GraceCreates

By Jon Walker

“…There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest ….” (Hebrews 4:8b-11 NIV)

God invites us to enter the rest of his healing grace, trusting in his power and purpose for our lives. We rest in our Father’s arms, knowing he goes before and goes behind, knowing that his plans for us are good and not evil. (Jeremiah 29:11)

We enter this “let go and let God” rest through faith, where we cease to work and live independently of God (“… anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work …”). Instead, we’re to focus our efforts toward entering this Sabbath-trust in God, a restful certainty that God’s got a handle on it all, and that he’s got our best interests in mind.

One writer illustrates this point by telling the story of a man walking down a dusty rural road on a hot, humid day. The man is loaded down with a heavy backpack and carries a duffle bag in each hand. A pick-up truck comes along, and the driver offers the man a ride, telling him to hop in the back.

The driver heads down the road, but when he looks in the rear-view mirror he sees that his new passenger is standing in the bed of the truck – still holding both duffle bags, still wearing the backpack.

The thing is: We stand in the truck of faith, still carrying our burdens, thinking they are independent of the ride we’re taking. Perhaps we think God can carry us, but not our burdens, that we have to keep bearing them ourselves.

What does this mean?

• Rest in God – Rest in God’s power and grace, and work toward confidence (faith) that he is looking out for your best interests. “I believe; Lord, help my unbelief.”
• Rest requires dependence – If you’re working independently of God, then you’re not at rest in God. Possible signs that you’re working independently: worry, a need to control, a crammed-full schedule.
• Our Father’s heart encourages rest – Next time you feel overwhelmed by life, settle in a chair and “be still and know that he is God.” Give him your burdens – your backpack and duffels.
• Faith leads to rest – Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?” Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.” (John 6:28-29, NIV)

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

Though he was God, he did not demand and cling to his rights as God. He made himself nothing; he took the humble position of a slave and appeared in human form. (Philippians 2:6-7, NLT)

Humility is such a slippery slope. The more conscious you are of being humble, the less likely you are to remain humble. It’s like the old joke about the humble man who received an award for his ever-present humility. The problem was, once he stepped forward to receive the award, they had to take it away from him. Ha!

The thing is this: Most of us approach humility in one of two ways.

• The first approach is consciously acting as if we are humble; we create a false humility by trying to imitate what we think humility looks like.
• The second approach is to assume we’re not worthy, that we’re some how second class.

Neither of these approaches reflects authentic biblical humility. The biblical approach to humility means you understand exactly who you are – but more importantly – you understand exactly whose you are, and that God has placed you where he wants you, for such a time as this.

In this way, your humility is not attached to your self-esteem.

In other words, rather than trying to think less of yourself, think more of God. You begin to agree with his view of you and that you are totally dependent upon him.

From this emerges a Christ-like humility. You’re no longer burdened by having to know all the answers or be in control of everything.

What does this mean?

• Dependence requires humility – You will succeed in your purpose because of who God is, not because of who you are. God loves you and wants you to succeed; he will support you in your mission for him, not because you pretend toward perfection, but because he knows you can’t succeed without him.
• Humility leads to purpose – As you move toward dependence (a biblical humility) on God, he gives you his strength for any task before you – to take the steps of faith required to complete your purpose. For such a time as this, God created you, prepared you, and called you to share the Good News.
• Christ-like humility – Look at the picture of humility Jesus presents in Philippians 2. Ask God to show you what needs to change in your life in order for you to fit into this picture of humility. Where is there false humility? Or where do you believe you are, in a sense, worthless, that you are not fearfully and wonderfully made by God? “Lord, I believe, help my unbelief.”

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

“As bad as you are … you’re at least decent to your own children. So don’t you think the God who conceived you in love will be even better?” (Matthew 7:11, MSG)

When my oldest son was appearing in his first Christmas musical at church, my job was to videotape the event for posterity. 

In another time and another place, I was a television producer, so I was already planning out how to “tape the show.” I arrived with all the latest electronic toys and found, to my amusement, a “press gallery” of dads every bit as competitive as the pros I used to go up against.

Looking through the viewfinder of my camera, I was distressed to see that the lighting was all wrong, the stage was too low for even the best camera positions, and I knew from experience there was too much noise in the room to get a good sound recording. 

When the choir took the stage, my hopes for an Emmy-winning video sank faster than the Titanic – My son was on the stage in a place where I could barely see him.  Then, his face went pale, and he started yelling, “Mommy!” 

I felt like crying, “Mommy!” too.

Finally, the choir began, but by then my son seemed more interested in the audio speakers than in performing. But just then, he turned to face me with eyes so bright and buoyant that the professional in me stepped aside and I quietly said, “That’s my boy!”  When I walked out of that performance, I thought, “There’s absolutely nothing I’d trade for having been here.”

• Do you sometimes think of God as more the professional than the Father?
• Do you think of him as being disappointed in you when things haven’t gone perfectly? 

Next time you’ve totally blown it, think about the father-heart of God and the fact that you’re totally accepted by him. When God looks at you, he shouts, “That’s my child, and I wouldn’t trade my child for anything.”

God knew you’d never be perfect without his help; and that’s why he sent his Son, Jesus, to cleanse you of your sins.

What does this mean?

• Consider the father-heart of God – He looked at Jesus in the manger and said, “That’s my boy! I have sent him to save you from your sins.” On the cross, he saw his son, in obedience and love, take on the weight of the world.
• God loves you just like you love your own children – Only God does it perfectly. “As bad as you are … you’re at least decent to your own children. So don’t you think the God who conceived you in love will be even better?” (Matthew 7:11, MSG)
• The next time you fail – Don’t avoid God; come to him as the father he is, and trust that his love is bigger than your mistake.

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

Watch for this: A girl who is presently a virgin will get pregnant. She’ll bear a son and name him Immanuel (God-With-Us). (Isaiah 7:14b, MSG)

As I write this, I am sitting in a fast food restaurant and over there … see her there, pretty in pink … this young girl, maybe five-years-old, is celebrating an early Christmas with her mother. Her presents are spread out across the booth and … listen … she just said, “I miss you, Mommy.”

“I miss you too, baby,” her mother says.

My eyes move beyond their booth, and I see a woman casually, but carefully, watching them. Trained as a journalist to observe, I put it all together: The watching woman is a social worker, and she is supervising a structured visit for mother and child, who are doing the best they can to celebrate Christmas in the booth of a fast food restaurant. A few minutes later, the foster parents arrive to take the girl home with them while the mother leaves alone.

There is a darker side of Christmas that we rarely acknowledge. We create this fantasy of the perfect homecoming that rarely matches reality – even in the best of homes. There are many of us whose Christmas memories are full of tension, not tinsel.

Some of us know that the holidays are just another excuse for Mommy to get drunk or for Daddy to be with his new family. It’s a reminder that the one we love the most is far away – perhaps never coming back – or the relative we love the least will be placing his hands somewhere they shouldn’t be.

Would it surprise you to know that the suicide rate is extraordinarily high in December, and that depression is as common as joy to the world? I suspect there are far more people who hurt at Christmas than we would initially imagine. They find misery in mistletoe, and they have a sneaking suspicion that “ornament” is rooted in the word “ornery.”

For those tired of the hollow hope and the false fantasies of Christmas, the Good News is that God is with us. A virgin gives birth to a son, and his name is Immanuel (God-With-Us). (Isaiah 7:14)

What does this mean?

• Trust the baby in the manger – The babe in the manger came to give you good news, and it’s not the kind of good news that will dissipate tomorrow when the bad news arrives. You may be just hanging on by a thread, and you may not be able to see it yet, but the HOPE is here.
• Trust the baby born in heartbreaking conditions – That baby in the manger came to heal your broken heart. You may be bleeding inside, and for you Christmas is just another reminder of what might have been – “if only.” Jesus will heal your broken heart. You may not be able to feel it yet, but the HOPE is here. Trust the baby born in smelly, unsanitary, heartbreaking conditions.
• Trust the baby who grew to be a man of sorrow – He became a man acquainted with sorrow. He knew the true condition of the human heart. The baby in the manger came to help you make the right decisions. You may be so captive to drugs, alcohol, or pornography that you don’t even know how you can get help –if you’re even able to figure out that you need help. You may be in so much bondage that you can’t even see it, but the HOPE is here. Trust the baby, who did not stay in the manger, but grew to be a man facing difficult choices.
• Trust the baby who teaches us to live above our circumstances – That baby in the manger will help you live above your circumstances. You no longer have to be prisoner to the “what ifs” of life – what if I had a better job, what if I had a better marriage, what if I had a better life? I know it’s hard to see past the prison walls, but the HOPE is here. Trust the baby in the manger, whose circumstances led him from a poor beginning to a violent execution.
• Trust the baby who brings us a hope-filled Christmas – Bring him the ashes of your life and he’ll give you beauty; bring him the mourning in your life, and he’ll give you joy.

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.