“For to this you were called, because Christ suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps.”

— 1 Peter 2:21

Christ has left for us an “example.” The Greek term hupogrammos is an interesting one that means, literally, an “underwriting.” This is a reference to that which was done in the Greek schools at the time when the teacher would very carefully write out the letters of the Greek alphabet for the primary students. Then the students would write over them in their own feeble attempts to reproduce and imitate the example the teacher had left.

Many years ago, I visited one of the Hebrew classes at our Knox Theological Seminary. The students were doing what I clearly remembered doing some 50 years ago, and that is, carefully trying to copy those Hebrew letters.

Christ has also given us an alphabet of life. He has given us an example—an underwriting by His life for us to follow. He is the great exemplar. He is the perfect person to imitate. Would you like to know what life is supposed to be like? Look at Jesus Christ; He embodies it all Himself—the perfect example of goodness and truth and love and kindness and firmness and righteousness and justice. Of course, no one can live up to His example. But after we receive His salvation, His Spirit gives us the grace to live in a way that pleases Him.

He is the pattern of our life as well as the purpose and parent of our lives. Therefore, He is our life.

Lord Jesus, give me strength for today to follow in Your footsteps. Help me to follow Your example: Your patience with Your disciples, Your compassion to all, Your kindness even to the outcasts, Your concern for Your Father’s house…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH, WE CAN
WALK IN JESUS’ FOOTSTEPS.

“That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”

— John 3:6

The Scripture makes it plain that as we are born by nature, we are merely flesh—flesh that is corrupting, decaying, and dying. That which is flesh is flesh, and it goes the way of all flesh. We need to have a new birth from above. Jesus said we must be born again in a new and glorious and never-dying life.

I remember one time being interviewed by a reporter who said to me, “Are you…Are you one of those…those ‘born-again’ Christians?” I got the very distinct impression that he was under the impression that “born-again Christians” constituted some new denomination that must only recently have come into existence.

I said to him, “Having studied the doctrines of all of the great denominations of Christendom, I am very definitely under the opinion that there is no other kind of Christian than a born-again Christian. According to the creeds and doctrines of every Christian church, it is absolutely essential that one must be born again.”

To put it bluntly, and let me state it categorically: Unless, you are a born again Christian, you are no kind of Christian at all, for there is no other kind. Furthermore, you will never see, said Christ, the inside of Paradise. But if Christ has become the parent of a new and imperishable life, that is a life that is spiritual in nature.

Dear Lord, thank You for giving me a new birth, for bringing me into Your family and making me Your child. Thank You that I am no longer a stranger nor a guest, but a child in Your home…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH,
WE ARE GOD’S ADOPTED CHILD.

“But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that through me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear. And I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion.”

— 2 Timothy 4:17

March 17 is actually “Sinner Patrick Day.” But though he was a young and rebellious youth, he was to be finally overtaken by the “Hound of Heaven.” This young man from England was captured by pirates. At age 16, living as he did on the beach of the western coast of England, just south of Scotland, he and two of his friends had spent the day in the breakers in the ocean. Suddenly, they looked over here and they saw a whole group of “freebooters”—Irish pirates.

Fast forward years later, after a horrible time as a slave of the Irish, Sinner Patrick became Saint Patrick as he drew close to Jesus Christ. Eventually, he got his chance to escape slavery and escape from Ireland.

But he returned to the place of his humiliating slavery as a missionary of the Gospel after theological training. What an effective ministry he had.

His accomplishment was absolutely gigantic. No one had ever gone to convert a nation outside the rule of Rome, but Patrick did. Every day of his life he was in mortal danger. He was in the midst of some of the fiercest, cruelest people the world has ever seen—the Druids. But he trusted in Christ for his protection as he prayed regularly for the protection of Christ, “Christ before me, Christ behind me….” By the power of the Gospel, he changed that entire nation.

Lord of the nations, thank You for the example of Your servant, St. Patrick, in proclaiming Your Gospel to people who so desperately need You…

LORD, GIVE ME STRENGTH FOR TODAY
TO SPREAD YOUR KINGDOM.

“…I count everything as loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord…”

— Philippians 3:8

Tragically, many people are essentially wandering around in life, aimlessly. For all practical purposes, they are marking time. They are like the proverbial man in jail with marks on the wall, representing how many days, weeks, months, or years he has fulfilled. Many are living as if they are just waiting to die.

But when Christ changed my life, I can now say He is the purpose of my life. Is everything you do done for Christ? From now on, everything is for Christ. I believe I can honestly say that is the ordinary purpose of everything in my life, whether it be to get up or to go to sleep, to exercise or to rest, to eat or to fast, to study or to work, to do anything at all. The great over-arching transcendent purpose of everything I do is for Christ. For with Paul I can say, “For me to live is Christ.” He is the purpose of my existence.

He is so, for if any man is in Christ, he is a new creation with a new purpose, new desires, and new wants to please Christ. I suppose almost every young person going through school goes on that quest in which he tries to answer the questions: “Who am I?” “Why am I here?” Where did I come from, and where am I going?” “What is my purpose for life?” Living for Christ answers all those critical questions.

El Shaddai, You are all sufficient. Thank You that there are answers to the basic questions of life. Thank You for giving meaning and purpose to life. Thank You for revealing the answers…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH, WE LIVE
LIVES FULL OF MEANING.

“But what things were gain to me, I have counted these things to be loss for the sake of Christ.”

— Philippians 3:7

During the decade of the 1950s, a bright and brilliant star flashed across the cinematic and recording sky. It was a star that belonged to a young man with a magnificent voice. The name of that young man was Mario Lanza. But suddenly, unexpectedly, inexplicably, he died—a man who some said had, perhaps, the greatest voice ever.

His records sold more copies than any record ever had until that time. His lifetime goal was to portray the life of Enrico Caruso on the screen, a man he most admired. That dream came to pass in the mid-fifties.

My wife, knowing that I enjoyed his singing, bought several of the few motion pictures for me that he had made. One of them, The Toast of New Orleans, was a story about a rough-cut and unkempt young fisherman, at a bayou in Louisiana. When his talent for singing was discovered one day, the man gave him money for a suit and a haircut.

That astonished the young man. He said, “A haircut? …for singing?”

Then the impresario said something I will never forget. He said, “From now on, everything is for singing.”

When I heard those words, I thought: What a beautiful description of what it means to become a Christian. To become a Christian, very simply, is this: From now on, everything is for Christ. Every thought, every motive, every desire, every action, everything we do is to be done for Christ. Thus, our autobiography could well be called “Christ, My Life.”

Jesus Christ, You are my life. Give me strength for today to be single-minded, to keep in mind that I am not my own. I belong to You. Let all I do and say and think today be pleasing to You…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH,
WE CAN LIVE FOR CHRIST.

“…reaching forward to those things which are ahead…”

— Philippians 3:13

In Philippians 3, Paul uses athletic imagery to describe his race for Christ. “Reaching forward” is a figure of a runner whose hand is stretched out way in front of his body. He is telling us that we need that eager aspiration, that enthusiasm that comes with God within us, causing us to reach out after greater things. Our soul needs to be ten or twenty paces in front of our body.

We need that eagerness of heart. Too often we go through our jobs, we go through our devotions, we go through our worship, we go through our service for Christ with a perfunctory attitude. There is no eagerness that drives us. We need to have that eagerness of spirit.

Paul adds, “I press toward the goal to the prize” (v. 14). In addition to eagerness of spirit, there needs to be great exertion expended to reach the mark. The words “press toward the goal” here mean to pursue, to virtually persecute, and to go after something in an intense way.

We who are saved, know that eternal life is not the result of our pursuing, of our running a race, but it is a free gift because of Christ’s death on our behalf. We have then set before us a vision of the prize of the high calling of Christ where we can live our lives for His glory until that day when the King shall call us up on high and crown us with an imperishable crown. Keep your eye on the prize as you run the race.

Lord, give me strength for today to run the race. I am often weak and stumbling along. Give me the grace to keep my eyes on heavenly things. Thank You that You will lead me safely home one day…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH,
WE WILL FINISH THE RACE.

“For even the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”

— Mark 10:45

Instinctively, we know we should not be selfish. There is a problem, however, in doing that. Think about others? Forget yourself? If people are basically selfcentered, how can they do that?

There is only one answer to that question, my friends. When we receive Christ into our lives and hearts, we die to self; we are crucified with Christ and we find the God who provides all of our needs.

The reason people can’t forget themselves is because they are so needy. They are such pitiful, weak, temporal creatures, and yet Christ comes and meets all of these needs. Christ has promised to supply all of our needs out of His riches in glory. Therefore, because we have the guarantee that Christ is going to take care of us, we don’t have to manipulate them to do that because Christ has freely and graciously offered to do it for us Himself. We can begin to think differently of other people.

Because of selfishness and pride, we are always putting other people down. Yet every person has good points and bad points, and generally we tend to see the bad points. Author J. K. Morley said this: “I can complain because rosebushes have thorns or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses. It’s all [in] how you look at it.” Now think of your husband or wife or boss as that “bush.” Which do you do? Do you complain because bosses or wives or husbands have thorns, or do you rejoice because they have roses as well?

Jehovah-Jireh, we thank You for supplying all our needs and providing for everything we need for body and soul. Help us to be helpful to others and to focus on the good in them…

IN GOD’S STRENGTH, WE CAN
SEE THE GOOD IN OTHERS.

“Let each of you look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.”

— Philippians 2:4

Did you ever hear of the great lesson learned by John D. Rockefeller, Sr., founder of the Rockefeller dynasty? By the time he was 33, he had become a millionaire. By the age of 53, he had become the world’s first billionaire. He was the richest man in all the world. But Drs. S. E. McMillan and David E. Stern, in their book None of These Diseases, say that Rockefeller had traded his happiness and his health for his wealth.

Rockefeller had developed a condition called Alopecia, and as a result lost all of his hair. He looked like a mummy. Although he made a million dollars a week, a biographer says that he enjoyed absolutely nothing. He had lost his appetite and his sleep.

Then one night he realized that he was going to die soon, and he couldn’t take his wealth with him. That hit him like a bolt right out of the blue. He became totally depressed and overwhelmed. But then he had a brilliant idea.

Being a practical man, the next morning he got up and began to put his idea into practice. He started giving away money systematically. This focus on others caused a major turnaround. He eventually lived to 97.

He was living a happy life because he had simply made a discovery of that which Jesus told us long ago: “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). Rockefeller had learned to think of someone else other than just himself.

Father God, Giver of all gifts, give me strength for today to live a generous life today and to give of myself. Let Your generosity inspire me to also give generously to others…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH
WE CAN BE GENEROUS.

“For I have no one like-minded, who will sincerely care for your state.”

— Philippians 2:20

If you really want to stand out, think about others instead of just yourself. Most people do the opposite.

Years ago, a telephone company made a detailed study of telephone conversations to find out which word is the most frequently used. It is the same word that is most used in daily conversations. It is the word “I.” It was used 3,990 times in 500 telephone conversations. “I.” “I.” “I.” “I.” “I.” People think about themselves morning, noon, and after dinner, too, said Dale Carnegie.

On an airplane one time I sat next to a tennis pro. We had a very interesting conversation. I talked at length about her tennis, and she was very interested. Then I changed the subject and boom—her interest rate dropped to zero, instantly. I switched the subject back to her and immediately the dial went up to 100 again. She reminded me of “Edith,” a lady someone described as “a small country bounded on the north, east, south and west by Edith.”

There is not too great a market out there for your complaints. Someone said that you and I will discover that about 50 percent of the people don’t care what is wrong with you and the other 50 percent think you are getting what you deserve anyway.

In Christ, we are called to a life of unselfishness. Instead of “looking out for number one,” we are told to put others’ interest ahead of our own. May God free us from our selfishness.

Self-existing God, You made us for Yourself and You made us to make life better for each other. Help me today to take the focus off myself and my problems and to focus on the people You put in my path…

IN GOD’S STRENGTH, WE
CAN FOCUS ON OTHERS.

“A man who has friends must show himself friendly.”

— Proverbs 18:24

Some people may wonder why they have so few friends. But the Bible says to have friends, you must be a friend.

Dale Carnegie in his famous book How To Win Friends and Influence People said this: “Why should people be interested in you unless you are first interested in them?”

A well-known maxim puts it this way:

I went out to find a friend,
but could not find one there.
I went out to be a friend,
and friends were everywhere.

Carnegie said that the greatest lesson he ever learned about human relations, he learned in his youth from a dog named “Tippy,” a little yellow-haired dog with a stub tail. When Tippy would see him coming, he would run up to him, his short stubby tail wagging so hard that his whole body was wagging. He would lick his hands and run around his ankles and want to be petted. He was so genuinely friendly to Carnegie that he just could not possibly keep from petting that little dog. Tippy knew a great lesson, a great secret about relationships. He had no lack of friends because he showed himself friendly.

Show yourself friendly; think about others. Instead, we are so eager to go out and wigwag people into being impressed with us, thinking they will then be our friends. People couldn’t care less about that.

It is good to make friends, especially those whom we can build up in Christ. As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.

Triune God, You who created us for fellowship with You and with each other, I thank You today for my friends. Help me to be a good friend to those You have placed in my life…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH, WE CAN
BE A GOOD FRIEND TODAY.