Inspired Faith

Sunday: First Priorities

A Ready Vessel Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near. (Isaiah 55:6) Faith asks us neither to destroy nor to exalt human desire but to gather it into an even greater desire: the thirst for God. (author unknown)

A Classic Devotion from A. W. Tozer

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ick at random a score of great saints whose lives and testimonies are widely known. Let them be Bible characters or well-known Christians of post-biblical times. You will be struck instantly with the fact that the saints were not alike. Sometimes the dissimilarities were so great as to be positively glaring. The differences are as wide as human life itself—differences of race, nationality, education, temperament, habit and personal qualities.

Yet they all walked, each in his day, upon a high road of spiritual living far above the common way.

I venture to suggest that the one vital quality which they had in common was spiritual receptivity. Something in them was open to heaven, something which urged them Godward. I shall say simply that they had spiritual awareness and that they went on to cultivate it until it became the biggest thing in their lives.1 Lord, I ask that You would help me be open to You. Help me to hear Your voice and do Your will. Amen.

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Monday: Power to Persevere

A Beloved Bride And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. (1 John 4:16) We are His beloved. Let us but feel that He has set His love upon us, that He is watching us from those heavens with tender interest, that He is working out the mystery of our lives with solicitude and fondness. (A. B. Simpson)

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vangelist and philanthropist George Müller once said that not once in his marriage did he pass his wife or see her enter a room without love filling his heart. He always saw her as a gift from God, and his love intensified each time they were near each other.

The kind of love between Müller and his wife is perhaps rare, but still stands as a marker, a reminder, of what God intends between husband and wife.

What’s most amazing is that the Bible refers to Christ’s church as His bride. He loves us more tenderly, deeply, and devotedly than the best husband on earth could ever cherish his beloved.

Life suddenly becomes more wonderful when we live in the knowledge that we are as precious to God as a beloved bride.

Thank You, Lord, for Your love for me, Your child. Help me allow Your love to fill my life with joy, and help me spread that joy everywhere I go. Amen.

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Tuesday: Praise for Our Great God

Hope for a New Year Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. (1 Peter 1:3) The beautiful thing about this adventure called faith is that we can count on Him never to lead us astray. (Charles Swindoll)

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e begin the New Year with resolutions only to leave them by the wayside by February. Unfulfilled promises and commitments leave us with feelings of guilt and failure for not living up to our own expectations. One obvious solution is to not try at all.

It’s probably wiser to frame our resolutions as goals, not promises.

But the real question is where we place our confidence. Is it in our own strength? Our own efforts? Start by accepting God’s unconditional love. Allow Him to work through you. You might end up accomplishing more than you initially set out to do!

Your outlook for the year will be much brighter if you begin by asking God first for direction, then for strength to accomplish the tasks He sets before you. Jesus called Himself our Good Shepherd.

When we follow Him, we find green pastures and an abundance of joy.

Lord, give me wisdom as I write out goals for this year.

Show me what You would have me accomplish. And thank You for Your ever-present love and strength. Amen.

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Wednesday: Leading with Grace

The Unlovables Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

(Colossians 3:12–13) Love means to love that which is unlovable; or it is no virtue at all.

(G. K. Chesterton)

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very living creature has been blessed by God with a way to protect itself. When a sand particle gets inside the oyster’s shell, for example, that tiny abrasive becomes life-threatening to the oyster and its soft, porous tissue. But the oyster responds by secreting a substance that creates a pearl from the grain of sand.

What would happen if we, like the oyster, didn’t try to discard the abrasive and unlovable people in our lives—even when we feel threatened—but rather welcomed them as opportunities for God’s love to create something beautiful inside us?

Those bothersome people might need you to help them experience God’s new life. Likewise, you might need them to develop your patience and godly love. So don’t automatically expel difficult people from your life; ask God to help you turn an annoyance into a pearl.

Lord, I want to allow You to work in my life through any circumstances, even the unpleasant ones. Teach me to love with Your love. Amen.

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Thursday: A Prayerful Heart

All Spiritual Blessings Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. (Ephesians 1:3) Those blessings are sweetest that are won with prayers and worn with thanks. (Thomas Goodwin)

A Classic Devotion from R. A. Torrey

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esus Christ, by His atoning death and by His resurrection and ascension to the right hand of the Father, has obtained for every believer in Him every possible spiritual blessing. There is no spiritual blessing that any believer enjoys that may not be yours. It belongs to you now; Christ purchased it by His atoning death, and God has provided it in Him. It is there for you; but it is your part to claim it, to put out your hand and take it. God’s appointed way of claiming blessings, or putting out your hand and taking hold of the blessings that are procured for you by the atoning death of Jesus Christ, is by prayer. Prayer is the hand that takes to ourselves the blessings that God has already provided in His Son.2 Lord, thank You for Your abundant blessings—including the ones I have yet to experience. Teach me to ask You for what I need. Amen.

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Friday: Serving Others

The Miracle God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. (Psalm 46:1) When God is involved, anything can happen. (Charles Swindoll)

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erman Ostry’s barn floor was under twenty-nine inches of water after a flood. He needed a miracle—and fast—to salvage his barn and be ready for winter. He needed to move his entire seventeen-thousand-pound barn to a new foundation more than 143 feet away. His son, Mike, devised a latticework of steel tubing. He nailed, bolted, and welded the lattice on the inside and outside of the barn, with hundreds of handles attached.

After one practice lift, 344 volunteers slowly walked the barn up a slight incline, each supporting less than fifty pounds. In just three minutes, the barn was on its new foundation. And Herman had his miracle.

If you’re holding out for a miracle today, don’t be surprised if the one God sends you comes at the hands of your friends and neighbors. We can always count on Him to come through, but He very often uses those nearest to us to see us through a difficult time.

Father, even though I sometimes feel as though I’m hoping against hope, I know You will come through for me. Help me to see Your hand at work. Amen.

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Saturday: Peace and Encouragement

The Author of Peace Lord, you establish peace for us; all that we have accomplished you have done for us. (Isaiah 26:12) How completely satisfying to turn from our limitations to a God who has none. Eternal years lie in His heart. For Him time does not pass, it remains; and those who are in Christ share with Him all the riches of limitless time and endless years. God never hurries. There are no deadlines against which He must work. Only to know this is to quiet our spirit and relax our nerves. (A. W. Tozer)

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n a study on “peace of mind� performed by Duke University, several factors were found to contribute greatly to emotional and mental stability. Among common-sense indicators like avoiding self-pity and accepting challenges as a part of life, researchers identified other factors of peace of mind, including the ability to forgive and avoid living in the past, and a belief in something larger than oneself. Not surprisingly, these findings support God’s recipe for personal peace: accept His will, believe in His love for you and His plan for you, forgive and receive forgiveness, and look forward to the future.

No matter what circumstances or habits are waging war on your inner peace right now, God can give you the grace to live in peace in His presence.

Dear God, I need to trust You more to experience Your peace. I do affirm my absolute faith in You. Amen.

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