Gospel.com Blog

I’ll go out on a limb and guess that, like most people, you experienced a mixture of emotional and spiritual experiences in 2009. Maybe some of you had a truly good year or an utterly awful one; but my 2009 contained elements of both.

It was a roller-coaster year for my family. I won’t go into the gritty details, but at times it seemed that every piece of good news was almost immediately followed up by a corresponding piece of bad news, as if to maintain some kind of cosmic balance between joy and grief. Everytime bad news stretched out too long, a happy development arrived to lift my spirits, and vice versa.

All in all, it was an “OK” year. But I learned something this year that I had known intellectually before but never experienced in my day-to-day life: I learned that God is the same no matter what my circumstances.

God was there when I happily came to Him with thanks for something good in my life. And he was still there a week later when I came to Him with tears in my eyes over the bad news. I’ve worshiped God in good times and in sad times in the past; but the constant see-saw between joy and grief this year made God’s unchanging faithfulness clear to me in a new way. I could not count on myself, because I could not predict how I would respond to each new experience. But as the year plodded along, I drew comfort in the fact that the same unchanging God would be there for me no matter what I was feeling or what was happening.

What did you learn about God in 2009? Is your faith today different than it was at this time a year ago?

Share your thoughts!

Today’s devotional has an appropriate New Year theme, and asks: do you trust God to be faithful to His promises in 2010? Our Daily Bread reminds us that the ancient Israelites, wandering for decades in the desert after their escape from Egypt, were faced with the same question:

After four decades of desert wanderings by their people, this new generation may have wondered if they had the faith and fortitude to possess the Promised Land.

Their leader, Moses, reminded them that they had seen “every great act of the Lord which He did” (Deut. 11:7) and that their destination was “a land for which the Lord your God cares; the eyes of the Lord your God are always on it, from the beginning of the year to the very end of the year” (v.12).

On New Year’s Eve, we may fear the future because of events in the past. But we need not remain chained to our old memories because we can move ahead focused on God. Just as the Lord watched over the land and His people, so His eyes will be upon us.

Read the full devotional at Our Daily Bread.

The last twelve months of your life may have been easy or difficult; filled with joy or burdened by sorry. But whatever course 2009 took for you, have you seen evidence that God is faithful to His promises? Do you trust that He’ll remain faithful through the new year as well?

Yesterday we talked about one of the most common New Year’s resolutions: getting your finances under control. Today I want to mention another resolution that countless Christians make each year at this time: to read through the entire Bible in the new year.

It’s probably no surprise to learn that although most Christians would like to read through the entire Bible, many (if not most) cannot say that they’ve read the entire Bible. The good news is that there are some helpful free tools online to help you make it through the entire Bible in 2010! Over at BibleGateway.com, we’ve just posted about our daily Bible reading plans, which have proved extremely popular since we introduced them last year—they break the text of the Bible up into short daily readings and spread them over the entire year.

It’s easy to start a reading plan, and you’ll find that they take just a few minutes of each day… and the rewards of reading through the entirety of Scripture are immeasurable. If you’ve always wanted to read the Bible but, for whatever reason, have never done so, here’s your chance to finally do it—starting on January 1, visit the BibleGateway.com reading plan page and get started on your own journey through the Bible!

Ever wished that somebody would show you, not just tell you, what the purpose of your life is? Today’s devotional, from Our Daily Journey, explains that God is never vague about the overarching plan for our lives. Look at the way God showed the ancient Israelites the path he had laid out for them:

When God brought the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt, He didn’t merely tell them which way to go; He showed them the way with a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night (Exodus 13:20-22). The people, however, repeatedly refused to trust their Provider-God. They hardened their hearts and rebelled against Him (v.8; Psalm 95:7-8). The consequences were disastrous. Their “corpses lay in the wilderness,” said the writer of Hebrews (3:17).

Today, God shows us the way through the guidance of His Word and the illumination of the Holy Spirit (John 14:16-17). Yet we too can stubbornly ignore His step-by-step guidance. That’s why Hebrews says of those disbelieving Israelites, “Because of their unbelief they were not able to enter His rest” (3:19). Then the author draws a clear distinction: “They didn’t share the faith of those who listened to God. For only we who believe can enter His rest” (4:2-3).

Not finding the right train route is a mere inconvenience. Knowing our ultimate destination in life and yet refusing to follow it is a mistake with eternal consequences.

Read the full devotional at Our Daily Journey.

We may not have a detailed map of every choice and decision to make as we proceed through life. But there’s never any doubt about our ultimate destination, because God himself leads the way there.

Yesterday, I asked about New Year’s resolutions. Today, I’ll share a few resources that have helped me in past years to stick to one of the toughest, but most common, resolutions people make: getting your finances under control!

Managing one’s personal finances with wisdom and generosity isn’t just a good, practical idea; it’s an act of obedience to God. If you’ve made a commitment to be a better steward of your money and resources in 2010, here are some articles that can help:

A Christian View of Personal Finance by Ray Porter—a very thorough look at how Christians should understand their money and material possessions, and at how we can manage those resources in a way that brings glory to God.

A short devotional about money and faith by Dean Millard, which challenges us with a simple question: is it possible to separate our finances from our faith?

Many essays about managing your money at Mothers of Preschoolers. As you might guess from the organization’s name, these essays approach the topic of finances with family and parenting concerns in mind.

Those are just a few of the many essays about money management online; but I hope they’ll encourage you to think more closely about how your money management relates to your faith.

What other resources—books, websites, articles, etc.—have helped you understand your finances from a Christian perspective?

Share your thoughts!

God’s mercy, tenderness, and gentleness are attributes we talk about a lot—especially at Christmas, when Jesus’ humble birth provides a perfect example of those divine traits. But today’s devotional from Words of Hope looks at a prophecy in Nahum 2 that describes a warrior’s victory over a den of lions:

…we can appreciate what Nahum was driving at. If someone has the power to enter the lion’s den, nothing else will stop him.

God is the hunter in this prophecy. The Assyrian empire is the lion. Though they believed they were safe, they would soon feel God’s spear. Who can stand up to him? Who can hide?

Some parts of the Old Testament world are hard to bring into the 21st century. God hunting and avenging evil is a difficult import. But Nahum reminds us: don’t oppose this warrior; don’t think you are beyond the reach of God. If your heart is a den where God is not welcome, invite him now. He will come there one way or another. Better as a friend than as a hunter.

Read the full devotional at Words of Hope.

It’s good to be reminded from time to time of God’s different character attributes. His loving and merciful nature is matched by power and majesty sufficient to create the entire world. Most of us can testify to God’s love and mercy in our lives; have you also seen evidence of his power and might?

Well, Christmas is officially over, and while the tree and decorations may stick around for a bit longer, it’s time to start thinking about the new year that’s right around the corner. And while there are all sorts of traditions and customs surrounding Christmas, New Year’s Day boasts only one big tradition: New Year’s Resolutions.

Are you making any New Year’s Resolutions for 2010?

If you are, do you care to share any? Are they serious resolutions—get your spiritual life in order, reclaim control of your finances, etc.—or lighthearted and frivolous? And how did you do with last year’s resolutions?

As the week progresses, I’ll post a few essays related to New Year’s Resolutions.

Share your thoughts!

How did December 25 wind up as the day we celebrate Christmas? The popular answer, which I’ve read a number of times over the last week (including in some comment threads here) is that Christianity “borrowed” December 25 from pagan tradition as a means of supplanting pagan religions.

A recent Biblical Archaeology challenges this assumption and offers a different possible answer to the question of Christmas and December 25. While it’s impossible to know for sure why December 25 became Christmas, there are some historical problems with the “borrowed from paganism” answer. It’s impossible to know for sure, as the article admits; but it’s an interesting read if you enjoy church history or are curious about the timing of Christmas.

In Matthew 18:3, Jesus famously calls on us to “become like little children”—in fact, he seems to make it a condition of salvation. What does that phrase mean?

Today devotional from My Utmost for His Highest examines this verse and its meaning:

These words of our Lord refer to our initial conversion, but we should continue to turn to God as children, being continuously converted every day of our lives. If we trust in our own abilities, instead of God’s, we produce consequences for which God will hold us responsible. When God through His sovereignty brings us into new situations, we should immediately make sure that our natural life submits to the spiritual, obeying the orders of the Spirit of God. Just because we have responded properly in the past is no guarantee that we will do so again. The response of the natural to the spiritual should be continuous conversion, but this is where we so often refuse to be obedient. No matter what our situation is, the Spirit of God remains unchanged and His salvation unaltered. But we must “put on the new man . . .” (Ephesians 4:24 ). God holds us accountable every time we refuse to convert ourselves, and He sees our refusal as willful disobedience. Our natural life must not rule— God must rule in us.

Read the full devotional at RBC Ministries.

Becoming like a child isn’t a one-time event, in others words—it’s a continual process of learning to depend on and submit to God every day, in all circumstances. Are you a “little child” when it comes to your faith? What does “becoming a little child” look like in your everyday life, at your job, in your relationships?

Is it safe to come out now for Christmas? Slate ran an article last week arguing that the “War on Christmas” is finally over.

The “war on Christmas” is a phrase used to describe the American Culture War battles between Christians and those out to stifle the public celebration of Christmas. That’s the idea, at least; as the article points out, it’s a little unclear whether there was/is really any plot to shut down Christmas, or if the whole thing is largely a passing trend bolstered by a scandal-hungry media and a handful of overzealous Christian culture warriors. The “war on Christmas” meme seems to be dying down after several recent stories about “attacks” on Christmas turned out to be greatly exaggerated or untrue.

I grew up in a conservative evangelical community that was very conscious of and grateful for the American right to worship freely; and so today I remain fairly alert for possible threats to that freedom. But even so, I’ve never been able to get behind the “war for Christmas”—despite all the frenzied annual email alerts and news stories, I’ve never seen any real hint or possibility that Christmas is going away. It would be one thing if Christians were being muzzled in their churches or told what holidays they can and can not observe; but so many of tales of Christmas “persecution” boil down to meaningless trivialities, like whether or not the local department store is wishing its customers a “merry Christmas” or a lackluster “happy holidays.” I just can’t bring myself to get too riled up about that when there are so many other pressing moral issues that deserve our time, money, and energy.

What do you think about the “war on Christmas”—is it a real threat to Christian liberty, or just empty, media-fueled hype? Do you find the annual “Christmas wars” ridiculous, or do you think it’s important for Christians to participate in them?

Share your thoughts!