A.W. Tozer challenges us in this devotional that when it comes to matters of defending God our only responsibility is to positively declare God’s truth. With that act, we put the burden of persuasion upon God, who is far more capable than you or I:

The answer to the question, “Where did I come from?” can never be better answered than by the Christian mother who tells her child, “God made you!” The great store of knowledge in today’s world cannot improve on that simple answer! The scientist can tell us the secrets of how matter operates, but the origin of matter lies in deep silence, refusing to give an answer to man’s question. … Our chief business is not to argue or to persuade our generation. With our positive declaration of God’s Word and revelation, we make God responsible for the outcome.

Are you in the midst of an on-going argument with someone over issues of God and faith? How would taking Tozer’s advice change your approach to the disagreement?

As time passes it can be easy to forget our first passionate declaration of faith. Consequently, we begin to see our relationship with God as one in which we need to appease Him. As our devotional from Our Daily Bread today reminds us, our faith should be informed primarily by an all encompassing love for God and His ways:

When Jesus was asked to name the greatest command in the Law, He replied, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment” (Matt. 22:37-38). The questioner wanted to test Jesus, but the Lord answered him with the key element in pleasing God. First and foremost, our relationship with Him is a matter of the heart.

If we see God as a taskmaster and consider obedience to Him as a burden, then we have joined those of whom the Lord said, “I have this against you, that you have left your first love” (Rev. 2:4).

Would you say that your faith in God is based on love or something else? If it’s based on something else, what would it take for you to remember and pursue the original love commitment that lead you to Him?

Just a quick note on the relaxed posting schedule over the past few weeks. Most of our team was out on vacation, but we’re slowly getting caught up and getting back into the swing of things. We hope you had a wonderful Holiday season!

Our devotional this morning from Charles Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening can be seen as a wakeup call to any of us who have slipped into a lazy faith. In it, he exhorts us to forcefully cast off whatever it is that is keeping us from experiencing God to the fullest:

Rouse thee, O believer, from thy low condition! Cast away thy sloth, thy lethargy, thy coldness, or whatever interferes with thy chaste and pure love to Christ, thy soul’s Husband. Make him the source, the centre, and the circumference of all thy soul’s range of delight. What enchants thee into such folly as to remain in a pit when thou mayst sit on a throne? Live not in the lowlands of bondage now that mountain liberty is conferred upon thee. Rest no longer satisfied with thy dwarfish attainments, but press forward to things more sublime and heavenly. Aspire to a higher, a nobler, a fuller life. Upward to heaven! Nearer to God!

Is there anything in your life that you’ve let come between you and the fullness of God’s love and grace?

Before a man can be filled with the Spirit he must be sure he wants to be. And let this be taken seriously. Many Christians want to be filled, but their desire is a vague romantic kind of thing hardly worthy to be called desire. They have almost no knowledge of what it will cost them to realize it.

Let us imagine that we are talking to an inquirer, some eager young Christian, let us say, who has sought us out to learn about the Spirit-filled life. As gently as possible, considering the pointed nature of the questions, we would probe his soul somewhat as follows: “Are you sure you want to be filled with a Spirit who, though He is like Jesus in His gentleness and love, will nevertheless demand to be Lord of your life? Are you willing to let your personality be taken over by another, even if that other be the Spirit of God Himself?

What areas in your life are you holding back from God? Is it out of fear, pride, or something else?

Actor Christopher Reeve was paralyzed in a horseback riding accident in 1995. Prior to this tragedy, he had played the part of a paraplegic in a movie. In preparation, Reeve visited a rehabilitation facility. He recalled: “Every time I left that rehab center, I said, ‘Thank God that’s not me.’” After his accident, Reeve regretted that statement: “I was so setting myself apart from those people who were suffering without realizing that in a second that could be me.” And sadly, for him, it was.

We too may look at the troubles of others and think that it could never happen to us. Especially if our life journey has led to a measure of success, financial security, and family harmony. In a moment of vanity and self-sufficiency, King David admitted to falling into the trap of feeling invulnerable: “Now in my prosperity I said, ‘I shall never be moved’” (Ps. 30:6). But David quickly caught himself and redirected his heart away from self-sufficiency. He remembered that he had known adversity in the past and God had delivered him: “You have turned for me my mourning into dancing” (v.11).

Are you going through a time of trial or a time of blessing? How have you expressed gratitude and trust to God despite your cirucmstances?

Dear friend, are you already saved? Then keep not back from union with the Lord’s people. Neglect not the ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s Supper. You may be of a timid disposition, but you must strive against it, lest it lead you into disobedience. There is a sweet promise made to those who confess Christ—by no means miss it, lest you come under the condemnation of those who deny Him. If you have talents keep not back from using them. Hoard not your wealth, waste not your time; let not your abilities rust or your influence be unused. Jesus kept not back, imitate Him by being foremost in self-denials and self-sacrifices. Keep not back from close communion with God, from boldly appropriating covenant blessings, from advancing in the divine life, from prying into the precious mysteries of the love of Christ. Neither, beloved friend, be guilty of keeping others back by your coldness, harshness, or suspicions. For Jesus’ sake go forward yourself, and encourage others to do the like. Hell and the leaguered bands of superstition and infidelity are forward to the fight. O soldiers of the cross, keep not back.

Spurgeon’s reminder to actively seek Christian fellowship, use our talents, and share our blessings is a good one. Are there areas in your life where you’ve been holding back? What would it take for you to be bold in your service of God?

The first actions of Adam and Eve after the fall were to cover themselves and try to hide from God. And though it’s obvious God wasn’t fooled by their actions, that hasn’t stopped humanity from attempting to flee from Him ever since.

This Daily Encounter devotional urges us to be honest with God. After all, he already knows the deepest depths of our souls; there’s nothing we can say or think that would shock Him:

“Can anyone hide in secret places so that I cannot see him?” declares the LORD. “Do not I fill heaven and earth?” [...]

When it comes to trying to hide from God, that’s impossible. God knows all. He sees all. He knows who I am . . . where I am . . . why I am here . . . where I am going . . . what I am doing . . . and what I am not doing. No matter how I try, I cannot hide from God! No way. Period!

As David wrote in the Psalms, “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.”

The best thing is to tell God who you are, where you are, what you want, what you don’t want, what you are afraid of, what you don’t want to give up, etc., etc. Only when we get honest with ourselves and real with God, can he (or anyone else) help us.

Consider taking some time today to open up to God. If you’re experiencing some deep hurt, anger or struggle, being honest with God is a freeing first step toward peace.

This devotional from Lifetime Guarantee reminds us that we can trust the the authors of the Gospels. The Bible gives us many reasons to believe that God’s followers not only speak truthfully, but do extraordinary things:

Those who were there when He was so cruelly executed on the cross, fully aware of the agony and pain He was enduring, and those who believed that His resurrection was a fact—not a fanatical dream—knew once and for all what God omnipotent could do! In these two mighty acts they realized the glorious truth—that nothing could ever stop Jesus now—that the love which held Him to the cross and the power which had taken Him out of the grave were literally, indisputably irresistible.

But I wasn’t there. I didn’t see these two marvelous acts. I didn’t see His terrible suffering, His cruel execution, the amazing resurrection. And these powerful promises about Him being able – these can only be fulfilled by Someone powerful enough to bring them about. I need more evidence than the words of men. Can I believe the words these men have written?

In order for this question to be answered, it is essential for me to remember that the Bible is not written by inspired men—it is dictated to men by God. I’m not asked to believe the testimonies of mere men. I am believing/trusting in the Word of God—irrevocable, enduring, spoken by God Himself.

Acts 20:32 And now I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is ABLE to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.

Romans 14:4 Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and stand he will, for the Lord is ABLE to make him stand.

Romans 16:25 Now to Him who is ABLE to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which has been kept secret for long ages past…

II Corinthians 9:8 And God is ABLE to make all grace abound to you, that always having all sufficiency in everything you may have abundance for every good deed;

Ephesians 3:20-21 Now to Him who is ABLE to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever, Amen.

Philippians 3:21 … according to the working whereby He is ABLE to subdue all things to Himself … that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those who are in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth (Phil. 2:10)..

Read the rest of the devotional at lifetime.org.

Which of these verses stand out to you?

Our devotional this morning comes from Today in the Word. In it, the author discusses Zerubbabel’s role in rebuilding the temple—an action that had repercussions for centuries to come:

The book of Haggai is the story of a turning point in the spiritual life of God’s people. They had gone from neglecting the new temple and the spiritual state of their own hearts to obediently rebuilding the temple and joyfully participating in genuine worship. They had moved from self-centered to God-centered, and as a result were poised to experience His blessing on their harvests and community.

Today’s final message is addressed to Zerubbabel, and it parallels the messianic passage earlier in the chapter (vv. 6-9). The first part reaffirms that God is sovereign and has a plan for the nations (vv. 21-22). The second part portrays Zerubbabel as a “signet ring” on God’s hand (v. 23). One meaning of this image was that God would bless Zerubbabel as a leader, as opposed to King Jehoiachin, who as a “signet ring” had been discarded (Jer. 22:24-25).

A second meaning of this picture was that Zerubbabel was a type or foreshadowing of Christ (cf. Zech. 3:8). Generally, a king’s signet ring carries the authority of the king, just as Christ the Son is equivalent in authority to God the Father (John 17:2). From our vantage point in history, we know that Zerubbabel was in the line of David and an ancestor of Jesus (Matt. 1:12). Zerubbabel, then, was chosen by God to lead in a special task, rebuilding the temple, at a key time in history, and both who he was and what he did had spiritual significance beyond that time, just as God had planned.

Read the rest of the devotional at todayintheword.com.

Your decision to follow Christ might not change the course of history, but that doesn’t make it any less significant. How have you seen your relationship with Christ change the world around you?

But today, we thought it would be useful to back up and ask a more basic question about Christian devotional practice: Is devotional time important for Christians?

Most Christians would probably answer an instinctive “yes” to that question; but exactly why is it important to spend time in personal devotions? DiscipleshipTools.org has put together an excellent series of short essays that explain the basics of Christian devotions. It begins with a look at how to do devotions and goes on to explain why devotions are important and what spiritual benefits result from doing devotions.

If you’ve never tried “doing devotions,” or if you’ve drifted out of the habit of spending time in prayer and reflection each day, take a look at these articles. And if you’ve got any tips or suggestions for making the most out of your devotional time, share them in the comments below!