Loving Jesus Style

Scripture: Philippians 3:14 (NIV) I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Devotion: Paul loved the image of a runner. Here he pictures a man in the final stretch, leaning forward, every muscle straining toward the finish line. He describes his Christian life this way: a race run with all his strength, not a leisurely stroll. We should understand this verse in the context in which it occurs. Immediately before this, Paul regards all his religious qualifications as "garbage" in order that he might "gain Christ and be found in him" (verses 8–9). The reference to winning a prize does not mean that it is about how one earns salvation; rather, he goes on to say, "to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me" (verse 12). The race starts by grace, since Christ first laid hold of Paul. That is why Paul can run so hard. He is not running to be accepted. He runs because he has been...

Scripture: 2 Timothy 1:13–14 (NIV) What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us. Devotion: Paul wrote these words from a Roman prison, near the end of his life. Many had deserted him (v. 15). Soon he would be gone, and Timothy would carry on without his spiritual father. So, Paul tells him what matters most: keep the truth, and keep it rightly. The word "pattern" suggests an architect's outline or an artist's sketch. Paul had given Timothy more than scattered opinions. He had given him a coherent body of sound teaching, healthy doctrine that nourishes the soul. Timothy was not to improve on it or trade it for something more fashionable. He was to hold it fast. But notice how he was to hold it: "with faith and love in Christ Jesus." Paul knew that orthodoxy can be held in the wrong way. A...

  Scripture: Ephesians 6:13 (NIV) Therefore, put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Devotion: The word "therefore" sends us back to Paul's reminder that "our struggle is not against flesh and blood" (v. 12). Real spiritual enemies stand behind the temptations, accusations, and discouragements of the Christian life. We cannot meet them in our own strength, so Paul commands us to put on the full armor of God. Notice whose armor it is. In Isaiah, the Lord Himself puts on righteousness as His breastplate, and the helmet of salvation (Isa. 59:17). The armor Paul describes is God's own. Every piece points to Christ: His truth, His righteousness, His gospel of peace, faith in Him, the salvation He has won, and the Word He has given. To put on the armor is to put on the Lord Jesus Christ (Rom. 13:14). Notice also what Paul expects. He does not s...

Scripture: Revelation 3:20 (NIV) Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me. Devotion: This verse is often read as an invitation to unbelievers, and the gospel call is surely in it. But notice where Jesus is standing. He is speaking to a church, the church at Laodicea, and He is outside the door. Laodicea was wealthy and comfortable. The believers there said, "I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing" (v. 17). Christ's verdict was very different: wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked. They had filled the house with so much that they no longer noticed the Lord was missing. A congregation or a Christian can keep the forms of faith while drifting from fellowship with Christ Himself. Sound doctrine, faithful attendance, and full calendars are good gifts, but they are no substitute for communion with the Savior. Yet the knock is not a threat....

  Scripture: 2 Corinthians 4:7–10 (ESV) But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. Devotion: In the ancient world, clay jars were the plastic containers of daily life: cheap, common, easily chipped, and thrown out when cracked. No one admired the jar. Valuables were sometimes hidden in them precisely because no one thought to look there. Paul says that is exactly where God has placed His greatest treasure. In the verse just before, he names it: "the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" (v. 6). The gospel itself, the glory of God shining in Christ, has been entrusted to ordinary, fragile, sinful people. Why this ...

Scripture: Psalm 118:24 (NIV) The LORD has done it this very day; let us rejoice today and be glad. Devotion: Many of us learned this verse as "This is the day the Lord has made," and we quote it as a cheerful reminder that every morning is a gift. That is true. But the psalmist has something more specific in view, and the NIV draws it out: "The LORD has done it this very day." Done what? The verses just before tell us: "The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the LORD has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes" (vv. 22–23). The day of rejoicing is the day God overturns men's verdict and exalts the one they cast aside. The psalm is sung by one who was surrounded by enemies, pushed back and about to fall, yet rescued by the Lord's right hand (vv. 10–14). He goes up to the temple gates in triumph, and the people take up his song. The New Testament shows us whom this Rejected Stone truly is. Jesus applied these words t...