“When I saw among the spoils a beautiful Babylonian garment, two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them . . .”

— Joshua 7:21

Have you ever looked at a glossy home-decorating magazine and found that the home you felt thankful for an hour ago now seems junky? Or perhaps you saw a television ad for a slick car, and suddenly the car in your driveway now seems like a jalopy.

Advertisements often lead us into covetousness. Of course, we need to provide for our families; and we don’t sin when we seek to care for our needs. But we do sin when we desire the things of this world, desire them so strongly that we dwell on how we can obtain them. Sometimes we want something so dearly that we’re even willing to break one or more of God’s commandments to get it.

Achan, an Israelite at the time of Joshua’s conquest, exemplifies the seductive power of covetousness. Before the Israelites stormed Jericho, Joshua told everyone that everything in that city was devoted to destruction, that the wrath of God would fall upon the city because of the inhabitants’ sins. Later the Israelites attacked the little town of Ai, but the inhabitants of this small town defeated the Israelites, killing many of them. Joshua sought the Lord to find out why Israel had lost, and God told him that there was sin in the camp. Joshua then sought out the sin, and Achan confessed that in Jericho he had coveted some riches, so he took them and buried them under his tent. Achan’s covetousness cost him dearly—it cost him his family and his life.

When we covet, we actually rebel against God’s provision for us. God has given us so much already, and if we ever have a need, He fulfills it. As we trust God, we see His hand at work in our lives, providing so richly for us. The antidote for covetousness is contentment with God’s blessings.

How are you doing in the area of covetousness? If you find that you want something, submit it to God. Trust Him to provide it for you if you need it and be content with all He has given you now.

“Content[ment] makes poor men rich;
discontent[ment] makes rich men poor.”
Benjamin Franklin

“Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”

— Ephesians 6:13

Do you ever feel that life is a battle for which you are ill-prepared, defenseless against the enemy’s attacks?

In Ephesians, Paul tells us that we fight spiritual battles daily and that we can win only by calling upon a strength beyond our own. So Paul exhorts us to put on the whole armor of God every day. Each piece of armor has a special purpose to protect us from Satan’s blows. The first piece is the belt of truth. Satan’s first line of attack is against the truth, confusing us with lies so that we give in. Look at Eve. Satan confused her about what God said regarding the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. But when we trust in absolute truth, Satan can never defeat us. Over our hearts we place the breastplate of righteousness. We put on Christ’s righteousness to guard our hearts and keep them pure. Our own righteousness would be but a rusty breastplate full of gaping holes. Feeble and decaying, it would allow the enemy to penetrate and corrupt our good intentions. On our feet, we wear sturdy shoes made of the gospel of peace. These shoes enable us to march forward comfortably and at a steady pace. They keep our footing sure on any kind of rough or shaky ground. We also take up the shield of faith. This shield wards off Satan’s fiery darts of lust and doubt before they get close enough to destroy and consume us. To protect our heads, we wear the helmet of salvation. It keeps us rejoicing in the hope of our salvation and gives us additional strength when we feel weak. Last but definitely not least, we pick up the Word of God, the sword of the Spirit, which we use offensively in hand-to-hand combat with Satan. We can attack Satan with Scriptures that overpower him.

Notice that none of these pieces protect our backs. We don’t need that protection because, with God’s armor on, we need never and should never retreat.

Every day we must prayerfully put on each piece of armor and “stand” ready for whatever comes. We face spiritual battle daily, and on some days it can be intense. None of us can face today’s spiritual battles without the protection of God’s armor.

You can anticipate spiritual battle today. Ask God to prepare you, dressing you in His armor so that He may use you and so that you may live victoriously.

“We are called to be clothed in the armor of light,
every piece of which is Jesus Christ Himself.”

“. . . and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.”

— 2 Corinthians 5:15

Have you ever pondered what gives us the impulse to sin? Have you ever wondered what makes us go against God’s commands despite our good intentions?

I believe that selfishness lies at the root of all sin. I have thought long and hard about this, and I cannot think of any sin that doesn’t originate from selfishness, from placing self rather than God at the center of our lives. Some have suggested that perhaps a person who steals or lies for his child does not act from selfishness, yet our family is bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh, merely an extension of ourselves. So I believe that whatever the sin— lust, hate, pride, theft, murder—at its core, it stems from selfishness. Even good actions are tarnished by selfish motives. A person may study how to win friends and influence people, work hard at self-improvement, and join a church and become active in it, yet all of these acts may spring from purely selfish motives.

Paul exhorts us to something higher. He says, “I am crucified with Christ.” Not only is the Cross a substitution, it is a representation—we must identify ourselves with Christ in His death, crucifying our selfish nature and desires with Him. When we die with Christ, we put to death all our hopes, ambitions, agendas, priorities, and plans. We nail all we desire to the cross, becoming dead to ourselves.

Paul tells us in Romans 6 that we are to reckon ourselves dead with Christ. We must become dead to the flesh and alive in Christ. The next time temptation pulls at you, remember that you have died to sin and become alive in Christ. You have no obligation to your old nature, except to reckon it as dead. This is how we escape from selfishness, the fountainhead of all sin.

“One can be a miser or a savage and be selfish, but not a Christian.”
Anonymous

“Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances . . .”

— 1 Thessalonians 5:16–18, NIV

How is your prayer life going these days? As Christians, we should pray unceasingly, lifting praises and intercessions to God as constantly as our lungs rise and fall with each breath. Our hearts should be so in tune with God that every occasion calls forth a petition for a need, an intercession for someone else, a confession of a sin, a word of thanksgiving, or an article of praise.

So often we pray narrowly, attending only to our own needs. Instead, we should pray broadly for everyone. We should pray for the lost that they might be saved and for the saved that they might win the lost. And if we know that someone is in need, we should lift that person before God’s throne, asking Him for help.

We also need to regularly confess our sins. Do you keep short accounts with God or store up great debts of sin? Do you forget to confess many of your sins? Do you confess your sins of commission but forget your sins of omission? Do you confess wrong deeds but forget the thoughts that breed them? Do you confess sins of the tongue such as gossip and unkind words? Do you confess sins of poor attitudes such as coldness, lack of love, thoughtlessness, and unconcern?

And what about thanksgiving? When was the last time you counted your blessings and thanked God for each one: family, friends, shelter, daily bread, liberty, salvation?

How about praise and adoration, the graduate school of prayer? Do you praise God not only for what He has done for you but also for who He is? Do you tell God how much you appreciate His wisdom and power, His justice and mercy, His omnipotence and omniscience, all that He is and ever shall be?

I hope this little reminder will help you to pray more effectively. Start today by praying in a way you haven’t prayed for a long while. Perhaps you need to clear your slate with God through confession, or maybe you need to spend time thanking Him for bestowing blessings on you. Prayer is such a great privilege, and I hope you’ll engage in it wholeheartedly with every breath you take.

“Pray hardest when it is hardest to pray.”
Charles H. Brent

“. . . and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.”

— John 6:37

As you’ve walked along your life’s path, have you ever felt you’ve gone astray, entirely unable to find your way back? Perhaps even today you feel a bit lost, fearing you’ve taken a wrong turn because of a choice you’ve made . . .

John Bunyan, the seventeenth-century author who wrote Pilgrim’s Progress, a great Christian classic, wandered off the path leading to Christ. According to his own testimony, Bunyan was a very ungodly young man. During this period of his life, he wrote, “Then I said unto God, ‘Depart from me, for I desire not the knowledge of Thy ways.’” Because he rejected God, Bunyan had no peace in his heart. He felt greatly troubled by thoughts of the future, believing he had sinned beyond the possibility of hope. But at last he read John 6:37: “And the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.” As Bunyan came to God, God granted him mercy, and Bunyan began to see the Light of salvation dawn upon him. He had come to know eternal life.

Bunyan later described his journey from despair to hope, from sinner to saint, in Pilgrim’s Progress, one of the greatest allegories of all time. The book chronicles a journey from the City of Destruction through the Doubting Castle and other dangers to the Celestial City. In it, Bunyan describes how anyone who desires the pilgrim way may find it, and he warns of the dangers one will encounter along the way.

Bunyan had learned a great lesson: We are saved only by grace, free and unmerited. Bunyan reminds us that we are only passing through this life en route to a greater destination. Therefore, we must take care to not get sidetracked from the straight and narrow path. Where are you along this journey? Do you allow Christ to guide you? As you trust in God’s grace, you can persevere to the end, for Christ gives you safe passage.

“He [Jesus] hath given me a rest by
His sorrow, and life by His death.”
John Bunyan

“Now, therefore, give me this mountain . . .”

— Joshua 14:12

How would you define the word “hero”? Do you know anyone who fulfills that definition, anyone whom you hold in such high esteem?

Have you ever made an outrageous request of God then stood back in amazement as He granted it? Caleb made such a request in Joshua 14: “Give me this mountain.” At the age of eighty-five, Caleb requested a mountain, hill country filled with pagans. Why would he ask for a hillside full of hostile heathens? Even if he received the land, Caleb would have to face the sons of Anak, a whole family, generation, and tribe of giants who inhabited the hill.

How could Caleb possibly fight the Anakim and win this land? Though he was as strong as he was on the day forty years earlier when Moses sent him and the other spies to scope out the Promised Land, he surely didn’t have the strength to overcome a family of giants twice his size. Caleb’s strength doesn’t fully explain his request. We have to read a bit further in the book of Joshua to find the secret. In Joshua 14:12-13, Caleb says, “Give me this mountain of which the Lord spoke in that day . . . the Lord will be with me, and I shall be able to drive them out as the Lord said”(emphasis mine). Caleb based his life upon his faith and trust in the Lord. He followed the Lord wholeheartedly, and therein lies the great lesson. Out of Caleb’s trust in the Lord came the strength and courage that made this man a hero for God.

Do you have a big request to make of God today? Then follow Caleb’s example. Ask for God to give you what you need according to His will. Never mind the obstacles, but trust in Him to overcome them. Our Lord delights in rewarding those who trust Him.

“Prayer is not overcoming God’s reluctance;
it is laying hold of His highest willingness.”
Richard Chenevix Trench

““If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins . . .”

— 1 John 1:9

How would you define the word “hero”? Do you know anyone who fulfills that definition, anyone whom you hold in such high esteem?

These days we desperately need heroes, people we can look up to and emulate. I think that George Washington fills the bill in a remarkable way. In his own day, George Washington’s character was the wonder of the world. Not even his most relentless British foes of the Revolutionary War could denigrate his character.

But what gave rise to such amazing character? For starters, his parents, both dedicated Christians, raised him in a godly home. His father taught him to be unselfish, to love the truth, and to worship God. His mother helped him develop his prayer life. As an adult he carried on these good disciplines. Through his own writings, Washington has left us a legacy of his fervent prayers, such as “O most glorious God, in Jesus Christ my merciful and loving father, I acknowledge and confess my guilt, in the weak and imperfect performance of the duties of this day.” Almost without fail, Washington spent his mornings and evenings reading Scripture and in prayer. Every day he maintained a consistent devotional life, seeking God’s guidance. As Washington led our country, he never once trusted in his character to guide him; he trusted in Jesus Christ, the only perfect person who ever lived. Washington prayed that Christ’s blood would cleanse him of all his sins, that God would accept him because of the merits and perfect character of Jesus Christ, not his own.

As good heroes do, Washington provided us a good example of a faithful Christian. He trusted Jesus with his life and maintained discipline in his devotional life. His steadfastness contributed to his greatness. How can you follow this great hero’s example today?

“We are what we repeatedly do.
Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”
Aristotle

“Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.”

— Jeremiah 33:3

We all go through our share of difficult times. Perhaps you’re in the midst of one even now, wondering if God knows and cares about your pain. But He does. He hears your cries and wants you to know He is there for you. When we endure afflictions, when our souls despair of hope or help, when the skies turn ominously black and the green valleys wither into wastelands, then the Word of the Lord shines through like a ray of hope: “Call to Me.”

The prophet Jeremiah knew despair and darkness. Jeremiah found himself in prison, confined in the courtyard of the guard, when the Word of the Lord came to him a second time. The first time God spoke to Jeremiah, he did not hear the Lord. But now in prison, Jeremiah’s hearing was greatly improved. So often we operate the same way. When things go well for us, we allow the things of the world to distract us. But when we suffer, God’s Word resounds like a thundering voice echoing off cold prison walls. Through our pain, God commands our attention in ways we never heed when things are going well for us.

Why was Jeremiah thrown into prison? In fact, why do so many of God’s servants end up in prison? From Jeremiah to Paul to John Bunyan to saints of our own time, many godly people find themselves unjustly imprisoned. Sometimes those closest to God seem to suffer more than others. Why? Because in the long run, God has our eternal good in mind. He tests us and refines us. He molds us until we become what He wants us to be, even if it takes imprisonment to do it.

As Jeremiah despaired in prison, facing a tremendous, life-refining difficulty, God came to him in great grace and said, “Call to me and I will answer you.” He says the same to us. Not only will He answer our requests, but He will do great and mighty things beyond what we ask or imagine. When we can do nothing else, we can “call to God.”

Do you feel alone, emotionally imprisoned by the trials you face? Then call to God today, and listen for His voice. He will speak to you as you trust in His goodness, love, and provision.

“God washes the eyes by tears until they can behold the
invisible land where tears shall come no more.”
Henry Ward Beecher

“But the day of the Lord will come . . . and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.”

— 2 Peter 3:10

When life hands us difficult circumstances and dangerous situations, we all need safe hiding places. When you face the fire, where do you go to seek rescue?

A whole host of dangers lie in life’s path, and at any time those dangers can threaten to overtake us. Many say we have a multitude of places to seek safety from life’s challenges, but truly we have only one—Jesus Christ.

Consider the early pioneers who traveled across the vast plains of America. As they crossed the country, they often found themselves in a sea of grass for miles on end. In autumn, the grass turned brown and dry from exposure to the sun and lack of water. This condition caused a huge fire hazard, and the pioneers greatly feared seeing a wall of fire coming their way. They feared that they would have no escape as the wind blew the fire toward them faster than they could run. But the pioneers devised a way to survive this hazard. When they saw a wall of fire coming toward them, they ignited the grass behind them. The wind bringing the fire toward them also blew out the fire behind them, leaving a safe firebreak. The pioneers simply moved into the center of the blackened area, and when the larger wall of fire approached them, it went around them, leaving them unscathed. The pioneers’ only safe haven in the midst of the fire was where the fire had already been.

We read in 2 Peter that “the day of the Lord will come…and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.” Even as we read, the fire of God’s wrath comes upon this world, and we have only one safe hiding place. When that fire comes, we need to run to the place where the fire has already been—the cross of Christ. Through faith in Christ we realize that the fire that fell upon Him should have fallen upon us, and we find the one place of escape.

Perhaps you face a wall of fire today. If so, seek the One who has endured the fire, for you’ll find safety only in His presence.

“God’s will is our hiding place.”
Corrie Ten Boom

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”

— Ephesians 2:8–9

If we likened Scripture passages to mountain ranges, I think “by grace are you saved” would be the Himalayas. This passage towers above all others because it contains the highest Biblical truth—by God’s grace we are saved. The apostle Paul said that among faith, hope, and love, the greatest is love. If Paul had included grace in the list, I have a feeling grace would have topped the list. But Paul didn’t include grace because he was comparing things which “abide.” Grace does not abide. It did not exist before Adam’s fall because it was not necessary, and it will not exist after the Final Judgment. There will be no grace for those in Hell, and those in glory will have no more need of it. Today is the “age of grace.”

We can best understand the concept of grace through illustration. This one, limited as it is, still brings part of the point home. About 125 years ago in czarist Russia, a Russian nobleman and his faithful servant traveled by dog sled across a vast expanse of frozen wasteland. They had traveled for several hundred miles, and their home lay only twenty miles ahead. After such a long and treacherous journey, they looked forward to a warm bed and hot food. Suddenly a pack of hungry wolves appeared behind them, apparently having caught their scent. Despite the dogs’ efforts to pull the dog sled as fast as they could, the wolves started closing in. The situation was hopeless—they had no place to hide and no chance of outrunning the wolves. Suddenly, the old servant threw himself backward, off the dog sled. The wolf pack stopped and attacked the servant, sparing the nobleman’s life.

Grace involves sacrifice. The greatest grace of all was God’s sacrifice of His own Son on the cross. Have you accepted His grace so that you may live with Him eternally?

“Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost, but now am found, was blind but now I see.”
John Newton
(former slave trader)