IT'S UNIMAGINABLE

1 Corinthians 2:9

That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him."

I heard a story about an elderly man who many years earlier was the recipient of his aunt’s will which read, “To my beloved Steven Marsh, I bequeath my family Bible and all it contains, along with the residue of my estate after my funeral expenses and just and lawful debts are paid.” Once all the funeral expenses had been settled, Marsh was only left with his aunt’s meager pension and Bible. 30 years later, he was preparing to live out his years living with his son so he began cleaning out his attic. He found the Bible inherited from his aunt and as he opened it, he was amazed to find hundreds of bills of cash scattered throughout the pages worth thousands upon thousands of dollars. Ironically, had he bothered to even opened the book just to peruse it's pages, he would have realized the monetary blessings 30 years earlier. In Marsh's case, the blessings were truly meant only for someone who would bother to get to know God.

OBTAIN YOUR TREASURES

Philippians 3:8-10

Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the priceless gain of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I may have Christ and become one with him. I no longer count on my own goodness or my ability to obey God's law, but I trust Christ to save me. For God's way of making us right with himself depends on faith. As a result, I can really know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I can learn what it means to suffer with him, sharing in his death.

I’ve wondered to myself about the world's wealthiest people and what they had given up to amass such massive wealth. Is it really a gain having such large sums of money when all would be lost in a quick moment upon losing your life? The Word of God teaches us about the priceless gain beyond money that believers can obtain by knowing Jesus as Lord. If you know Jesus as your Savior, when your physical life comes to an end you don’t lose your treasures – you actually obtain your treasures fully and completely. Are you fully realizing your treasures today?

SHINING THROUGH THE DARKNESS

Philippians 2:15

So that no one can speak a word of blame against you. You are to live clean, innocent lives as children of God in a dark world full of crooked and perverse people. Let your lives shine brightly before them.

Robert Ingersoll was an agnostic that lectured against God and the Bible. Ingersoll had an old friend from a broken family who struggled with alcoholism. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, his old friend’s life was changed and he was even reunited with his family. This friend wrote to Ingersoll saying, “Old friend, would you speak against the Savior who stooped and lifted me, rebuilt my home and brought joy to my wife and children?” Mr. Ingersoll read the letter that night before a large audience and then said, “I have nothing to say against a religion that will do this for a man. I am here to talk about a religion that is being preached, but not practiced by so many. You can find fault with the church, but there stands One supreme! No man can point his finger at Christ and find any fault with Him!” When we let our testimonies shine, even the staunchest of critics will bend their knee and see the truth. Is your testimony shining through to nonbelievers today?

GOD REACHING OUT TO US

2 Corinthians 5:18

All this newness of life is from God, who brought us back to himself through what Christ did. And God has given us the task of reconciling people to him.

The Church of the Penitents in Bogota, Columbia, was built over 300 years ago. The edifice was built by penitents that carried up two bricks for every sin they committed. Sadly, penitent behavior does not reduce or remove your sins. In fact, the only way to experience eternal life is to allow Christ Jesus to cover your disobedient sins against God. Under no circumstance can we even take credit for our being cleansed, which is why personal penitence is meaningless. Ephesians 2:8 teaches us, “God saved you by his special favor when you believed. And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God.” For one to have a new life in God, a person must understand that there aren’t enough works for us to do that would be worthy to cover our sinful nature. Only God is powerful enough to reach down and reconcile man to Himself.

DESPITE THE PAIN

Job 23:3

If only I knew where to find God, I would go to his throne and talk with him there.

When Job was facing the most daunting problems he had ever faced, he had nowhere to go and nobody to lean on. His body was covered with boils, and the only way to rest or sleep was to lay in ashes. Regardless of Job's woes, he still desired to go to God and fellowship with Him. The President of The Navigators once wrote, “If you are suffering without succeeding, then someone will succeed after you. If you are succeeding without suffering, then someone suffered before you.” Job showed us how to survive despite suffering deeply. Job learned how to be blessed beyond his own imagination by going to God's throne despite the pains that he was forced to deal with. Follow Job’s lead and go to God when you’re suffering. Are you suffering today in any way? Have you taken those pains to God?

RESIST THE DEVIL

James 4:7

So humble yourselves before God. Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you.

The devil is like a roaring lion seeking whomever he may devour. While the thought of that may be frightening, we ought to remember the lesson John taught us in 1 John 4:4: “But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won your fight with these false prophets, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world.” We may feel weak when dealing with the temptations of the devil, but Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 12:10, “Since I know it is all for Christ's good, I am quite content with my weaknesses and with insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” Remember, if you've accepted the gift of Christ, the victory is already yours. All that's left to do is to resist the Devil.

THE BEGINNING OF WISDOM

Psalm 25:12

Who are those who fear the Lord? He will show them the path they should choose.

I was asked by a graduating senior how to choose the right things in life and to know for sure if you chose correctly. My answer was to ask The One who knows everything: God. King David understood that those who feared the Lord would be shown the right paths to take. Later, Solomon would teach us in Proverbs 9:10, “Fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One results in understanding.” If you want to know what to do you've got to walk closely with God because He already knows your destiny. Ask Him for the wisdom to understand the choices before you. Do you feel that you're walking closely enough with God for you to hear His voice and instruction? Do you live daily with a fear and reverence of the Almighty One?

CAN PEOPLE TELL?

John 19:30

When Jesus had tasted it, he said, "It is finished!" Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

I once heard this story about two men discussing how to get into Heaven. One was a Christian and the other didn't know Christ. The Christian asked, “Would you like to know the big difference between your religion and my faith?” The other man replied, “Sure, what is it?” The saved man said, “Yours has two letters in it, while mine has four. Yours says ‘Do’ while mine says ‘Done.’” Religion is man’s futile way of reaching up to connect with God, while the Christian faith is knowing that God’s reaching down to our sinful world. Men were saved from the perils of hell when Jesus completed God's work with His death upon the cross. Paul taught us in Ephesians 2:8-9 that, “God saved you by his special favor when you believed. And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.” You have to receive the gift of Jesus in your life as Savior and the basic work for your life will have been completed. Is God's finished work in your life apparent to those around you? Can people tell whether or not you're saved by grace?

SERVANT LEADERSHIP

2 Corinthians 4:5

We don't go around preaching about ourselves; we preach Christ Jesus, the Lord. All we say about ourselves is that we are your servants because of what Jesus has done for us.

I feel passionate about Christians reaching out to share the Gospel. Paul taught us in Romans 1:16, “I am not ashamed of the Gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.” I once read a story about a building contractor that had accepted Christ as his Savior. The builder said to all of his carpenters, plumbers, and painters, “Boys, we are having a meeting down at the church. Nobody will work on my job here from 10 to 11am.” One worker said, “I don't care to go to church. I’ll stay here and work.” The contractor replied, “Nobody is going to work on my job while the preacher is down at my church trying to have a revival. We are all going down there.” Now there’s an example of a man that passionately wanted people to hear the Gospel. What have you personally been doing to make sure the Gospel is shared with the unsaved?

IDENTIFYING THE AUTHENTIC

1 Timothy 6:20-21

Timothy, guard what God has entrusted to you. Avoid godless, foolish discussions with those who oppose you with their so-called knowledge. Some people have wandered from the faith by following such foolishness. May God's grace be with you all.

God has entrusted us the with Holy Word, the Bible, which unfortunately is sometimes used also by those that would like to destroy the body of Christ. If you recall the temptation of Jesus Christ, Satan actually quoted scriptures to tempt Jesus. He told Jesus that according to the Bible, if Jesus would request it, angels would come and rescue Him as it was written in Psalm 91:12. Jesus recognized the temptation and rebuked Satan. We all have to get to know the Word of God intimately to be able to recognize counterfeit usage of scripture. I’ve seen people that have entertained false applications of the Bible and were made to believe that they were even teaching truths. Many of those have distanced themselves from the church or have ceased to truly study the Word. When the time comes, will you be able to spot a counterfeit?

KNIT TOGETHER BY LOVE

Colossians 2:2

My goal is that they will be encouraged and knit together by strong ties of love. I want them to have full confidence because they have complete understanding of God's secret plan, which is Christ himself.

God's secret plan was revealed over 2,000 years ago, but people today are still blinded by the greedy and deceitful Satan. I once read a story about man who was commenting on the construction of a cathedral . He was heard saying, “Just look at that cathedral being built! What’s it going to cost? Maybe millions? It would be a better credit to the folks who are building it if they’d improve the lot of the people who live in the slums down here.” There is no wrong in building a huge edifice for God, but we ought never forget that what’s most important is that Jesus came to seek and save the lost because he loves his brothers and sisters. Our main purpose is to tell the world about God’s secret plan, Christ himself. Who was the last person you shared God's secret plan with?

GOD'S FAVOR

2 Corinthians 12:9

Each time he said, "My gracious favor is all you need. My power works best in your weakness." So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may work through me.

The quicker we humble ourselves recognizing that we need God, the faster we can avail of His gracious favor. Paul is joyful about his weaknesses because he understood that the power of God’s gracious favor takes effect when we reach for Him in times of weakness. A surgeon once asked a young assisting doctor, “Who do you consider the most important person in this room?” The intern was caught by surprise and replied, “You are, Sir.” The doctor shook his head in disagreement and the intern changed his response to, “Well, I suspect it would be the nurses who assist you, sir.” The surgeon said, “No, the most important individual in this operating room is the patient.” Similarly, when we give our life over to God recognizing that we are weak, we immediately gain His attention and favor. Do you have God's favor in your life right now?

TRUTH AND LIES

Proverbs 6:12

Here is a description of worthless and wicked people: They are constant liars.

We can use words in two ways: 1. words that speak truth or, 2. words that speak lies. Our words represent who we are in the balance between truth and lies, good and evil, even life and death. King Solomon described people who constantly lie as worthless and wicked because a person that lies has the potential to bring destruction to whatever he is involved with. Lies cause the death of relationships, endeavors and even investments, but the truth will always bring life. When Satan injected lies into the hearts of man, man fell into sin. We learn from Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Jesus teaches us in John 14:6, “I am the Way – yes, and the Truth and the Life. No one can get to the Father except by means of me.” Do you find yourself more often speaking the truth or lies?

THE RIGHT SEASON

Proverbs 20:4

If you are too lazy to plow in the right season, you will have no food at the harvest.

More often than not, people find themselves hungry because of their own laziness. Proverbs 20:4 is an exciting challenge for everyone to work. The simple solution to providing food for oneself is to simply work. According to a "rapid-decision making" research project conducted at the University of Southern California, people can process information up to 20 percent faster when they are standing up and actively moving around. When sitting or idling, however, the statistics drop dramatically. There is no virtue in laziness or indolence. Are you lazy about what you ought to be doing? Why haven't you completed the task?

YOUR HEART & YOUR LIFE

Ephesians 2:2

You used to live just like the rest of the world, full of sin, obeying Satan, the mighty prince of the power of the air. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God.

A life without Christ is cursed. The Bible is clear that without Him, you live just like the rest of the world – obeying Satan. You may not personally agree with this premise, but the Bible is very clear. Be sure to remember what 2 Corinthians 11:14 warns each of us about, “But I am not surprised! Even Satan can disguise himself as an angel of light.” The only way to have a blessed life is to have Jesus Christ in your heart and life. Are you allowing Jesus Christ to rule in every aspect of your life?

CLEVER CLEVER

2 Peter 2:3

In their greed they will make up clever lies to get hold of your money. But God condemned them long ago, and their destruction is on the way.

I am sure that no one has ever wishfully dreamt of self-destruction. The Bible is very clear that greed and deceit are a surefire way to achieve self-destruction. Tolstoy’s How Much Land Does a Man Need is about a peasant farmer who was offered all the land he desired for a low cost, but on the one condition that he was required to walk about his land all day returning to his starting point by sundown. Early the next morning, the peasant began walking out further and further away from his starting point so that he’d be able to cover all of his new land. As the sun began to set, he began to sprint back to his starting point as fast as he could. With his heart pounding hard and exhausted from the walking, he suddenly collapsed and died. By the next day, the peasant farmer was buried in a grave that was six feet long, three feet wide and six feet deep – all the land that a man would need at death. Don’t let greed into your life because greed marks the beginning of your ending.

A BROKEN HEART

Psalm 51:17

The sacrifice you want is a broken spirit. A broken and repentant heart, O God, you will not despise.

J. Wilbur Chapman, an American evangelist and revivalist minister, once told a story about a young girl who ran away from home and lived a life of sin. Her mother sought the help of her daughter’s friend to search for her. This friend took a number of photographs of the searching mother and placed the words, “COME BACK,” beneath her grieving face. Together, they posted these photos all over the nearby red light district. When the daughter saw the sad face of her mother and the words, “COME BACK,” tears began to run down her face. She returned home weeping and broken. When she put her hand on the knob, she found that the door was left unlocked. Her mother wrapped her arms around her and said, “My dear child, the door has never been locked since you went away.” Remember that God is always ready to welcome you home, no matter what you've done. All you have to do is actually come back.

QUALITY TIME

Luke 10:40

But Martha was worrying over the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, "Lord, doesn't it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me."

Martha’s appeal is a legitimate and logical request. It appears unfair that she would do all the work while her sister sat at Jesus' feet and listened. But it only appears that way. I recall first hearing the song, “I Miss My Time With You,” by Laarnelle Harris. The song is written as a love song from from God to man. One of the verses says:

I miss my time with you, those moments together.
I need to be with you each day, but it hurts me when you say
you’re too busy, busy trying to serve me.
But how can you serve me, when your spirit is empty?

Jesus replied to Martha in Luke 10:42 with, “There is really only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it – and I won't take it away from her.” Are you giving quality time to the best things or are you too busy watching what others are doing?

CORRUPTED HEARTS

Genesis 6:11-12

Now the earth had become corrupt in God's sight, and it was filled with violence. God observed all this corruption in the world, and he saw violence and depravity everywhere.

Genesis 6:11-12 holds true from the time period of Noah to this very present day. When man makes the choice to run his affairs outside of God's laws, violence becomes part of man's field rules. Violence is truly the embodiment of man’s shadowy depravity. Consider the following horrid decisions by past emperors: Crasus, crucified 10,000 slaves at one time; Augustus, executed 30,000 for political offense; and, Trajan held 10,000 death fights in the amphitheater for amusement. Whenever man has chosen to live outside of God's laws, you can surely expect violence and depravity to breakout everywhere.

WASHED AWAY

John 1:29

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

In the Old Testament, a lamb needed to be offered up to appease God's anger. In Hebrews 9:22 we learn that, “we can say that according to the law of Moses, nearly everything was purified by sprinkling with blood. Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins.” God is truly good, isn’t He? He knew that everyone wouldn’t be able to perform an offering like in the days of the Old Testament, so He sent His only Son to earth to become the final sacrificial Lamb to take away everyone's sins once and for all. Let Him cleanse you in the blood of the Lamb and be washed of all your sins. 1 John 1:9 teaches us, “But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong.” Have you been washed in the blood of the Lamb?

A FAITHFUL RELATIONSHIP

Jude 1:5

I must remind you — and you know it well — that even though the Lord rescued the whole nation of Israel from Egypt, he later destroyed every one of those who did not remain faithful.

This verse serves as a reminder for all Christians that the saved are still capable of living a life of disobedience and unfaithfulness to God. We should be committed and faithful children, living a pleasing life that's to God. When Jesus obeyed the order of baptism, God the Father said, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.” It's such a simple concept that God is pleased when we simply obey Him. Many times, the newly saved have let me know that they've chosen to postpone baptism because they're just “not ready”. It’s the equivalent of saying I want to have a relationship with Jesus as my Savior so that I can go to heaven, but I don’t want people identifying me with Christ. Or better yet, it's like marrying someone, but not wanting to be seen with your new spouse. Faithfulness means sticking it out no matter what. Without faithfulness in our relationship with Christ, we are doomed for self-destruction. Have you been faithful in your relationship with Christ?

THE LETTER OF THE LAW

Psalm 119:30

I have chosen to be faithful; I have determined to live by your laws.

All of man's laws emanate from the laws first established by God. He institutionalized the law according to Romans 13:1-4 when Paul wrote:

Obey the government, for God is the one who put it there. All governments have been placed in power by God. So those who refuse to obey the laws of the land are refusing to obey God, and punishment will follow. For the authorities do not frighten people who are doing right, but they frighten those who do wrong, so do what they say, and you will get along well. The authorities are sent by God to help you. But if you are doing something wrong, of course you should be afraid, for you will be punished. The authorities are established by God for that very purpose, to punish those who do wrong.

Ironically, the God-given privilege to create laws has been used to establish laws against God himself by creating laws banning even the basic acknowledgment of His existence and His part in the equation of the affairs of man. Obey the laws of man, but don’t allow yourself to be twisted into disobedience to God. Don't let the trickery of the world catch you off guard.

TAKE A STAND

2 Corinthians 13:8

Our responsibility is never to oppose the truth, but to stand for the truth at all times.

In what may seem to be an ironic twist, Christians occasionally use one truth to violate another truth. A young man once asked me if he could serve the Lord through sports, but the challenge facing him was that the scheduled competitions conflicted with his worship times at church. I told him that the Word of God never contradicts itself, but rather it complements itself. You can serve God by any means, but do it without violating your reasonable service. At the end of the day as a Christian, you have got to stand for the truth and not against the truth. There should be no doubts or contradictions. Do you stand for the truth at all times?

HE'S GOT THE WHOLE WORLD

Colossians 1:17

He existed before everything else began, and he holds all creation together.

I received an email about the molecule Laminin and in my research I learned that this molecule is vital to making sure our overall body structures hold together. Amazingly, the molecule that holds us all together is the shape of a cross. Without this cross-like molecule, we wouldn’t be able to do simple physical actions, like standing up or sitting down. Interestingly, this appears to be exactly what Jesus teaches us in John 15:5, “For apart from me you can do nothing.” Apparently, He doesn't just hold us together spiritually, He also provides the adhesive that literally holds us together physically.

I DREAMED A DREAM

Genesis 37:5

One night Joseph had a dream and promptly reported the details to his brothers, causing them to hate him even more.

All the physical things of man that are around us began with a dream produced by someone’s imagination. From automobiles to buildings - you name it - anything created was once just a dream in someone's mind. Tim Berners-Lee is the creator of the World Wide Web and is a big reason that you can read this devotional via the internet. He really isn’t all that popular, but the things of his dreams have become popular and are widely used the world over. Move your mind to realize God's dreams for you, regardless of whether you become famous, wealthy or powerful. God will use the dreams placed in your heart to bless people. Which dreams and desires of your heart would you like to see realized?