Why Daily Time with God?

My parents instilled in me the habit of daily time in God’s word and prayer at an early age. In my teen years, I struggled to maintain the habit, but these days I wrestle more with the why. Why am I doing this? What’s in my heart? What do I hope to gain from this time?

I think there are several good reasons to spend daily time with God.

1. Increased knowledge about God. Faithfully walking through a daily Bible reading plan increases your overall familiarity with the things of God.

Paul prayed that God would give the Ephesian believers “the Spirit…of revelation in the knowledge of him” (Eph. 1:17 ESV). Don’t minimize the importance of the foundational activity of increasing your knowledge about God. This is necessary for an experience of God. If your experience of God is not informed by the scriptures, it may not be God you are experiencing.

As we seek to know God through memorizing and mediating on the biblical stories and instructions, we are shaped in our thinking and character. We begin to think like the Bible thinks, and the result is that we begin to live as the Bible directs. This leads to the next benefit of daily time with God.

2. Increased wisdom for life. Paul also prayed that God would give the Ephesian Christians, “the Spirit of wisdom” (Eph. 1:17). When we think of gaining wisdom from God’s Word, our minds probably go to the book of Proverbs. But, all of Scripture is intended to teach us how to live faithfully before God (2 Tim. 3:16). Don’t downplay the dos and don’ts of passages like Colossians 3:5-17 and 1 Corinthians 5-14 (most of the book!).

We might call point 1 “the foundation.” We need to grow in our knowledge about God.

And we might call point 2 “the result.” Daily time with God should affect the way we live.

But neither of these are the heart – the true why – of daily time with God.  In fact, just before Paul’s prayer for wisdom and knowledge for the Ephesians, he spent 12 verses, Ephesians 1:3-14, rejoicing in the gospel!

In Christ, God the Father has “blessed us…with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places…,” chosen and adopted us, redeemed and forgiven us, lavished grace upon us, given us an eternal inheritance (Himself!), and given us the Holy Spirit as the guarantee of that inheritance. These truths cause Paul to burst forth in praise!

The purpose of daily time with God is happiness in God.

3. Increased happiness in Christ. Above all, I hope to get up from my kitchen table and my time with the Lord each day delighting in what Christ has done for me. Like you, I don’t always reach this goal, but I think that just knowing what the goal is helps me reach it more often.

Assessment and Affirmation

This week Heather and I have been in Denver, CO for the North American Mission Board (NAMB) assessment retreat. We weren’t exactly sure what to expect over the two-day event; so we were a little nervous going in.

At the retreat we met NAMB reps, church planters, pastors, and specialists from all over the country, and their goal was to help us get an accurate picture of ourselves – our strengths and weaknesses – with regard to church planting.

We will not have any official results for a week or two, but our feedback was overwhelming positive, encouraging, and affirming. And while there are definitely some areas in which we need to grow, we feel more confident than ever that we are in line with God’s direction for our lives.

Windsor, here we come! 

Heather and I spent the better part of today (Thursday) in the Town of Windsor. The more time I spend there and the more I learn about the town, the more I realize how much need there is and how well it fits our team. We’re so thankful for God’s supernatural guidance in this process. As I read in His word this morning:

“I bow down…and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word. On the day I called, you answered me; my strength of soul you increased.”  -Psalm 138:2-3

An Update from the Duke Family

Dear friends,

I’ve been wanting to write this update for a while now, but a number of factors have delayed it. As of my last post, our church plant team was considering the city of Greeley, CO for our location. Within 24 hours of that blog post, we felt redirected to the town of Windsor, CO. After two week-long vision trips and lots of conversations with local pastors and North American Mission Board representatives, Windsor very clearly rose to the top of our list.

One of the reasons I’ve hesitated to announce this outside of our church is that I was waiting for confirmation from the Lord. I knew what I wanted to do; but so often the Lord’s plans are different than our own.

Then, a few weeks ago, we got word that a new baseball sports park (the largest in the world!) is going to be built in Windsor. Construction starts October 1. The influx of people that this development will bring into the area will in itself more than justify the planting of a new church. Windsor is on the verge of incredible growth, and we want to be right in the middle of the kingdom growth that this will bring! We had already chosen the northwest corner of the town as our target area, and this just happens to be where the new sports park will be built! All of this is very exciting, and it was the kind of confirmation that I was looking for.

To date, we have four couples on our church plant team, and our home church, Christ Baptist, has agreed to support us for five years. I am blown away by God’s provision!

We leave this Sunday, July 9th, for a 6-day mission trip to Colorado. About half of the mission team is also on our church plant team, and they will spend a couple of days during the trip doing research in Windsor. Our mission trip will involve prayer walking, gospel conversations, man-on-the-street-type Q&A, cookouts in the park, and hosting a “thank you” dinner for the volunteers at a sister church plant.

We are in the process of applying for partnership with NAMB, and we hope to be invited to in-person interviews September 26-27.

If all continues to move as smoothly as it has thus far, team members will begin to look for housing and employment in the last quarter of 2017. Our church plant team will also form a new small group which will meet weekly beginning August 25th.

By early 2018, our new youth minister at Christ Baptist should be in place, and throughout the spring of 2018, team members will make trips to Windsor to secure homes and employment. Our target move date is July 15, 2018.

We will spend the first 18 months in Colorado learning from other church planters in the area, loving our neighbors, and having gospel conversations. Our vision is for a church where every member is a disciple-maker. We hope to develop at least two strong small groups before considering acquiring a facility in which to meet.

Our desire is to then obtain a multi-use facility that will add value to the Windsor community. We have a ton of ideas here. Maybe it will function as a co-op workspace or cafe. Perhaps fitness or art clubs will use it during the week. It could house an after-school program and/or counseling and recovery groups. And, of course, our church will worship there every Sunday evening.

How can you help?
1. PRAY – continue to pray that God would confirm the calling He has placed upon the lives of our church plant team.

2. LISTEN – if you hear of anyone that is moving to northern Colorado in the near future, please connect them with me. We would love for them to consider joining our team.

3. INVITE – from January to July of 2018, I hope to spend time casting the vision for our plant in churches around the country. My goals in this are to build a network of prayer support and seek out others who might join us in Windsor. If your church is open to me coming and speaking, please let me know.

Thank you all for your friendship and encouragement over the years!
I really feel like God has been preparing us for this work for a long time.
Knowing that you are behind us makes all the difference!

In Christ,
The Duke Family

 

Denver: Days 3-4

Our team is sitting in the Denver airport about to fly home, so I thought I’d take these few minutes to finish telling you about our vision trip to Denver, CO. Thank you so much for the prayers and encouragement via comments, Facebook, email, and text. They have been an invaluable part of the trip.

On day 3, we spent the morning with a precious family in the northern Front Range, who is a friend of one of our team members. They were so gracious. They prepared breakfast for us, mapped out a tour of the Fort Collins area, and took most of their morning to show us around. Thank you Matt and Becky!

In the Fort Collins area we found a culture that felt familiar to us North Raleighites, along with more affordable housing. We also drove by the newly constructed Mormon temple.

There seems to be a stronger church presence in Fort Collins than Denver, but there is still great need.

For example: the Alliance for Suicide Prevention of Lamier County states: “On average, one person in Larimer County [the county in which Fort Collins is located] dies from suicide every 4 to 5 days.” Our team talked about how hard this is for us to understand. Fort Collins is highly educated and affluent, offers almost unmatched opportunity for recreation, and has the Rocky Mountains for its backyard. Why then is there such depression and hopelessness?

I would never want to oversimplify a problem as big as this, but as believers we understand that beautiful landscapes were never meant to offer lasting peace. Their beauty is intended to cause humans to recognize the Creator and worship Him. No amount of knowledge, money, or fun will quench our spiritual thirst for love and joy. This is why a continued and ever-growing gospel witness through church-planting is so important.

We finished our morning tour with an even clearer vision of the need for church planting along the Front Range and with excitement about where God might call us. And since we weren’t able to secure any more meetings for Saturday afternoon/evening, we decided to head into Rocky Mountain National Park for some fun and to talk through all that we’d experienced over the previous 48 hours.

Once inside the park, it’s not hard to see why the mountains are such a draw. They are magnificent! God was just showing off when He formed those jagged peaks and crystal clear streams.

After our time in the park, we headed back down to the city of Denver. What a contrast! We transitioned from taking pictures of Elk (who couldn’t care less if we were around) to attempting to navigate the city’s public transportation system.

I’m really glad that we ended our exploration of the Front Range by spending Saturday night walking around the city. To me cities accentuate most vividly the brokenness caused by sin. How can a person who has limitless parties, partners, entertainment, food, and drink never find contentment? How can someone who has lived in the city for almost a decade soberly and sincerely state, “I have no friends” (True story told to us by one church planter, and apparently not an uncommon one)?

They need Jesus – the Friend of sinners – to heal their brokenness and satisfying their longing. And they need the church – His body – to be the tangible representation of that healing and satisfaction.

On our last day, we visited a brand new church plant (in only their second week of public worship services), which is working hard to be the hands and feet of Christ; and after worship, we had a final team meeting to discuss where we need to go from here.

There is still a lot of work to be done before it can be decided if Denver is where we will plant. Many follow-up emails need to be written and phone calls made. Further study needs to be done on specific neighborhoods. But more than this, as all of the knowledge we’ve gained and experiences we’ve had begin to settle in our minds, we need God to direct us.

Pray that He would continue to direct us.
Pray that if Denver Metro or somewhere else on the Front Range is where He wants us to plant a church, He would make that clear.
And pray that when steps of faith need to be made in the coming days, we will not shy away from them but move forward in obedience to our King.

For His sake and for the joy of the nations,
Andy

Denver: Day 2

Our team’s second day was spent in the city. We met Dave, the city missionary, downtown at 8:30 AM and spent the whole morning driving around two sections of the city. First, we drove west from the heart of downtown to the edge of Denver Metro. Houses went from packed-in and fairly small to huge and more spaced out. I thought to myself, “Urban, suburban, or somewhere in between? Are you calling us to this city, God? And if you are, where specifically do you want us to plant our lives?”

To be honest, Friday was a difficult day. The whole group was filled with mixed emotions, and it seemed like the more real estate we surveyed, the more muddled things became in our minds. Dave did an amazing job giving us snapshots of the city. (I can’t imagine doing this without his help.) But it’s daunting to consider where you should plant a church when over 100 are needed in Denver Metro, and there are 30 more cities in our nation in the same kind of spiritual shape (or worse).

In addition to this challenge, Denver has become a very expensive place to live over the past few years. The metro area has become one of the fastest growing cities in America, and housing construction has not been able to keep up. For this reason, homes cost around 40 percent more than the national average. Obviously, this is a big factor to consider in church planting. As I said before, there are reasons why the most underserved cities in our country are as they are.

So Friday was tough, as all of these realities began to sink in.

But that afternoon, as I was sitting in the hotel lobby trying to get some perspective from the Word, a lady walked up to me; and, seeing one of my books sitting on the table in front of me, she struck up a conversation. She was Catholic, but also held to some tenants of other religions. We had a great conversation, and I was able to speak truth into her life a little; but I believe that this encounter was mostly what God knew I needed in order to get my head back in the game.

You see, talking about facts and figures is important, but it is also, by nature, impersonal. It’s the conversations like the one I had with this lady that remind me why we’re doing what we’re doing. She needs the gospel. She is working so very hard to “stay in grace” with God. But this is a position/state which Jesus has already purchased for her! And it’s our job to tell her this. I certainly tried, but discipleship takes time, which takes presence, which takes believers planting their lives in a community.

So for the sake of the souls of people like this lady, I ask the same thing that Paul asked the Colossians: “Pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ…” (Col. 4:3). Pray that He will make it clear to us where we are to plant our lives that we might plant His gospel and His church.

Church Music: Content, Unity, & Style

“Let the word of Christ dwell in your richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.”
-Col. 3:16, ESV

My pastor is preaching through Colossians this summer; and he covered chapter 3, verses 12-17 this past Sunday. This triggered some new thoughts in my mind about how we should select songs for our worship services.

My priorities, in order, are: content, unity, and style. 

1. Content
First and foremost, the content of a song needs to be true. The words need to communicate something and that something needs to be biblically accurate. I also believe that that communication needs to balance theological depth with clarity. In other words, I’m still glad to sing “A mighty fortress is our God,” even though no one knows what a bulwark is in anymore; but we need to be careful with overusing songs like this that need translation.

If we’re honest, there is a tendency in the human heart to view archaic things (even archaic language) as sacred simply because it’s archaic (think the KJV-only mindset). We need to resist this urge. Theological depth doesn’t mean we have to talk like Puritans. Every language in every time period has the capacity to communicate clearly and robustly.

[And just so I’m being fair: some also tend to consider me-centered, self-help psychology language in our worship songs to be sacred too.]

Why do I place content first in my priorities?

Because here in Colossians 3:16 the Apostle Paul makes a direct connection between “The word of Christ” and singing. One of the ways in which the word is to dwell richly among us is in our singing.

For this reason, I think one of the best practices in song writing is to paraphrase or summarize specific passages of Scripture. Also, one of the great features of many hymns is the movement from addressing sin or struggle to proclaiming the gospel and future glory (e.g. “It is Well,” “O Great God”).

 

2. Unity.
In the context of Colossians 3, and other similar passages in the New Testament, unity in local church worship is of the utmost importance.

Col. 3:12-14 says, “Put on then…compassionate hearts…bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other…And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.”
Ephesians 5:21 says, “…submitting to one another out of reverence for God.”
And 1 Corinthians 14:26 says, “Let all things be done for building up.”

Unity under content and over style means that each church member exhibits passionate devotion to the truths of God’s word and deference toward the others’ preferences. In a context of obvious diversity, one should find themselves regularly and joyfully thinking: “This song isn’t really ‘my thing,’ but I’m so glad that it ministers to the mind and heart of my brother or sister.” This is what Paul means in Philippians 2 when he says, “…in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others” (vv. 3-4).

 

3. Style
Every culture in the world has its own unique expressions of worship; and this, so long as it is biblical, is beautiful. It is a picture of the diversity of the kingdom of God, and we should celebrate this diversity.

I don’t think that this means that every church must become as culturally diverse as possible; but, let’s be honest, at this point there seems to be little danger of that. As Lecrae pointed out, “Most segregated time of day is Sunday service / Now what you think that say about the God you worship?”

Truth is, just like we tend to consider archaic or emotional language sacred, we all tend to think of our favorite worship style as sacred. And that’s where the southern American church went wrong 20+ years ago. “Traditional” and “Contemporary” church members alike used their tongues to “bless our Lord and Father, and…curse people who are made in the likeness of God” (Jas. 3:9). They sacrificed unity on the altar of preference.

Yep. For me, this subject always seems to come back around to the regret I feel for what was and what could have been. Instead of gently integrating new styles of music into the church, the young started talking against “the old people;” and instead of being excited about and accepting of new cultural expressions of worship, it was said that we were letting the world’s (or the Devil’s!) music in. And the result looked more like Darwin’s rapid and catastrophic evolution of species than the advancement of the kingdom of God.

I truly believe that if the southern American church had prioritized depth and clarity of content (particularly on the contemporary side) and unity (on both sides) over style in the 90s and early 2000s, our churches would be healthier today and our witness to the world would be much more convincing.

Unfortunately, we can’t go back.
But we can move forward.
And I pray we will, with theologically rich, edifying singing.

Moldova 2016 MUSIC

Several of you who attended Face to Face camp in Larga last week asked for links to the songs we sang. Here you go!

1. “10,000 Reasons” by Matt Redman

2. “Blessed Be Your Name” by Matt Redman

3. “Christ is Enough” by Hillsong Worship

4. “Cornerstone” by Hillsong Worship

5. “Deep Cries Out” by William Matthews

6. “Forever” by Kari Jobe

7. “Good Good Father” by Chris Tomlin

8. “Great Are You Lord” by All Sons & Daughters

9. “Happy Day” by Steve Fee

10. “How Can It Be” by Lauren Daigle

11. “How Great is Our God” by Chris Tomlin

12. “Lord, I Need You” by Matt Maher

13. “Mighty to Save” by Hillsong Worship

14. “O Praise the Name” by Hillsong Worship

15. “This is Living” by Hillsong Young & Free

 

ENJOY!

Saved to Be Spent

“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” -Luke 9:23

So far in 2016 I’ve been thinking a good bit about the question, “What is our salvation for?” I mean, I know that I am to be sharing the gospel with others, discipling them, and producing fruit in my character (love, joy, peace, etc.), but what does this look like in every day life?

A new horizon opened up when I encountered a little video series entitled “For the Life of the World” by the Acton Institute. The message of the series is that we, just like Israel in exile, are called to “seek the welfare of the city where [God has sent us]…and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare [we] will find welfare” (Jer. 29:7).

We are called to add value and beauty and LIFE to whatever spaces and relationships God placed us in. We do this most powerfully as we share the gospel and see broken and sinful human begins transferred from the domain of darkness into the kingdom of Jesus (Col. 1:13-14). But sharing the gospel is not where it begins or ends. In fact, we are called to leverage all of our gifts – as human begins made in the image of God and begin re-made into the image of Christ – for the flourishing of our neighborhoods, cities, workplaces, churches, families, and friendships. 

There is a temptation in the American evangelical church culture to be very thankful for all that God has given us (1 Tim. 6:17) without realizing that it has been given for a purpose. We have been blessed with a house, a job, a family, a church, etc. in order to be a blessing in the context of the relationships that those things create.

Though we are called to enjoy what God has given us, Christians are not saved and blessed that we might use these things up on ourselves. We are blessed that we might bless (Gen. 12:2). We are saved to be spent. 

And this is why Jesus says in Luke 9:23, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” In Luke 9, Jesus has just revealed to His disciples who He is (vv. 18-20) and what He has come to do (vv. 21-22); and what He has come to do is pour out His life for the eternal life of the world (John 3:16-17).

In like manner, we have been given the great privilege of signing over all that we own, all that we love, all that we hope for, and even our very lives, to the One who saved us.

“Here is my life. Spend it as you will,” should be our posture.
“Spend it in ordinary or remarkable ways.”
“Spend it through times of suffering and times of comfort.”
“Spend it in times of need or in abundance.”
“Spend it right where I am, or spend it in a foreign land.”
“Spend my resources as you please, Lord.”
“Spend my family’s time as you will.”
“Spend my life for Your glory and for the eternal life of the world.”

“For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake,” Jesus says, “will save it” (Luke 9:24). 

That Doesn’t Make Sense!

On the one hand, there are a lot of religious people in the world who are out of touch with reality. I get that. On the other hand, one cannot get around the very clear biblical idea that God sometimes places His children in situations where trust in Him is required well beyond what makes sense. Sometimes we’re called to believe what God says when it doesn’t make sense, and other times we’re called to obey God’s commands when they don’t make sense.

– Hebrews 11:3 tells us, “By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.” All that exists was created out of nothing. This is illogical to many in our day.

– Genesis 6-9 and 2 Peter 3:5-6 explain that the whole earth was destroyed by water during Noah’s day.

– Genesis 17 and 21 tell us that Isaac was born to 100-year-old Abraham and 90-year-old Sarah.

– Genesis 22 recounts the testing of Abraham’s faith through the near-sacrifice of Isaac.

– Exodus 3 describes God speaking from a perpetually burning bush, and in chapters 7-12 extraordinary plagues in Egypt are God’s chosen means to release His people from slavery.

– Bread falls out of the sky in Exodus 16, and enough water for perhaps millions gushes out of a rock in chapter 17.

– Joshua is asked to walk around a city instead of besieging it (chapter 6).

– The sun stands still (Joshua 10).

– And righteous Job loses everything but his own life (Job 1-2).

Very little, if any, of this is makes sense to the modern mind; and for this reason, many seek to dismiss the Old Testament as an exaggerated fiction. Yet some of these very same people would claim Christ as Lord. But things do not get any easier to explain in the New Testament: water is turned into wine; the blind, lame, deaf, and mute are healed; water is walked on; and storms are stilled. Most significantly, Jesus dies on a cross and rises again bodily! How can any of this be sufficiently explained?

So the question at hand must be this straightforward: “Is there a God who created and controls all things or not?”

If He wrote the laws of physics and He invented time and space, then He is not subject these laws or constraints. He is not bound by “what makes sense” to us. He created “what makes sense,” and He has every right to go outside of it whenever He so chooses. 

And when He does chose to go outside of what makes sense to us, the question becomes: “Will we trust Him?”

Back to the religiously out-of-touch. The question is not: “If I have enough so-called faith, will God give me everything I think I need and want?” Nor is it: “No matter how foolish I am, He’s gonna keep making my life comfortable, prosperous, and easy, right?”

No. I think we go wrong when try to “have faith” in ways and in areas where the Bible speaks clearly in the opposite direction. If we are foolish with our money, God may exhibit grace to miraculously get us out of the mess we made; but most likely, He’s going to try and teach us by letting us stay in the mess. If we are unloving or unkind in our relationships with others, we should not expect to miraculously have deep friendships after a magic prayer.

Keep a budget. Say your sorry. Read and obey God’s Word. Live wisely. This is living by faith!

And when God chooses to act in extraordinary ways in your life, that habit of trusting Him in ordinary situations will carry over into the realm of what doesn’t make sense. 

“And without faith it is impossible to please [God], for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him” (11:6).

The Moment of Total Victory

“Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.”
– 1 Jo 3:2-3 ESV

In church yesterday morning, the Holy Spirit’s work among us was obvious as we sang these words from the hymn “It Is Well”:

And Lord haste the day 
When my faith shall be sight
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll
The trump shall resound
And the Lord shall descend
Even so it is well with my soul.

As I sang, my mind joyfully turned to this phrase from 1 John 3: “When he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.” In fact, I can’t get that phrase out of my mind this summer. It’s about the moment when “My faith shall be sight.” The moment of glorification. The moment when believers will finally and completely cease all rebellion against God’s best for us (sin), and the moment when all of the brokenness which results from our sin will also cease. It is the moment of total victory.

It is as if that moment will be a flash of refining fire from which no one will be able to hide. Those who, by God’s grace through faith, have come to despise their sin and its effects will receive what they’ve been longing for: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied” (Matt. 5:6). But those who reject the knowledge of God and His offer of eternal life will, sadly, also be given what they desire – separation from Him.

Our youth group went to camp a few weeks ago, and during one of the services, we were singing songs of worship. At that same moment, though, I couldn’t get my mind off of my own sinfulness. It felt like a dark cloud hovering over my soul. I was tempted to feel defeated, but then we began to sing Hillsong’s “O Praise the Name”:

I cast my mind to Calvary
Where Jesus bled and died for me
I see His wounds, His hands, His feet
My Savior on that cursed tree

Then on the third at break of dawn
The Son of Heaven rose again
O trampled death, where is your sting?
The angels roar for Christ the King

And I can hardly type the words of the final verse without hope, victory, and joy welling up in my heart:

He shall return in robes of white
The blazing sun shall pierce the night
And I will rise among the saints
My gaze transfixed on Jesus’ face

My gaze transfixed on Jesus face. Oh how my soul aches for that moment. I imagine it even now; and it’s amazing how, even in reflecting on that future total victory, I receive a power over sin that no amount of outward religious practice or self-righteous deeds could ever hope to provide. In fact, I think that this is at least part of what the Apostle Paul means when He says, “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth,” (Col. 3:3) and “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind…” (Rom. 12:2).

We can have victory over sin now as we set our minds on our final, total victory. 

And what should be the result of this aching to see Jesus face-to-face? What should come from our longing for that future day of glorification? John says, “Everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.” 

Purifying ourselves today will undoubtedly be more difficult than simply thinking about the gospel; yet it is certain that if we do not first find joy in reflecting on Jesus’ life, death, resurrection, ascension, and return, defeat is all the more likely. Again, overcoming sin today is going to take a lot of (formative and corrective) discipline and self-denial (see Heb. 12), but we dare not attempt it without first “Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith” (Heb. 12:2).

Finally, don’t forget that “We are God’s children NOW.” And we have not received “the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear…but the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, ‘Abba! Father!'” (Rom. 8:15). Romans 8 tells us that the aching in our heart for the moment of Christ’s appearing has been put there by the Holy Spirit, and it is the direct result of having been adopted as a son and daughters of God. Incredible!

So in your struggle against sin today…
look to the past – to the glorious gospel which has set you free,
look to the present – to the reality that you are a child of God, and
look to the future – to the total victory that awaits you when you see Him, for

“When he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.”

Praise His name!