GraceCreates

By Jon Walker

For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. (1 Corinthians 2:2, NIV)

If the apostle Paul ever made a New Year’s resolution, I suspect it was similar to the one made here, where he resolved to know nothing but Christ and him crucified.

Paul’s message was radically simple: Salvation is in Christ alone.  That means it’s not Christ plus your good behavior, not Christ plus the years you taught a Bible study, not Christ plus your tithe, not Christ plus the church you attend.

It’s not Christ plus the number of verses you memorize, not Christ plus your title in the church, not Christ plus wisdom from the latest Christian seminar, not Christ plus a desert fast – or even a dessert fast!

It’s not Christ plus a good driving record, not Christ plus well-behaved children, not Christ plus your newly shined shoes, not Christ plus the right job, not Christ plus the right spouse, not Christ plus a college education, not Christ plus the latest technology.

It’s simply Christ.  Christ plus nothing.  That’s our message in this still-new millennium, and it’s a message that is as right throughout 2008 as it will be in 2999.  May your New Year’s resolution be nothing but Christ and him crucified.

What does this mean?

• Jesus plus nothing equals salvation.
• Check your beliefs – Is there something you think you need to do or achieve to be fully accepted by God?  Are you adding to that Scripture, changing it to say, “I resolve to know nothing except Jesus and …?”
• Pray through this verse – “For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” (1 Corinthians 2:2, NIV) Ask God to teach you this year to know nothing but Christ and him crucified.

Jon Walker is the teaching pastor for “The Purpose Driven Life Daily Devotionals,” and resident writer at www.GraceCreates.com. This devotional is copyrighted 2007 by Jon Walker. Used by permission.

By Jon Walker

Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. (Psalms 51:12, KJV)

Over the years, I’ve misread and misheard Psalm 51:12, thinking it said, “Restore unto me the joy of my salvation.”

Over the years, I’ve seen a lot of people mis-live the verse, too.

The difference between ‘my’ and ‘thy’ may seem like simple semantics, but the chasm between them is actually so vast that the only bridge capable of spanning the gap is the blood of Jesus Christ.

“My” salvation means I do it myself. I earn my salvation. I have a right to my salvation. It is mine, and it’s all about me.

“Thy” salvation is about God – his gift, his promise, his sacrifice, his love. It is his to bestow, because it’s not about you – or me – it’s about God and his grace.

This is important, related to the good news of the Gospel: If our joy about Jesus is based on what we’ve done, then we’ll always wonder if we’ve done enough. That joy is only temporary.

But if our Jesus-joy is based on the grace of God, it’s permanent – “it is finished.” (John 19:30)

If you’re struggling to sense the joy of his salvation, perhaps you’re still seeing it as yours and not his: “Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.” (Psalms 51:12 NIV)

What does this mean?

• Rely on God’s work – God began a good work in you and he will “carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:6, NIV)
• God’s spirit sustains you – Your ability to walk as a Christian is dependent upon God’s spirit within you and your willingness to stay close to God. It is not based on your strength and efforts. “Grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.” (Psalm 51:12b, NIV)
• Pray – Father, I pray that you renew a right spirit within me, a spirit not born of fear, or from self-sufficiency, or from an ungodly independence. Fill me with your spirit of love and grace, as I rely upon you to restore unto me the joy of your salvation.

Jon Walker is the teaching pastor for “The Purpose Driven Life Daily Devotionals,” and resident writer at www.GraceCreates.com. This devotional is copyrighted 2007 by Jon Walker. Used by permission.

By Jon Walker

The master was full of praise. ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant.’ (Matthew 25:21 NLT)

God is equipping you to make a difference in his world. Rick Warren teaches that the donation of your life matters more than the duration of your life.

Do you really want your life to be significant in 2008? Then begin investing your time and money into showing people how they can make peace with God. That’s an investment that will make a difference, not for 10 years, or 50 years, or even 1,000 years; it will make a difference for eternity.

Quite honestly, there is nothing more significant you can do with your life. There is no more significant use of your time or resources than to help other human beings learn about Jesus. If you help just one person get into heaven, your life will have been eternally significant.

Charlene, a nurse in the Saddleback Church congregation, says God taught her to give her life to something bigger than just living for herself. “I’m a nurse, and when I heard about the tsunami that struck Indonesia [several years ago], I felt God calling me to help,” she says. “I was nervous because the area we were going to serve in is devoutly Muslim. I wasn’t sure how the people would react to us being Christians.

“God gave me so much love for all the people, and we felt the Spirit moving,” says Charlene. “I know seeds were planted, and I believe that someday many of those people will come to know Christ. God showed me that he would protect and take care of us. It was a wonderful experience. It makes me want to give my life to something bigger than just living for myself.”

What does this mean?

• Ask God about the donation of your life – Ask God what he wants your donation to be in the years you have left.
• Believe God wants to use you – You can change the world, one person at a time.
• Question to consider – What do you need to change in your life so you can begin living for godly significance?

Jon Walker is the teaching pastor for “The Purpose Driven Life Daily Devotionals,” and resident writer at www.GraceCreates.com. This devotional is copyrighted 2007 by Jon Walker. Used by permission.

By Jon Walker

Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others – the armies of heaven – praising God: “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to all whom God favors.” (Luke 2:13-14, NLT)

Long ago and far away, there was a teacher who worked painstakingly to teach me how to play the guitar. Every week, we’d climb up and down musical stairs crafted from the pentatonic, hexatonic, heptatonic, and octatonic scales. This emphasis upon technique frustrated me, and I grew to hate it so much that I abandoned the guitar – until playing it again became a positive part of my mid-life crisis.

OK, OK … yes, I would have been better guitar player today if I’d practiced what my teacher told me (and, kids, eat your spinach too). But somehow I became so buried in the technique of making music that I lost the exhilarating pleasure of the music – with its power to make my heart soar toward the grace-filled face of God.

You might say the how of guitar-ianity muted the wow of the music.

And in our well-intentioned focus on the how of Christianity, I sometimes wonder if we lose sight of the wow – that God’s Holy Spirit lives within us, and that he is with us always, day after day after day, until the very end of time.

Wow!

Say this with me, brothers and sisters:

• Wow! The God of the universe is present by his Spirit within me!
• Wow! The God who spoke the world into existence lives within me!
• Wow! The same God who placed the moon and the stars and the sun in the sky also placed his Spirit within me!
• Wow! The God who owns the cattle on a thousand hills considers me one of his heirs and is pleased to give me a share in his kingdom!
• Wow! The God of Creation spoke me into my mother’s womb, SHAPEd me as a masterpiece crafted for the mission of proclaiming his Wow! throughout the world! (Jeremiah 1:5)

It’s not the how; it’s the wow!

God Almighty! He lives, he lives, Christ Jesus lives in me today! (Galatians 2:20) The Wow! is with me always and forever, yesterday today and tomorrow, forever and again, amen.

What does this mean?

• Set your heart on the WOW – You must be deliberate in staying focused on the Wow! “Set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” (Colossians 3:1b-2, NIV)
• The Good News – Wow! – We proclaim without shame that the Wow! is in our hearts, and the Wow! will come into any heart that confesses Jesus Christ as Lord.
• No commandment harmed – No commandment was harmed in the making of this devotional. Ha! Staying intimately focused on the Wow! does not suggest the how is unimportant or that the Wow! compromises biblical truth or downgrades “the way, the truth, and the life.” (John 14:6, HCSB)

Jolly, Holy Christmas Quiz – We know there were three wise men, some frankincense and myrrh, and a huge star on the first Christmas Day. Plus, there were shepherd’s watching their flock on a cold, silent night in winter, a little drummer boy, and the littlest angel … wait a minute, how much of this is tradition, and how much of it is based in the Bible? You may be surprised at what you find in this Biblical Christmas Quiz, available at www.GraceCreates.com.

Jon Walker is the teaching pastor for “The Purpose Driven Life Daily Devotionals,” and resident writer at www.GraceCreates.com. This devotional is copyrighted 2007 by Jon Walker. Used by permission.