“But the fruit of the Spirit is . . . self-control . . .”

— Galatians 5:22–23

Here’s a tough question for you: How much self-discipline do you have? Do you make goals for yourself and regularly meet them, or do you find yourself sidetracked by diversions more often than not?

The Scripture says that the one who rules his or her spirit is better than the one who takes a city. Great men and women have always had an extraordinary amount of self-discipline. Stop and consider the discipline it took for William Carey, that great pioneer missionary, to translate the Scriptures into forty or so languages. David Livingstone needed discipline to continue for twenty-nine thousand miles across the continent of Africa, even when the natives begged for time to rest. George Washington led a successful life. Did he owe his success to coincidence? Was it due to being in the right place at the right time? Some might pass it off that way, but if you look more closely, you’ll see that Washington had an amazing amount of self-discipline. He arose promptly at four in the morning. He led a disciplined devotional life. By half past eight in the morning, he had already completed most of the day’s work. He went to sleep early each night. He allowed the Spirit to control his mind.

If we want to accomplish all that God has called us to do, we need to pursue self-discipline. And since we tend to make resolutions for self-discipline at the dawn of each new year, let me suggest one: Watch very little television this year. While some programs are downright anti-Christian in their morality, much of television is simply a waste of time. Recently I heard about a talented Christian speaker and writer. Though he was relatively young, he was writing his forty-first book. One of the keys to his prolific achievements was that he didn’t spend any time watching television. A recent study of many CEOs from Fortune 500 companies found that eighty-one percent of them watch less than one hour of television per day. That’s far less than the average viewer. Think of how much you could accomplish if you acquired this discipline.

Today, ask God to show you how He’d like to develop self-discipline in you. Then allow God to work in your life in whatever way He desires so that you might glorify Him with the fruit of self-control.

“Early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.”
Benjamin Franklin

“Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth.”

— John 17:17,19

If we ever want to enter Heaven, we need to be holy, totally free from sin, absolutely perfect. But, of course, we fall far short of that standard. And so our salvation depends on divine intervention which God has made possible through Christ’s death and resurrection.

Salvation is a three-step process. The first step is justification, which we discussed yesterday. Justification is a one-time act which starts our Christian life. When we give our lives to Christ, He cleanses us through His blood by His grace. He makes us pure, fit for eternity in Heaven. The second step in our salvation is sanctification. Sanctification takes a lifetime as God gradually changes us into the image of His Son. We don’t become divine in any way, but God subdues our fallen nature so that His nature may shine through us. The third and last step in salvation, glorification, doesn’t happen until we are finally in Heaven. God will completely set us free from all sin and imperfection, and we will finally realize our true selves. We will be glorified, exactly the way God meant us to be—holy, perfect, and acceptable to Him.

But until we reach Heaven, we must allow God to sanctify us in preparation for eternity with Him. To sanctify means “to cleanse, to set apart from sin, to make holy.” Sanctification comes about as we draw closer to Christ. As the branches are linked to the vine, so we are linked to Jesus Christ through His Word, the sacraments, prayer, and worship. As we apply these disciplines, we appropriate more of His grace and His fruit becomes evident in our lives. This process requires partnership between us and God. Sanctification, on the one hand, is God’s work, as all of salvation is; on the other hand, we run the race, press on toward the goal, struggle against sin, and work out our salvation with fear and trembling.

So today and every day, draw near to God. Spend time with Him. Reach out in faith to Him. And you will come to know the blessing of God’s holiness and the meaning of His sanctification.

“Awake my soul, stretch every nerve, and press with vigor on.
A heav’nly race demands thy zeal, and an immortal crown.”
Philip Doddridge

“Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.”

— Romans 3:28

The most crucial question anyone could ever ask is: “How can I be right with God?” We all need to know how we—sinful human beings—can ever secure right relationships with a holy, sin-hating God.

Do you want to know the answer? Here it is: You and I can gain right relationships with God through justification by faith.

Justification by faith is one of the central doctrines of Christianity. But what does it mean? Justification is a judicial term. If an accused person goes before the bar of justice, the judge can only justify that person if the judge or jury finds the person innocent. If a judge or jury finds the accused guilty, the judge may condemn that person, sending him or her to prison. A governor or king may pardon the prisoner, but even so, the person is still a pardoned criminal, and that is vastly different from being justified. To be justified is to be made “just as if I’d never sinned.” No human judge can ever proclaim that, but God can. When we repent of our sins and trust in Christ alone for our salvation, the miracle of justification takes place.

How well I remember that day when I first discovered the truth about myself. I went before the bar of God’s judgment. Justice accused me, and the scales tipped against me. The Judge looked me sternly in the face and said, “I pronounce that you shall die. Do you have anything to say for yourself?” For the first time in all my self-righteous life, I was speechless. The Judge brought down his gavel and pronounced the sentence: eternal death.

But as death descended upon me, Jesus suddenly intervened, declaring, “Surely he deserves to die, but the spear pierced My side instead. I went to Hell for him so he wouldn’t have to. Now let him go free.” That day, Christ transformed my life, and I have not been the same since.

Have you been justified by faith? Jesus has already served your sentence, and He waits for you to turn to Him, trusting Him with your life. Because He died in your place, your slate can be clean. If you haven’t already, make today the day you accept His free gift of eternal life.

“All of the religions of this world are simply good advice.
Only Christianity is good news.”

“Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time . . .”

— 1 Peter 5:6

Pride, says the Bible, goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. Pride lays at the root of Adam and Eve’s downfall and thus of our own. It threatens our families, our friendships, even our salvation. Pride has become entrenched in our human nature; we think we can make it through life on our own power.

Yet everything we have comes from God. Ask yourself the question Paul asked the Corinthian Christians: What do you have that you did not receive? God is the source of everything. Thus, none of us has reason to be proud.

So how can we acquire humility? We begin by putting ourselves into proper perspective, seeing ourselves in relationship to God. When we look to God, we grasp our unworthiness. Yet humility doesn’t come from abasing ourselves. It comes from glorifying God, seeing Him as the source of all we are and all we have. In His love, God accepts us unconditionally and lifts us to higher ground. He shows us that we are His children, made in His image, adopted into His family as sons and daughters of a glorious and victorious King.

Another antidote to pride is gratitude. Whenever we accomplish anything in life, we can choose to be proud or grateful. As we realize that we accomplish nothing without God, we must choose gratitude, giving the glory to Him for all He does for us.

We can’t have prideful hearts and maintain a right relationship with God. God doesn’t need our accomplishments, nor is He interested in our vainglory. He wants us. Christ wants us to cultivate humble hearts that bow before His grace and His cross—the ultimate example of humility.

Today view yourself in relationship with God and thank Him for all He has accomplished in your life. Lay your achievements at His feet, blessing Him for His goodness to you.

“It was through pride that the devil became the devil.”
C. S. Lewis

“God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has he said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?”

— Numbers 23:19

Think of a time when someone broke a promise he or she made to you. How did you feel? How did that broken promise affect your relationship?

We live in a world of broken promises. Our courts are clogged with lawsuits because of them. But our Father in Heaven makes thousands of promises in His Word (How many? Approximately eight thousand.), and He keeps each one. When God promises something, we can count on the fact that He will come through for us.

The most important promise God has made is His promise to save us from our sins. “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved,” says the promise. And faith responds: “Lord, I believe in you. I believe that that promise is true.” God changes your life and stamps your passport to Paradise simply because you believe His promise.

When we claim God’s promises, we experience tremendous blessings. A delightful member of our church, who has now gone home to the Lord, witnessed to prison inmates six days a week for more than forty years. This man was quite enthusiastic about the promises of God. He would have the prisoners memorize 1 John 1:9: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” He called this promise “the Christian’s bar of soap,” and he encouraged his inmate friends to bank their lives on it.

But while God yearns to fulfill His promises to us, we often fail to claim them. Think of the blessings you’ve received in your lifetime. Did you not receive those blessings because you claimed certain promises God made to you? In the same way, we miss certain blessings because we never claim God’s promises. God is prepared to fulfill His promises. He has written and signed checks from His account in the Bank of Heaven—He is ready to bless us—but those checks lay on a shelf in a closed Bible, unclaimed, uncashed.

God wants to bless your life. Are you ready to claim His promises?

“What God has promised, you can take to the bank.”
Anonymous

“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.”

— Philippians 4:8

Philippians 4:8 is probably the original proclamation of positive thinking. In this passage lies the secret of a happy life, a positive attitude, a winsome personality, advancement in life, and acceptance by others. Certainly we all desire these things. As we fill our minds and hearts with the true, the noble, the just, the pure, the lovely, and the good, then God will lift us up and grant us peace.

What do you spend time thinking about? Do you meditate on virtuous things?

Keeping our minds and hearts trained on the praiseworthy is difficult. Because of their separation from God, many media producers create material that is the opposite of all these wonderful things. They show us the false, the ignoble, the unjust, the ungodly, the unkind, the crass, and the ghastly. All of this pours out of television sets, movie screens, novels, and magazines of modern times.

Television and movie producers defend their creations by saying, “We’re only reflecting reality.” Well, I want to say back to them, “Yes, but life is more than the gutter, the toilet, and the brothel.” We can’t deny the reality of the gutter. But roses are just as real and much more worthy of our devoted attention.

Today and every day, set your thoughts on things above. Surround yourself with everything praiseworthy. Drink in the true, noble, pure, and lovely, and allow God to grant you His peace as you do so, for He is the source of it all.

“Where there is beauty, there is the Spirit of God.”
R. C. Sproul

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

— Philippians 4:13

We all have tapes playing in our minds, the tapes of parents, teachers, coaches, and others telling us how inadequate we are. You probably have a phrase or two that come to mind—comments someone once made to you, comments devastating and character-forming all at the same time. You could quote them verbatim, right?

“You’re a dunce!” That’s what she said. “You’re a dunce, and I am going to fail you.” And the teacher failed Einstein in mathematics.

“I’m sorry; we don’t want you in our choir. You can’t sing, so don’t come back.” But Jerome Hines became the greatest basso profundo the Metropolitan Opera has ever known.

Many of us have horrible self-images because we believe lies rather than the truth of God. Often we’ve heard from parents or misguided authorities that we have no worth, and we buy it. We believe the lies of our past. Even our own failures mock us: “You can’t do it. Don’t you remember? You tried before, and you blew it. You even tried twice, three times, and you failed. You can’t do it.”

But those are lies. As the old maxim puts it, “God don’t make no junk.” Inspirational speaker and writer Zig Ziglar reminds us that we should learn from what he calls the “successful failures.” Walt Disney went broke seven times before he succeeded. Thomas Edison made fourteen thousand experiments that failed before he developed the incandescent light. Babe Ruth recorded the most strikeouts in the history of baseball, yet he became one of the greatest hitters of all time. Nobody remembers these men’s failures, but everybody remembers their successes. Ziglar says that a big shot is just a little shot that kept on shooting—when people or past experiences told that person that he or she couldn’t hit the mark, that person kept on shooting.

“I can do all things through Christ.” Who made that claim? Paul the Apostle—with his thorn in the flesh and his weak eyes, who was “contemptuous in his speech” and “contemptible in his talk.” The same Paul who turned the world upside down for Christ.

When you have doubts about your abilities to accomplish something, ask God to tell you the truth about who you are, about Whose you are. Then invite Him to do a great work in you and through you. Make this your motto: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

“What a man accomplishes depends on what he believes.”
Bankers Bulletin

“. . . for Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world, and has departed for Thessalonica . . .”

— 2 Timothy 4:10

Do you have the courage and stamina to fight the good fight to the end? When faced with seemingly overwhelming obstacles, will you give up, or will you stand firm?

Mark and Demas, colleagues of the apostle Paul, clearly illustrate the startling contrast between faithful and faithless soldiers in God’s army. In the beginning, Demas seemed a better soldier for Christ than Mark. Demas had served as Paul’s right-hand man, traveling with him on all four missionary journeys and experiencing shipwrecks, trials, and beatings. Mark, on the other hand, had “chickened out” on Paul’s first trip. Mark had quit and gone home, and when Mark felt ready to serve again, Paul refused to let Mark travel with him.

But years later, in his prison cell awaiting death, Paul realized which man was the real soldier for Christ. Demas had now forsaken him, “having loved this present world,” and Paul eagerly awaited Mark’s arrival. By this time, Mark had matured, having had Barnabas as a mentor, and Paul considered him “profitable” in the ministry. In fact, Mark authored the gospel of Mark.

This story of Mark reminds me of three young men who joined the British army and became lieutenants. When World War I broke out, one of the young lieutenants, who was rich and spoiled, panicked at the thought of fighting and managed to get a discharge. The others sent him two white feathers, signifying that they viewed him as a coward. When his fiancée discovered that he had quit, she broke their engagement and gave him a white feather from her hat.

Ashamed, this young man enlisted as a private under an assumed name. He fought on the front lines, and there he rescued both of his buddies. Afterward, he returned their feathers to them. When wounded, this young man found his fiancée, who had become an army nurse, and returned her feather, too. At that point, she knew her quitter had tried again; her coward had become a hero.

When the struggles come, will you be a hero? Commit today to enter the discipline of a soldier, preparing yourself by God’s power to endure and win any battles you may face.

“Finish what you start.”
Anonymous

“Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and depart from evil. It will be health to your flesh, and strength to your bones.”

— Proverbs 3:7–8

When did you last hear a health news update about another food to avoid or another theory on exercise? We live in such a health-conscious society, and we seem to constantly hear ways to promote our health through proper diet, exercise, and annual checkups. No doubt these precautions are of value. But underlying our physical health is our spiritual health. In reality, God controls every germ, every virus, and every bacterium. He’s ultimately in control of our health, just as He controls life and death.

If you would have “health to your flesh, and strength to your bones,” then fear the Lord and depart from evil. If we want true health, we need to pursue good. We need to reject the idea that we can find happiness or fulfillment by compromising with the world and engaging in sinful amusements. After all, many sinful and evil practices, such as substance abuse and promiscuity, result in bad health. Instead, we need to find our joy by following God.

As long as we live in this fallen world, we’ll experience sickness and sorrow. Many godly people live with pain every minute of their lives, and good health is no measure of spirituality. Only in Heaven will we be totally free from sickness and pain. And yet, generally speaking, we’ll gain life and health if we follow God’s ways. Recent studies have shown the link between being spiritually committed and having good health. One recent article documented the link between mental and physical health and being a committed Christian; it was appropriately entitled “For good health, go to church.”

How can you walk in God’s ways today to gain “health to your flesh, and strength to your bones”?

“God helps the sick in two ways, through the science of medicine
and surgery and through the science of faith and prayer.”
Norman Vincent Peale

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.”

— Proverbs 3:5-6

You’re at the beginning of a new year. What plans do you have for yourself in the year to come? And how do you choose your goals for each new year?

As we stand at the beginning of another year, Proverbs 3:5-6 offers us direction and guidance. You and I desperately need God’s direction in our lives. How do we receive it? By trusting in the Lord with all of our hearts and not leaning on our own understanding. God doesn’t ask us to stop using our brains, but He does want us to avoid relying on our own self-confidence, despite the world’s affirmation of that trait. Often what the world affirms, the Lord abhors. God wants us to rely on Him and Him alone. So as you choose goals for the year, trust God to guide you. Don’t use your own reasoning to back up your plans; ask God to guide you, then listen for His answer.

The Proverbs passage promises us that if we acknowledge God, He’ll direct our paths. So how do we acknowledge God? We acknowledge our Lord by seeing Him in every aspect of our lives, by having a vision of Him and His providential workings in and through us. We acknowledge Him by seeking Him first in all we do and by obeying His commandments. What has God done in your life recently? And how can you remain obedient to His call on your life?

As we acknowledge God’s rightful place in our lives, He’ll direct us along the pathways of our lives. He does this in three main ways. First, God directs us through His Word. As long as we follow Scripture, we can be certain we’re traveling the right path. Second, God directs us through circumstances in our lives. Sometimes He guides us by opening doors, sometimes by closing them. Sometimes He makes our paths smooth; sometimes He allows us to fall flat on our faces. Sometimes He removes obstacles; sometimes He throws them in our way. Third, God guides us through His Holy Spirit. Sometimes the Spirit’s “still small voice” pulls us back from a venture we’ve planned, and only much later we discover that He has spared us from disaster.

Although we may not always see God’s hand immediately, He does guide us when we trust Him. Often we only see His guidance in retrospect. But we can rely on His promise to provide direction if we trust Him in every aspect of our lives—in our home lives, at work, at school, as we drive our car, as we eat our meals, as we conduct business. As you ponder your goals for the year, invite God to guide you. As you acknowledge Him, He’ll direct you down the right path for your life.

“Jesus, Savior, pilot me, over life’s tempestuous sea.”
Edward Hopper