escape from us. It is our job to recognize this and to know what to do to prevent it.

Thankfully, the verse immediately follows with the preventive measures. The instruction to bind them and write them on tablets seem a little obscure, but what they really are telling us is, start from the inside out.

Writing love and faithfulness on the tablet of your heart is, to Christian believers, turning areas of our heart over to the power and leading of the Holy Spirit that dwells within us. It is surrendering our attitudes or actions that are not loving or faithful to God and asking Him to transform us into His likeness in these areas. This is the cool thing about writing upon the tablet of a believer’s heart—we don’t have to do the writing ourselves! We can turn over the writing to God who is (let’s face it) far more qualified to do the writing than we are anyway.

Binding love and faithfulness around your neck is taking what God has written on the inside and moving it out in the open where all can see it. It is translating the loving, faithful desires of the heart into loving and faithful actions that bless those around you in His name. It is not just wearing a cross necklace around your neck, which would seem to meet the literal expectation. It is the outward demonstration of love and faithfulness that allows those around you to understand who Jesus is and how much He loves each of those you interact with every day.

You and The Way Out: Temptation and Our Faithful God

1 Cor 10-13 imageThe YouTruth in 1 Corinthians 10:13

“No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.”

Temptation is a powerful enemy. In our broken world, we will face temptations. No one, no matter how strong in their faith, will be exempt from this condition. In this passage, the nature of temptation and the nature of God are put on display. Understanding both natures is the key to “the way out.”

The Nature of Temptation—Common
Temptation is common to mankind. A card-carrying members of mankind, we face common temptations that every other card-carrying member faces. No one gets to claim that their temptations are more severe than anyone else’s. Our response to temptations we face is what creates seeming severity. It is not the temptation that is more severe, it is the mess that is made in response to temptation that makes it more severe.

The Nature of God—Faithful
No temptation can bring you down without your permission. God always puts His governing hand on the temptations you face to ensure that they, by themselves, cannot overtake you. If you, wittingly or unwittingly, install additional weaponry to temptations, then it can overtake you. God always provides a way out. All you have to do is to take it. This can be hard to do, particularly if a pattern of being overcome has established strong resistance to his way out. Remember, it is not our lack of resistance to the temptation that is the problem. It is a strength of resistance to God’s way out that is the problem.

Keep a keen eye out for The Way out today. When temptation comes, and it will come, you will be able to endure it and emerge victorious over it.

The Lord Will Be At Your Side

proverbs 3-25-26 imageThe YouTruth in Proverbs 3: 25-26

 

“Have no fear of sudden disaster  or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked,
for the LORD will be at your side and will keep your foot from being snared.”

 

Yikes! Sudden disaster doesn’t sound like very much fun. Ruin doesn’t either. God has much to say about avoiding both in today’s passage. To get the full blessing of God’s message it will be important to dial in to the context provided by this passage so we don’t “over-apply” it and face disappointment as a result.

In this chapter of Proverbs, a father instructs his son in the seeking and application of wisdom. As a reader of this chapter today, you get to live vicariously through this father and son relationship. You can also understand that, at its core, the passage reflects the relationship your Heavenly Father longs to have with you. The preceding 24 verses instruct the son that Wisdom is found in God alone, and to vigorously seek after Him to attain true Wisdom. So our passage above relies heavily on this context. Therefore, if you seek after God for Wisdom, He will be, by definition, by your side. And if you have God by your side, He will keep your foot from being snared.

Think about snaring for a minute. When an animal gets its foot snared in a trap, there are usually deadly consequences. Even if the animal can somehow wriggle free, it escapes with significant injuries. In either case, disaster and ruin are good descriptors of the outcome. There are similar consequences for you, if you disregard God’s Wisdom and pursue a path without it. God does not want this for you! He knows how devastating the consequences will be. He loves you so much and desperately wants you to avoid this disaster and ruin.  He also wants you to live a life without the debilitating effects of fearing these things.

Seek after God for wisdom today, and fear not, for He will be at your side. Make today a “snare-free” day!

Use The Gift You Have Received

1 Peter 4-10 imageThe YouTruth in 1 Peter 4:10

Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.

What are your gifts? Are you good at working with young children? Are you musically inclined? Are you good with tools and building projects? Do you feel like you don’t have any true gifts? I can assure you, that in God’s economy, everyone has gifts and in those gifts, however small or insignificant they may seem at times, there is a great and glorious purpose.

There are some important things to remember about your gifts: you did not earn them and they do not belong to you! They are gifts, entrusted to you, and they belong to God. Adopting this understanding about your gifts goes a long way to understanding how to use them. Their use should be directed towards others and not just used for self-serving purposes.

Another thing to remember is that your gifts, and the countless gifts of others, are all various expressions of God’s grace. God’s grace and your gifts are wrapped up together in a great, big care package He has freely given to you. When you use your “grace gifts” to share God’s love with others, you become part of God’s wonderful grace delivery system.

So, be a grace gift deliverer today! Use whatever gift you have received to serve others.