GraceCreates

By Jon Walker

Words kill, words give life; they’re either poison or fruit – you choose. (Proverbs 18:21 MSG)

You have the power to kill or give life.

Yes, you, gentle reader – a follower of Christ – are capable of murder, and so am I. We can speak death with our words, or we can speak life.

Perhaps you’ve been on the other side of the killing kind of messages: “You’re not smart enough. You’re not thin enough. You’re not fast enough. You’re not good enough. A real Christian wouldn’t think such a thing.”

In a world where people are beat up and put down, God gives you superhero power to punch through the negativity. You speak life to others when you say: “You matter to me. I like you just the way you are. You’re human, anyone could think that. Your life counts. You were created for a purpose. God loves you, and you’re incredibly valuable to him.”

Your words may be the only encouraging thing some people hear in a day, or a week, or a month. You – yes, you – can become the voice of God’s grace in the lives of others, supporting, loving, helping, and encouraging with the words that flow from your mouth. (Romans 14:19b)

In the New Testament, the word ‘encouragement’ often means “to come alongside.” We’re to come alongside one another, “building each other up,” just as the Holy Encourager comes alongside us to teach us and remind us of the way of Jesus. (John 14:26)

We become encouragers when we stop looking down and start looking up (Colossians 3:2) – the need and opportunity for encouragement is everywhere. “Each one of us needs to look after the good of the people around us,” (Romans 15:2a MSG) and this “will build them up.” (Romans 15:2b NLT)

So, how about it? Will you become today a consistent source of encouragement to those around you? It’s a choice on your part. You can lift a person’s spirit, change the atmosphere of your office, or lighten the burden of someone in your small group. The Bible says we should “look for the best in each other, and always do your best to bring it out.” (1 Thessalonians 5:15b MSG)

What does this mean?

• Commit to encouragement – Make a choice to build up the people around you. Fill your conversations with phrases like: “I believe in you,” “I’m grateful for you,” “I see God using you,” “I appreciate you,” and “I’m glad you’re in my life.” The Bible says we should “encourage one another and build each other up.” (1 Thessalonians 5:11 NIV)
• Value others – An encourager works hard at bringing the best out in others. Value people by understanding they are valuable to God. He encourages you in spite of the failings in your past; he believes in you in spite of those annoying, little things you excuse in yourself but criticize in others. (Quite honestly, this thought compels me to give grace to others.)
• Be encouraged – Encourage yourself, for “there is good news of great joy for all people, and his name is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:8-10)

Jon Walker is resident writer at www.GraceCreates.com, and the former writer/editor for the Purpose Driven Life On-Line Devotionals. This devotional is copyrighted 2008 by Jon Walker. Used by permission.

By Jon Walker

So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (James 4:7 NLT)

When Leo Tolstoy, the great Russian novelist, was a boy, he reportedly started the “White Polar Bear Club” with two of his friends. In order to become a member, you had to stand in the corner and for 30 consecutive minutes not think of a white polar bear.

Have you ever tried to intentionally not think about something? It’s almost impossible to keep it out of your mind!

We often handle temptation in a similar fashion, thinking we can stand near it, but if we just don’t think about it, then we’ll have victory over it.

The problem is, the more we try not to concentrate on temptation, the more it becomes the center of our focus – even if it’s a “not gonna do it” focus. And the longer we think about not submitting to the temptation, the more likely it is that we will.

James says we should focus on God instead of the temptation. We tend to quote the latter half of this verse: “Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7 NLT) But the full context brings us back to the “I can’t; God can” understanding necessary to live as God intended us to live.

If all we do is focus on the devil, then we’re still focusing on the temptation. I’m not suggesting that, in standing firm on our decisions, we can’t say “No, I’m not going to do that” to the enemy just as Jesus said, “Get behind me, Satan!”

What I am saying is that we don’t do this in our own strength; we do it humbly submitted to God, knowing that he is our strength and that he is the source of our authority to push back on the Devil.
What does this mean?

• Focus on God – Instead of focusing on sin, temptation, or the Devil, keep your focus on God. When tempted, get your eyes back on God; tell him you’re tempted; and the Devil will flee because you are resisting him by embracing God.
• Be humble enough to seek help – A sure sign that you’re about to fall past temptation into sin is when you think, “I can handle this temptation.” You should see that as an urgent alarm to humbly submit to God, confessing, “I can’t handle this, Lord. I need your strength and wisdom. Lead me not into temptation.” Then walk away from the temptation and call a friend for prayer and accountability.

Jon Walker is resident writer at www.GraceCreates.com, and the former writer/editor for the Purpose Driven Life On-Line Devotionals. This devotional is copyrighted 2008 by Jon Walker. Used by permission.

By Jon Walker

And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, he pours new wine into new wineskins. Mark 2:22 (NIV)

A few miles from my house, there’s a gas station/convenience store that just went through a “make-over,” changing their utilitarian look into a warm and inviting neighborhood haven. The new look suggests something like a Star-coffee store with gas pumps.

When I walked into the place, however, it appeared the employees may have missed the make-over memo. The kid behind the counter wore a new uniform that matched the new warm and inviting look outside, but he also wore the same sullen look I’d seen him wearing before, perhaps a little bored and a bit put out that an actual customer had walked in the store to disturb his sedentary productivity.

It set me to thinking about how we try to put new wine into old wineskins. Jesus says we’re doomed to failure because “the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined.” (Mark 2:22 NIV)

Over the years, I’ve been in a lot of church meetings and ministry settings where the image of new wineskins flows as freely as Kool-Aid at Vacation Bible School. But where we tend to apply the concept is with church structure, discussing the “new wineskins” of programs, plans, and priorities.

But I rarely hear the concept of new wineskins applied to a life, as in your life or my life. Don’t we often try to put new wine into old wineskins when it comes to our Christian walk? What I mean is this: A new wine of “honesty at work” poured into an old wineskin of “cutting corners.”

The point is this: God pours the new wine of the Holy Spirit into the new wineskin of our new-creation lives, and that sets us steady on our kingdom walk. But we often reach into the discard pile and pull out our old wineskin, trying to make it work as part of our new life in Christ.

Consider this:

• The new wine of unconditional love poured into the old wineskin of hatred for the family two doors down, who appear to be going out of their way to destroy the tranquility of your neighborhood.
• The new wine of worship poured into the old wineskin of idolatry (as in worshipping something other than God: Money? Power? Music? The latest video game?).
• The new wine of Bible study and prayer poured into the old wineskin of gotta-go-pop-tart-for-breakfast busyness.
• The new wine of humility poured into the old wineskin of conceit. What would that look like?
• The new wine of forgiveness poured into the old wineskin of bitterness.
• The new wine of “others first” poured into the old wineskin of selfish ambition.
• The new wine of joy poured into the old wineskin of jealousy and factions.
• The new wine of peace poured into the old wineskin of discord.
• The new wine of dependence on God poured into the old wineskin of independence.

After years of living in the old wineskin, we’ve gotten so used to living with certain habits and patterns – sins – that it’s difficult to toss them off as we shroud ourselves in God’s new wineskin. Corrie Ten Boom calls this falling into old habits “echoes from the past.” We are new creations in Christ, and we are no longer defined by our old wineskins; we are now defined by our connection with Christ.

What does this mean?

• Old wineskins? – What old wineskins do you continue to use? Perhaps you pull them out in a crisis. Perhaps you use them throughout the day – almost every day. Which “old wineskin” will you stop using this week?
• Look above – Look at the list above and see if any of those scenarios echo into your life. If so, lift that conflict to Jesus and ask him to guide you as you abandon the old wineskins to become the strong, new, clean vessel for which Christ died.
• Rip at the seams – In this same passage, Jesus speaks of how new “unshrunk” cloth will eventually tear away if used to patch an old garment: “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse.” (Mark 2:21 NIV) You know what it’s like to have an embarrassing rip at the seams of your clothing. Can you imagine what we look like spiritually when such a rip occurs in our relationship with Christ?
• Pray at the mini-mart – Next time you walk into a mini-mart, offer a prayer for the people behind the cash register. And, for your own walk, remember the importance of pouring new wine into new wineskins.

Jon Walker is resident writer at www.GraceCreates.com, and the former writer/editor for the Purpose Driven Life On-Line Devotionals. This devotional is copyrighted 2008 by Jon Walker. Used by permission.

By Jon Walker

“Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”  (James 1:2-4 NIV)

God tells us in the Book of James that we can count it all joy when we go through trials and tribulations. 

He isn’t saying we have to be happy when we suffer a loss.  Rather, we can be confident that a just and loving and merciful Father is working everything out for the good of his perfect will (Romans 8:28) – and we can rejoice because God uses moments of crisis to reveal where we have anchored our hope. 

Have you anchored your hope in your circumstances?  Or have you anchored your hope “on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness”?

Several years ago my daughter, Kathryn, died. And, to be perfectly honest, my wife and I became angry with God.  We’d asked him to save Kathryn, and he didn’t answer our prayer. 

But slowly we began listening to God, and gently … very gently … he taught us that our perspective was extraordinarily narrow. We’d placed our hope in our answer to prayer, insisting we knew best what should happen. We did not trust that God knew what he was doing, that with his Father’s heart he had figured it all out, making plans to take care of us and Kathryn, plans to give us the future we actually hoped for in the depths of our hearts. (Jeremiah 29:11 MSG)

We’d hung our hopes on the wrong hook, forgetting our Creator is a God of hope, and that his hope will not disappoint. (Romans 5:1-5)

This is the Truth we can cling to no matter what our circumstances. We can trust in God’s character, even when we can’t see his hand at work. We can trust in God’s plans for us, knowing that he goes before and comes behind. We can trust that God is always in control and that he is bigger than our circumstances.

If our God is not God in times of trouble, then he isn’t God at all.

The Apostle Paul told us that, because we have this tremendous hope inside, we need not grieve our losses like those who have no hope. He’s not saying we can’t or shouldn’t grieve at all; rather, he’s saying that death or any other loss is not the end of the story because we serve the God of Glory.

We believe Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe God will resurrect those in Christ who’ve been taken from us.  And we can encourage one another with these words of hope. (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 NIV)

What does this mean?

• Let God be God – God is working out the details of your life. Even the darkness is light to him, and he can take even bad situations and redeem them for his holy purposes.
• His hands hold your future – Where have you hung your hope? Is it in a job, a relationship, a dream home, a wishful chance to make a better choice in the past? Tell God you’re giving your circumstances and regrets to him, that you’re placing all your hope in his hands.
• Look above – “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” (Colossians 3:2 NIV) Look to God and not at your circumstances.
• Change what you do – How would you handle a situation differently if you were 100% sure that God was working the details out, according to his eternal plan and based on his love for you? “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see ….” (Hebrews 11:1 NIV)

Jon Walker is resident writer at www.GraceCreates.com, and the former writer/editor for the Purpose Driven Life On-Line Devotionals. This devotional is copyrighted 2008 by Jon Walker. Used by permission.