“But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.”

— Luke 12:7

A couple of years after the end of World War II, the British author W. H. Auden wrote a poem about the age in which he lived. Auden entitled this poem “The Age of Anxiety.” Amazingly, the label still describes our time though Auden coined it half a century ago.

Do you ever lie awake at night, worrying about this and anxious about that? If so, you know how distressing that experience can be, tossing and turning, trying to sleep while your concerns hound you. But if you’re a Christian, you needn’t allow worry to plague you. Instead, you can turn over your anxieties to your heavenly Father, casting them on the One who cares for you. I heard about one Christian man who envisioned lifting each of his big burdens, like a large stone, and handing it to Jesus. When Christ took hold of it, suddenly the rock shrank to a pebble. Our worries do indeed shrink when we leave them in God’s care.

A missionary was teaching a Hindu woman, who had just accepted Christ, how to pray the Lord’s Prayer. The woman prayed, “Our Father, which art in heaven.” Then she said, “Stop! Do you mean that God is our Father?” The missionary said, “Yes.” She said, “That’s enough! If God is our Father, then there’s nothing to worry about!”

Do you remember being a child, trusting your parent or guardian to take care of all your concerns? Remember how, no matter how frightened you might have been, all your fears dissipated when you put your hand into the hand of a loving parent? In the same way, we have a divine and heavenly Parent on whom we can still cast our burdens, no matter how big or how small they are.

Do you have a burden causing you to worry today? Hand it to God, your Father who cares for you. Allow Him to give you the peace that comes from trusting Him with everything that concerns you.

“When you have nothing left but God, then for the
first time you become aware that God is enough.”
Maude Royden

“Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?”

— 1 Corinthians 1:20

Our world prides itself on nothing more than its vaunted wisdom. Having confused sophistication for wisdom and knowledge with understanding, our world looks down on those who believe in God and trust in His Word. Yet the Bible says that God has made the wisdom of this world foolishness. Most, however, do not really believe that. Sadder still, even Christians are impressed and intimidated by the world’s apparent wisdom.

But let’s take a quick look at what the world’s wisdom has accomplished through the years. Wisdom supposedly reached a pinnacle in the Golden Age of Greek philosophy. Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle brought to light vast stores of knowledge that the world had not hitherto known. Yet their writings have done little to regenerate humankind and alleviate humanity’s problems. More recently (several hundred years ago), we ushered in the Age of Reason, supposedly a golden age of wisdom. But in truth, these were some of the bloodiest years France has ever seen. The guillotine, like some huge monster, consumed its victims until the streets of Paris ran with blood, and that Age of Reason became a very unreasonable, frightening, and terrible time. Even in this modern age, we haven’t learned our lessons. We’ve accumulated great stores of knowledge, so much that we cannot even measure it. Yet have we really arrived at wisdom? The twentieth century has been history’s bloodiest era.

Do we really want to rely on the world’s “wisdom” if it has resulted in all this bloodshed? Let’s bank our lives on the wisdom of God, wisdom that resulted in a different type of bloodshed—the blood shed by Jesus as He hung on the cross to die for you and me. God’s wisdom can do more to ennoble human life and alleviate the pain of human existence than anything conceived by the wisdom of this world.

“Wisdom is the something that enables
us to use knowledge rightly.”
Paul Lee Tan

“As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.”

— Colossians 2:6–7

A secular author was researching the subject of gratitude. As he did, he examined two large dictionaries of modern psychology and could find no mention of the terms “gratitude,” “thankfulness,” or “giving of thanks.” He then scanned the card catalog of a large university library containing hundreds of thousands of volumes. Through his search, he found not one single card giving any reference to the terms “gratitude” or “thankfulness.” Indeed, as one humorist put it, “If you’re looking for gratitude, you’d better look in the dictionary. That’s the only place you’re going to find it.”

If someone looked into your heart today, would that person find thankfulness and gratitude?

Someone once said that thankfulness is the least of the virtues and ingratitude the worst of the vices. We consider gratitude an easy virtue to attain, yet so few people distinguish themselves by their thankfulness. Meanwhile, in the first chapter of Romans, Paul, in cataloging the descent of humankind into the mire of depravity, begins by saying that “although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful” (Romans 1:21, emphasis mine). He then describes humanity’s fall into all sorts of base immorality. The slide from godliness into wickedness begins with ingratitude.

Shakespeare once said, “How sharper than a serpent’s tooth it is to have a thankless child!” But the Bible repeatedly calls upon us to remember our blessings and express gratitude. It says, “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits” (Psalm 103:2). What blessings can you thank God for today? Beginning now, cultivate a grateful heart.

Make it a regular practice to thank the Lord for who He is and for all He has done for you.

“As a rule, a man’s a fool. When it’s hot, he wants it cool. When
it’s cool, he wants it hot. Always wanting what is not.”
Anonymous

“Whom will he teach knowledge? And whom will he make to understand the message? Those just weaned from milk? Those just drawn from the breasts? For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept. Line upon line, line upon line, here a little there a little.”

— Isaiah 28:9-10

If you’re a parent or hope to be one someday, then you’ve probably already considered how you’ll raise your children. Allow me, if you would, to put my oar in the water and give you a few thoughts about godly parenting.

When we first look at our newborn children, we are full of hopes and dreams for them and their future. To guide our children toward reaching their potential, we can rely on promises and principles from God’s Word. Biblical parenting boils down to two main things: We must train our children in God’s Word and discipline them according to God’s principles.

“Training our children” means teaching them line by line, precept by precept, a little bit here, a little bit there about the things of God. A father must fulfill his role as spiritual head of his household, teaching his family the things of God: “And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4). This includes teaching the Ten Commandments, the gospel of Christ, the importance of memorizing Scripture, and how to pray. And because our lives speak louder than our words, we must teach by both precept and example.

Disciplining our children must be done in love, not anger. We shouldn’t raise our voices. We should listen to our children and refrain from disciplining them until we hear all the facts. We should set explicit and reasonable boundaries, enforce them consistently, and make it clear that Mom and Dad will always have the final say. We should encourage good behavior by offering positive rewards. A father once paid his son to read certain books and write book reports on them. When in college, the son often expressed gratitude to his father, because his knowledge of those books put him far ahead of his classmates. This father’s initiative helped the son reach his potential.

Parenting is tough but worth every effort we make. As we train our children in God’s ways, we can feel confident that our children will reach their full, God-given potential. Today, pray for your children. Ask God to help them grow in Him. And ask Him to give you the wisdom you need to train them in the way they should go.

“You cannot change your ancestors, but you can
do something about your descendants.”
Anonymous

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope …”

— 1 Peter 1:3

What’s your outlook on the future? Do you view the future with hope for great things or with despair?

Two thousand years ago, Cicero said, “Where there is life, there is hope.” These words ring true to a certain extent. When we struggle against all sorts of odds, even if we face imminent death, as long as we have life, we have hope. However, for many people, the following statement seems more relevant: Where there is not hope, there is not life—nothing but darkness, despair, and death.

When we lose hope, we lose all of our joy. Just imagine facing any one of many difficult trials—betrayal, loss of a job, death of a loved one—without having any hope. Without hope, we have no foundation to stand on when the going gets rough. We also lose the meaning of life when hope slips away. When we have no hope, nothing has purpose. Under these conditions, the everyday struggles of life become burdens too heavy to bear and too difficult to endure.

But we need not lose hope. Because of Christ’s resurrection, we have great hope for our future. We don’t just hope for something that is to come; we find our hope in something that has already taken place. The Resurrection, a documented fact in history, is a solid, unmovable rock, and everyone who hopes in it has great joy. Christ has vanquished death and Hell. We have the hope of going to Heaven to spend eternity with Him. And even in this life, Christ has promised never to forsake us.

Christ gives us hope. If you’re feeling a little low on hope today, ask Jesus to give you some. Remember that He has secured your future, and in that truth you can have great hope for today and every day.

“Everything that is done in the world is done by hope.”
Martin Luther

“And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.”

— Genesis 22:10

Do you face a test of faith today? Is God calling you to leap into the unknown, into uncertain, perhaps even treacherous waters? If so, maybe Abraham’s story will inspire you.

God’s familiar voice rang out, “Abraham.” And Abraham responded, “Here I am, [Lord].” The Lord gave Abraham instructions: “Take now your son … and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering …” Perhaps no more painful words have ever been heard. All of Abraham’s joy disappeared in a flash. However, Abraham did not question; he simply obeyed. First thing the next morning, he prepared for the journey to the mountains. No questions, just obedience. For three long days he walked with Isaac at his side, Isaac who knew nothing of his father’s mission. Only God and Abraham knew what lay at the end of this journey. Silently, Abraham and Isaac climbed to the top of Mount Moriah.

Once there, father and son erected an altar together. Then Abraham bound his son and, summoning all of his strength, laid Isaac upon the altar. With his heart about to break, Abraham lifted the knife above Isaac’s chest. As Abraham began to plunge the knife downward, he again heard that familiar voice, “Abraham, Abraham … Do not lay your hand on the lad.” God intervened and provided a ram in Isaac’s place.

God didn’t want Abraham to sacrifice his son. God wanted obedience. Through this incident, God tested Abraham’s faith. He wanted to know which would win out: a father’s love for his child or his obedience to his God. When we truly have faith in God, we will trust Him and do whatever He asks of us. Abraham was a man of tremendous faith—he trusted God with his son’s life, believing that God could raise the dead (Hebrews 11:17–19). Faith trusts that whatever God commands must be done, and what God has promised He will perform in His own time.

So, back to you and your test of faith. Ask God to show you clearly what He wants you to do. And when He does, follow Him without question or dispute. He can (and did) raise the dead; He can surely work good through your obedience.

“Doubt sees the obstacles—faith sees the way.”
Ira Lee Eshleman

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”

— Genesis 1:1

When you look at our world and see both the bad and the good, do you ever wonder how our society has gotten to this point? Do you ever ask yourself, “How did it all begin?” God has answered that question for us, and to find it, we need look no further than the book of Genesis. Genesis explains the beginning of all things: the universe, humankind, marriage, evil, language, government, culture, nations, religions, chosen people. Genesis puts the rest of the Bible in context; without it, we couldn’t possibly understand the entirety of God’s Word.

For this very reason, many have attacked Genesis. Ken Ham, a creationist and a defender of Genesis, has created a vivid, descriptive picture of these attacks. One of Ham’s cartoons shows two castles, each built upon a foundation. The castles have walls, turrets, towers, and flags. One castle is named “Christianity”; the other, “Humanism.” On the wall of each castle stands a man with a cannon. The Christian fires his bombs at the flags flying over the humanism castle, flags labeled “gambling,” “homosexuality,” “divorce,” and “abortion.” But the humanist has his cannon aimed downward and blasts at the foundation of the Christian castle. This foundation is labeled “Genesis.” As depicted in this cartoon, the world wages its war against the Genesis accounts of our beginnings, hoping that as it pokes holes in Genesis, all of Christianity will crumble.

To carry this illustration a little further, the Christian, who shoots only at the flags, would do better if he aimed his cannon at the foundation of the humanism castle. This foundation is labeled “evolution.” To join in the fight, to uphold our own foundation, we need to understand that evolution and the Bible are totally incompatible. Evolutionists are atheists. They have stated in their own words that if the God of Genesis existed, He would not allow them to sin. With that premise, evolutionists can only believe that everything came into being by chance.

But we know differently because God has revealed to us how everything began. By doing so, He has given us the ability to understand the rest of His Word and the world we live in. Today as you observe what happens around you, thank God for showing you how it all began.

“[If Genesis were somehow removed from the Bible] the rest
of the Bible would be incomprehensible. It would be like a
building without a ground floor, or a bridge with no support.”
Henry Morris

“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world— the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.”

— 1 John 2:15-17

“Eat, drink, and be merry,” says the world, “for tomorrow we die.” Well, the world is half right: Tomorrow we die. Suppose you were to die tomorrow. How would your obituary read? Consider it for a moment …

Having considered your potential obituary, answer this question: How much of that obituary pertains to God’s kingdom?

Only one life and soon ’tis past;

Only what’s done for Christ will last.

How many obituaries are written in sand about the things of sand. Sadly, worldliness— the love of the things of this world—has rendered many professing Christians ineffective. The Bible speaks plainly about the dangers of a worldly heart. “Adulterers and adulteresses!” says James, “do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God?” (James 4:4). The world hates God, and those who befriend the world become God’s enemies. Worldliness makes people focus on outward, rather than inward things. By having this focus, people ignore God’s kingdom within them, and Satan gains prime opportunities to drag their souls into the pit for eternity.

The Bible gives us the key to overcoming worldliness. It boils down to what we set our hearts on. “Set your mind [or affections] on things above, not on things on the earth” (Colossians 3:2). If we allow Christ to reign in our hearts, then we will dwell on the spiritual world and not on the world around us.

Today ask God to search your heart for any worldly ways that separate you from Him. Confess those areas to God, and ask Him to forgive you. Then ask Him to show you how you can set your mind and heart on “things above.”

“What is this world? A net to snare the soul.”
George Whetstone

“… whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.”

— Romans 8:30

Have you ever called to someone—maybe your child playing in the yard or a friend you see across a room—and that person didn’t respond to your call? While people may not respond to us for a variety of reasons, God never has this problem. He is sovereign. The ones He calls always come to Him. In theological circles, this truth is known as the doctrine of “effectual calling.” (“Effectual” means “producing results.”) From the beginning of the world, God chose the ones who would be His, and He presently goes about calling His chosen to Him.

God calls His chosen people in two ways: outwardly and inwardly. The outward call comes from God’s Word, the inward call comes from the Holy Spirit, and the two interact to draw us to God. When we hear the Word of God preached, the Holy Spirit works in our hearts so that we’ll respond to it. (The doctrine of effectual calling is also “irresistible grace” because the Holy Spirit calls us so lovingly and powerfully we can’t possibly resist Him.) A person whom God has not chosen gets only the outward call. Such a person hears the Word but cannot respond to it because the Holy Spirit hasn’t worked in his or her heart.

Some people believe that God gives only an outward call, that they hear God’s Word and have the power to accept or reject it. But this cannot be true because it would mean God doesn’t have enough power to choose whom He wants. His call would not be effectual. It would also mean that people wouldn’t need God to choose them because they would be all-powerful. But we know this is not true. Until God chooses us, we’re dead in sin with our minds darkened and unable to understand or choose spiritual things.

None of us deserves God’s choosing. In His infinite mercy, He chose us according to His good pleasure. The fact that the Lord wanted to choose any of us and that He sent Jesus to seek us is an awesome mystery. He revealed it so that none of us would boast of our salvation. Do you hear God’s call? Be sure to respond today.

“I sought the Lord, and afterward I knew He
moved my heart to seek Him seeking me.”
Hymn

“I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

— John 3:3

Have you ever considered the amazing lessons that nature, one of God’s greatest preachers, offers us? We learn friendliness from the dog. We learn diligence from the ant. And we learn about new birth from the caterpillar.

Caterpillars do not lead very exciting lives. In fact, you might even pity them. They never travel very far, and when they do travel, they must exert a tremendous amount of effort to get anywhere. And since they grovel in the dirt, they don’t see much of the world.

Although this existence doesn’t sound appealing to us, it’s the only existence to which caterpillars are accustomed. Have you ever heard the story of the two caterpillars who laboriously made their way across the muddy earth, when one of them looked up and spied a butterfly fluttering by? As this caterpillar watched the butterfly dipping and flitting about, picked up by the breeze and carried off into the ethereal blue, he turned to his companion in the mud and said, “You’d never get me up in one of those things!”

While we may think it crazy that a mud-groveling caterpillar would never want to become a beautiful, soaring butterfly, the unbelieving world seems to have the same view when it comes to that mysterious doctrine of the “new birth.” Why believe in a faith based on such a preposterous notion? But the only kind of Christian that exists is a born-again Christian, whether Lutheran, Presbyterian, Methodist, Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox, or any other denomination. The doctrine of regeneration—the necessity of the new birth—has existed since the beginning of Christianity, and if we want to spend eternity in Heaven with Jesus, we must fulfill it.

Spiritually speaking, are you a caterpillar or a butterfly? Have you been born again? If not, I urge you to be so today, by repenting of your sins and asking Jesus Christ into your life as your Lord and Savior.

“Born once, die twice; born twice, die once.”
Anonymous