Abiding TV

“I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done.” (Philippians 3:7 NLT)

Every time you give, you reveal what matters to you. Tell me how you spend your money and your time, and I’ll tell you what matters most to you. Your schedule might reveal that what matters most to you is your children. Your spending might reveal that what matters most to you is your hobby.

You probably don’t care much about Microsoft because you don’t own stock in Microsoft. But if you bought stock in Microsoft, all of a sudden you’d care about the success of that company, because wherever you put your money, that’s where you put your heart.

Philippians 1:10 says, “I want you to understand what really matters” (NLT).

What matters in your life? Not acquisition. Life is not about the accumulation of things. He who dies with the most toys still dies.

Life is not about things. It’s about learning how to love. If at the end of your life you’ve got a giant pile of things but you’re estranged from your wife and kids, you’ve missed the purpose!

When you are generous with your time, money, effort, and energy, you’re saying that what matters most is God and people. What matters most is love.

Paul talks about this in Philippians 3:7: “I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done.”

How do you break the grip of materialism? There’s only one way. The antidote for getting is giving. So every time you’re generous and give to others or to God, then you are actually breaking the hold of materialism in your life.

“We are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives” (Philippians 3:20a). Your purpose is not to live for here and now. You’re storing up for eternity! You’re not building a pile on this side of eternity. You’re building into people and relationships that will matter on that side of eternity. You’re living in light of Heaven.


Talk It Over

If someone were to look at your schedule, what would they say is most important to you?
If someone looked at where or to whom you give your money, what would they say is most important to you?
When you give, ask yourself, “What is my motivation?”

"For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight."
Ephesians 1:4, NIV

TODAY'S WORD:
Did you know that God had a plan for you before the foundations of the earth? He created you to be holy and blameless in His sight. Why? He chose you to be His ambassador, His representative in the earth. He created you to reflect His glory, character, righteousness, and holiness. Think about that for a moment. Part of your purpose on this earth is to be a representative for the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords! That should make you walk a little differently. It should make you talk a little differently. It should make you think a little more carefully about the places you go and the things you do.

Remember, God will equip you to do whatever He's called you to do. If there are things in your life that you need to change in order to represent Him well, God wants to empower you to overcome. Receive His strength and might today so that you can walk in holiness and be His ambassador everywhere you go!

PRAYER FOR TODAY:
"Father, thank you for choosing me to be your representative in the earth. Search my heart and remove anything that is displeasing to you. I receive your holiness and will walk according to Your ways. In Jesus' Name. Amen."

And this is the message [the message of promise] which we have heard from Him and now are reporting to you: God is Light, and there is no darkness in Him at all [no, not in any way]. [So] if we say we are partakers together and enjoy fellowship with Him when we live and move and are walking about in darkness, we are [both] speaking falsely and do not live and practice the Truth [which the Gospel presents]. —1 John 1:5-6

So often the things we try to hide by burying them deep inside ourselves become darkness within us. But this passage tells us in God there is no darkness at all. So when we allow Him full entrance into our hearts and minds, there will be no darkness there. I am so glad that God fills every room in my heart, so that I am filled with His light. There are no places in my heart that I know of that are blocked off from Him and the light that comes with His presence. Often one of the signs that we are walking in the light of the Gospel is that we have good relationships with everyone with whom we come in contact in our daily lives—including our spouse and our children.

I can truthfully say that right now I do not know of any person in my life with whom I have a major problem. And it is not because they have all changed. The reason is that I have allowed the Lord to come into those dark recesses of my heart and fill them with His marvelous light. When I was one person on the inside and another person on the outside, I had to wear masks and be phony. I had to put on a facade and play games. I am so glad that now I can stand before God and my family and everyone else and be at peace with myself and with others.

I no longer have to live in fear of what anyone thinks of me, because I have opened my heart to God's Holy Spirit and He has lighted up the dark places within me so I can live free! You can say the same thing if you will open your heart to God and allow Him to fill every part of you with His life-giving Spirit.

Ephesians 4:1-3

To accomplish anything in life, we must set a goal and devote our energy and time to achieving it. When people don’t realize that God has objectives in mind for their lives, they just float aimlessly. Not only does God have specific aims for each of us individually, but He also has goals that apply universally to all believers, such as a relentless, lifelong pursuit of humility.

Humility is more than a healthy view of our merit; it is a servant’s attitude that acknowledges total dependence on God. Few people are excited about pursuing humility because it’s considered a weakness. But if we understand God’s view of it, we’ll realize that humility is an extremely significant quality. Philippians 2:3 says, “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves.” In order of priority, Jesus comes first, others are second, and we are last.

We speak emphatically about loving others, forgiving unconditionally, and acting with kindness. But the root of these actions is humility. To be able to love and forgive others, we must be willing to recognize their great worth in God’s eyes and the magnitude of His compassion and forgiveness toward mankind. Ephesians 4:32 says, “Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.”

If we think only of how we feel, what’s convenient for us, or how we can profit from a situation, we won’t be demonstrating Jesus’ love. However, when humility is our goal, then love, forgiveness, and kindness will grow out of it.

Bible in a Year: Deuteronomy 9-11

For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.

James 3:16

Have you ever noticed that the easiest place to remain self-centered is at home? There's an incentive to be lovely with others, but with your family you are tempted to allow yourself more selfish privileges, as if it didn't count there.

Before I was a Christian, I was more courteous and nicer to friends than to my own family. I was more demanding and less forgiving with those dearest to me than with anyone else.

But after I made Jesus Lord of my life, I realized all that had to change.

Gloria and I began to learn through the Word how important harmony is within our family. We learned that if we wanted the power of agreemeent (see Matthews 18:19) to work in our lives, we could not allow strife in our home.

Strife drops the shield of faith, stops prayer results and invites Satan and his cohorts into your midst. Discord is deadly. It paralyzes the power of God in your life.

Don't allow the enemy to stop you at your own front door by allowing strife in your home. If you do, you'll be no threat to him anywhere else.

Put the power of harmony to work in your family.

Scripture Reading:
Philippians 2:1-13

Song of Solomon 4:7
You are all fair, my love, and there is no spot in you.

Sometimes, when we don’t receive our healing, breakthrough, restoration or miracle child, we can’t help but think that something is wrong with us. We tell ourselves, “Nothing’s wrong with God, nothing’s wrong with the Word, so something must be wrong with me!” My friend, if you think that your miracle depends on you, then you are on shaky ground.

In the old covenant, we see this “it’s all up to me” demand put on man. God’s part was to bless His people, but only if they played their part by obeying all of His laws. If they didn’t do their part, not only would they not be blessed, but the curse would also come on them.

Most of the time, they ended up under the curse because they just could not keep all of God’s laws. So God found fault with that covenant because though He wanted to bless man, man’s sins made it difficult for Him to do so. Man himself was the weak link.

In the new covenant, man has no part to play except to believe and receive. The new covenant of grace was cut between God the Father and God the Son—both infallible and more than able to keep the covenant.

God the Son is man’s representative. Jesus represents you and me. So in this covenant, how much we can receive from God depends on how good our representative is, how perfect His obedience is. Of course, Jesus is the perfect Man with perfect obedience. So in Him, we are qualified to receive all the blessings of God! We only need to believe and receive.

Jesus’ blood has been shed for the remission of all your sins. You are now the righteousness of God in Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:21) By His one perfect sacrifice, He has perfected you forever. (Hebrews 10:14, KJV) There is no spot in you!

Today, the devil has no right to tell you that you cannot be blessed because there is something wrong with you. So as you are waiting for your miracle, say, “Nothing’s wrong with God, nothing’s wrong with the Word and nothing’s wrong with me! I am going to receive my miracle!”

Thought For The Day
By Jesus’ one perfect sacrifice for all your sins, He has perfected you forever.