“Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.”

— Mark 8:34

Have you ever noticed how virtually all of the people we call heroes have made great sacrifices in one way or another? To achieve the ends they deemed worthwhile, these people sacrificed their time, their finances, their health, even their lives. And because they willingly relinquished any claims to these things (which we take for granted), we view these people as heroes, worthy of honor and emulation.

Throughout the centuries, God has used sacrifice as the marble from which He carves greatness. Here are some people we call heroes for the sacrifices they made:

• the apostles who gave their lives at stakes, on crosses, and in other torturous ways;

• the early Christians in the Colosseum of Rome, who watched iron grates rise and famished lions charge;

• Christians who were tied to stakes and watched as torches ignited kindling beneath them;

• the Pilgrims who, in the dead of winter, sailed across tumultuous seas to the inhospitable coasts of New England;

• George Washington and his brave soldiers at Valley Forge, who left bloody footprints in the snow as they departed; and

• Jesus Christ, who made the ultimate sacrifice, His life, at Calvary.

What sacrifice can you offer to God this day? What material will you give Him so that He can carve greatness from your life?

“There has never yet been a man in our history who
led a life of ease whose name is worth remembering.”
Theodore Roosevelt

“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”

— Romans 8:28

Have you ever looked back on a difficult time in your life and been amazed at how, in an entirely unforeseen way, it turned out positively? As we go through life, God operates behind the scenes, working everything for good on behalf of those who love Him. We may not recognize it in this lifetime, but when we get to Heaven and God replays the pictures of our lives, we’ll discover the positive end to each trial we’ve endured.

I hope you’ll claim this truth today. I hope you know God has everything under His control, even the chaotic times in your life. He has a plan for everything you undergo. You may face an avalanche of trial, trouble, and tribulation. Maybe you face it even today. Anyone in that situation would feel discouraged. I have often found myself in the deep, dark pit of despair and discouragement, wondering how I’d ever get out. But in those times God encourages me by reminding me of His promise: He works everything for good. We must view everything that comes our way, even the most difficult situations, through the filter of God’s love.

I invite you to do that today, whatever trial you face. Remember that God has a perspective on your problems that you can’t see as a limited human being here on earth. Be encouraged that God can see the big picture and that He’ll put the pieces of your life together to an end far beyond your wildest dreams.

“God moves in a mysterious way,
His wonders to perform.”
William Cowper

“Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name.”

— Psalm 103:1

Think for just a moment of two things. First, when was the last time you asked God to give you something? Got it in mind? Now, when was the last time you praised God just because of Who He is?

So often we get on our knees and pray, “O Lord, bless my soul.” We constantly ask God to touch our lives. In contrast, the psalmist who wrote Psalm 103 got on his knees and said, “O my soul, bless the Lord.” A complete antithesis. Why? Because the psalmist was in the “graduate school” of prayer. He had risen to that elevated atmosphere of praise and adoration. As we read the rest of the Psalms we find everywhere the same note of praise: “Praise the Lord.” “Give thanks unto the Lord for He is good.”

Do your prayers begin in a similar fashion?

Such an element of praise and adoration, I believe, can change our lives completely. How? First, it will make a difference because we will become much more pleasing to our Father . . . and that will be the beginning of some wonderful things. Second, we should ring the bells of praise not only for God’s sake but also for the sake of others. Praise draws people to God, even as ringing church bells filter over the community and draw people to hear the Gospel. We need to become a steeple set with bells. We need to ring out the happy bells of thanksgiving, the golden bells of praise, until the whole world abounds with the echoes of that sound.

What praise can you “ring” to God today? Unbelievers yearn for real joy and praise, and when we express gratitude and praise to God, those unbelievers will be drawn to Christ. So today ring the bells of praise.

“If Christians praised God more,
the world would doubt Him less.”
Charles Jefferson

“But beware lest somehow this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to those who are weak.”

— 1 Corinthians 8:9

God has given us tremendous liberty. He has freed us from all sin. Yet our liberty doesn’t come without limits. According to Scripture we have three classes of actions: those commanded by God, those forbidden by God, and those which God neither commands nor forbids—“things indifferent.” To these “things indifferent,” we must apply our liberty carefully. If we, in our liberty, choose an action that causes a weak brother or sister to stumble in the faith, then we become responsible for his or her downfall.

In Corinthians, Paul addresses a “thing indifferent,” an issue that the Corinthians had hotly debated: whether or not to eat meat offered to idols. We can’t relate to this issue since we don’t sacrifice meat to idols these days, but we can consider it in the same light as the issue of whether or not to drink alcohol. In the Corinthian’s situation, it appears that the stronger brethren wrote to Paul, and since Paul championed liberty, the brethren expected him to say they could eat the meat. But instead, Paul told them that while nothing forbade them from eating it, they shouldn’t do anything that would cause their weaker brethren to stumble. This principle has become known as the “Royal Law of Love.” We must freely forsake our liberties for the sake of our more vulnerable brothers and sisters.

In one sense, the weak always control our lives. Often the baby decides whether you go out or stay home. The sick child decides what you do in the evening. The sprained ankle decides the rest of your physical activity. In the same way, we must place the spiritual needs of our weaker brothers and sisters ahead of our desire to indulge our liberty.

As our ultimate example of this, we can look to Jesus. Because of our liberty, we may feel we have rights to certain “things indifferent.” We may resent having to give up those rights for the sake of our weaker brethren. But for us, weak as we are, Jesus gave up His rights—the right to sit at the right hand of the father, the right to be adored, the right to be worshiped and ministered to by the angels.

Today, thank the Lord for your liberty. And if you have a choice about doing something that would make a weaker brother or sister stumble, choose Christ’s Royal Law of Love and sacrifice your rights for that person’s spiritual well-being.

“Love sacrifices all things to bless the thing it loves.”
Edward George Bulwer-Lytton

“. . . that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith . . .”

— Ephesians 3:17

A five-year-old Christian boy was very ill, so ill that he required open-heart surgery. After a successful operation, the doctor checked on the little boy in his hospital room. With bright and eager eyes, the little boy asked, “Doctor, was He there?” The doctor asked, “Was who where?” The young lad replied, “Was He there? Did you see Jesus in my heart?” At that, the doctor suppressed a smile and replied, “Yes, son, He is there.”

What does the Great Physician say about your heart today? Is Jesus there? For us to grow in grace, Christ must first dwell in our hearts. The apostle Paul prayed that Christ would dwell in our hearts through faith and that as we become rooted and grounded, we would know Christ’s love and be filled with God’s fullness. We must grasp the significance of that tremendous metaphor. Theologians say that Christ comes into our hearts, and by the continual supply of His grace and love, we grow spiritually. When Christ comes to dwell in a person’s heart, He digs the tree of that person’s life out of the bitter soil of the old nature, and He transplants it into the new, rich soil of His love. As we allow Jesus to do this, we flourish and bring forth the fruit of the Holy Spirit.

Have you invited Christ to take up residence in your heart? If not, allow Him to transplant your life from your old nature into His immeasurable love. As you do, He will cause you to grow in grace and in the knowledge of Jesus Christ.

“God has two dwellings: one in heaven, and
the other in a meek and thankful heart.”
Izaak Walton

“I beseech you therefore . . . that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.”

— Romans 12:1

Many Christians live their whole lives without ever fully grasping some of the great spiritual truths of God. Foremost among these truths is that God wants to bless our lives. Anything other than that is alien to Him, for God acts out His true nature when He blesses His children. He is a God of all grace who wants nothing more than to make His love known to us. He delights in opening the windows of Heaven and pouring blessings upon us, blessings far more wonderful than most of us have ever dreamed.

Isn’t that an incredible truth to hang onto?

But God has a basic condition for His blessings. The apostle James says, “You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss.” Many times when we seek God’s blessings, we ask amiss because we do not meet God’s condition for the full outpouring of those blessings: total surrender to Him. That is what God demands. In numerous places, God says the same thing over and over: Yield yourselves to God; offer your bodies as living sacrifices; present yourselves to God as those who are alive from the dead; yield not your members as instruments of unrighteousness, but as instruments of righteousness unto God.

Is there anything in your life that holds you back from fully enjoying God’s blessings? Anything you need to surrender to Him? God wants to bless our lives, but first He wants us to surrender. If we can do that, we’ll discover the blessings of Heaven in a way that is far beyond our dreams.

“. . . throughout the whole universe there
is nothing good but that which He works.”
Andrew Murray

“So I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest’”

— Hebrews 4:3

Have you ever had a relationship with someone who didn’t have faith in you? If so, how did you feel, knowing you would never fail that person yet that person failed to trust you?

God feels the same way when we don’t believe in His power or desire to bless us. God feels pleased when we have faith in Him, and He feels angry when we don’t. In fact, our unbelief often short-circuits the blessings He has in store for us.

Consider, if you will, this tremendous lesson from the Old Testament. God promised to deliver the Israelites into the Promised Land. To get them there, He gave them straightforward directions: Go directly to the mount, receive the Ten Commandments, proceed to Kadesh Barnea, enter the Promised Land, and occupy it. Moses sent twelve spies to scope out the land in advance, to determine the obstacles that would have to be overcome before taking possession of the land. When the twelve spies returned, ten of them reported that the giants and walled cities were greater than the Israelites could conquer. Because of the Israelites’ reliance upon themselves and unbelief in God, God condemned them to wander for forty years in the wilderness. God said, “So I swore in my wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest.’” The Israelites did not place their trust in God; instead, they trusted in their own plans. And because they did, they delayed their entrance into the Promised Land. Their unbelief kept them from experiencing God’s perfect will for their lives.

God’s plan is perfect, and we need to submit to it. Otherwise we may find our hearts and souls in the midst of a vast wilderness, wandering because of our inability to trust Him. I encourage you to pray that God would give you the will to trust Him and His perfect plan. As you believe in His ability and desire to care for you, He will surely lead you to the Promised Land. He’ll lead you there even if you make the tiniest step of faith toward him by praying as the doubting man in Mark 9 did—“Lord, I do believe; help thou my unbelief.”

If you’ve missed God’s perfect will for you in the past because you’ve lacked faith, don’t be discouraged. You can still experience His will for you as you believe in Him. Trust in Him today, for He is faithful.

“When unhappy, one doubts everything.
When happy, one doubts nothing.”
Joseph Roux

“For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away.”

— Matthew 25:29

Does this text seem fair to you? After all, why would someone who has an abundance get more? And shouldn’t the person with nothing receive something?

Jesus described the principle of this passage on five separate occasions in different forms. This verse is the basis for the principle of use: “Use it or lose it.” We see this principle at work in a variety of contexts. For example, in the physical realm, the arm of the blacksmith or the body of the football player becomes more and more muscular through exercise. In the work world, the person who has the ability and desire for a job usually finds more opportunities to work and improve his or her skills. As for moral conscience, our character develops in proportion to the Bible-based choices we make day after day.

And, of course, this principle applies to the spiritual realm. Charles Spurgeon spoke of two great principles of grace. The first one is that God gives grace to the empty, needy, poor, and humble. The second one is that to those to whom God has granted His grace, He continues to grant more. The more grace we need, the more grace He makes available to us.

To receive more grace from God, we must use the grace He has already given us. Some people are like the little boy riding the rocking horse . . . they exhibit a lot of motion but little progress. These people keep bustling with activity in hopes of earning salvation, but they haven’t taken advantage of the grace God has already freely given. Others may resemble a grapevine that doesn’t grow because, instead of being planted in deep soil, its roots dangle into an empty well. Instead of growing in grace, some people wither spiritually because they haven’t planted themselves in God’s grace from the start. And others are like a sailboat with sails full of wind yet unable to move because it is still anchored to the ocean floor. Instead of moving forward in God’s grace, people like this let sin weigh them down.

Have you received the grace God makes available to us all? Determine today that you will use to the fullest all the grace God has given you. Then watch as He gives you more!

What “little foxes” do you need to attend to today? Commit yourself to addressing these “minor” issues, and watch how your conscientiousness affects the grander scheme of your life.

“When God pours out his initial grace upon us,
it is a harbinger of grace to come.”

“Catch us the foxes, the little foxes that spoil the vines, for our vines have tender grapes.”

— Song of Solomon 2:15

In the Song of Solomon, we read of little foxes that ruin the vineyards. What are “little foxes”? I see them as the small things that don’t seem important but can spoil “tender grapes” such as a relationship, a career, or a life dedicated to Christ. How many marriages have failed because spouses paid no attention to the little things? How many athletes have lost competitions because of tiny bobbles or missteps? Many of us can see the big pictures of our lives and of our relationships with God but we neglect the details necessary for bringing the larger picture into focus. God neglects neither the great nor the small, and neither should we.

Have you attended to the “little foxes” in your life, the “minor” behaviors that can either draw you to or push you from the Lord?

Michelangelo, that marvelous genius and magnificent sculptor, was sculpting a figure from a block of marble while a friend looked on. After an absence of several months, the friend returned and said, “I see that you have not been working on your statue.” Michelangelo answered, “Oh yes, I have been working on it each day.” The friend asked, “Oh, how can that be?” The great artist replied, “I have softened this line here—the hem of this garment. I have straightened the lip and brought out this muscle more clearly . . . polished this . . . sharpened that.” “Well,” said his friend, “those are just trifles.” To that Michelangelo responded, “Trifles they may be, but you will remember that trifles make perfection; that perfection is no trifle.”

We must attend to the “trifles” if we ever hope to succeed. Attention to detail will determine the ultimate outcome and success of our lives. And as we act faithfully in the little things, God will bless us with greater opportunities for service. We will develop the faithfulness and obedience needed to conquer the great issues in the battle of life.

What “little foxes” do you need to attend to today? Commit yourself to addressing these “minor” issues, and watch how your conscientiousness affects the grander scheme of your life.

“Little things ultimately make a big difference in life.”

“They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us . . .”

— 1 John 2:19

Do you know someone who once seemed on fire for the Lord but then backslid into spiritual oblivion? If so, then you know the grief of watching someone slip from God’s grasp, especially when that person is someone you love. You might wonder what this person’s eternal future will be, hoping God’s grace continues to cover him or her. But you also might wonder whether this person was truly a Christian in the first place.

People who fall away from the Lord are called apostates. “Apostasy” means spiritual defection. The great apostate of all time was Judas Iscariot. Unfortunately, many people have followed his pattern.

Charles Spurgeon tells about a great hulk of a man in the village where Spurgeon first preached. This man was a fine-looking giant of a man but a drunkard as well. He often brawled in the local bar with those who dared to cross his path. And he would have nothing to do with religion, until one day when, to the amazement of all, this man asked Jesus to be his Savior. He joined a church, attended every service, and volunteered for any work that needed to be done.

But this man’s former companions made fun of him for turning to religion. After enduring about ten months of their laughter, he succumbed to their mocking. First he dropped away from the works. Soon he didn’t attend prayer meetings. For a while, he continued attending Sunday morning church, but his attendance became more and more irregular until he stopped attending altogether. He never completely returned to his former self, but often people saw him staggering drunkenly about the town. And when his unbelieving friends saw him like that, they said to each other, “Ha, there is your Christian! Hypocrites! That’s all they are.”

Was this man really a Christian? The Bible plainly teaches that God will preserve until the end the ones who are truly His. Whenever the genuine work of salvation happens in the heart of a man or woman, boy or girl, God will see that it perseveres until the day of Christ. But those with sham faith will eventually fall away.

If you know someone who once seemed to follow Christ but has since turned away, pray for that person today. Ask God to do a work of true salvation in that person’s heart so that he or she may know the fullness of life in Christ.

“Those who have denied Christ have
manifested the spirit of the Antichrist.”