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Devotionals beginning on February 8

February 8
Colossians 1:10-11
“We pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience...” (NIV).

Endurance and patience are not two things most of us initially put high on our wish lists.  I want to be a better preacher, be more faithful, learn to love more, find strength to be a mighty man of God...you get it.

But endurance and patience?  They sound hard and not very fun.

When the early apostles prayed this particular prayer for the Church to be supernaturally strengthened, it wasn’t so that the people could perform miracles or become a major success or a powerful entity on the social landscape.. No, this prayer was for endurance and patience.

“Better a patient man than a warrior, a man who controls his temper than one who takes a city,” wrote a wise man (Proverbs 16:32).  There is true supernatural strength in being able to endure hardships —from the nagging hassles of daily life, to the big things, like illness, death, and heartache.  And it takes supernatural strength to be patient —patient to see how God is going to work through a set of circumstances, patient with someone who is difficult or struggling.  Patient with how your life unfolds, on God’s timetable and not yours.

Oh Lord, give us perseverance in difficulties, and patience with people!  Please do this by constantly strengthening us with Your power!

“Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord--that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful.”(James 5:11).

“Today’s mighty oak is just yesterday’s little nut that held its ground” —Sherwood Wirt

February 9
Colossians 1:13-14
“For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

We are rescued!  I like the way Pastor Geoff Thomas describes what Jesus did:  “The Cross is a commando raid.”  Jesus continued what His Father had always done—rescue His people.  Moses delivered them from the clutches of Egypt. The Israelites were repeatedly protected from the Philistines. Daniel, Ezra and Nehemiah inspired the people until the Babylonian captivity was over.  But Jesus performed the ultimate rescue, snatching us from the kingdom of darkness, where hatred, murder, terror, and the destruction of human souls is the agenda.

Jesus came to take us to His kingdom. He came to shine a Light and to expose the kingdom of darkness for what it is.  He came to set us free.  But He didn’t do it from some distant command post.  He came into our battle, into the lives of real people, and shared our joys and sorrows and illuminates our lives.  While on earth, He showed compassion to the woman at the well, He healed another woman who was an outcast.  He raised a precious daughter from the dead, He shared in weddings, and feasts.  He defied the Pharisees and their judgmental cruelty. And finally, He won the decisive battle on the Cross, and darkness lost it dominion forever.

“You are a king, then,” said Pontius Pilate to Him, and Jesus answered, “You are right in saying I am a king.  In fact for this reason, I was born, and for this I came into the world” (John 18:37).

Jesus knew we could never make the escape by ourselves.  So He paid the price, and conquered death to bring His kingdom to us.  He even taught his disciples to pray, “Your kingdom come.”  He taught us “The kingdom of heaven is at hand...the Kingdom of heaven is near.”

When you feel despair closing in, when you feel trapped or imprisoned, remember, you are rescued when you put your faith in Jesus.  Don’t ever forget it. Live in the kingdom of the Son who loves us.

“Redemption is the liberation of man through Christ and the Holy Spirit from forces and thralldoms that hold him bound, individually and collectively.”  —John Mackay

February 10
Matthew 5:5
“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.”


I admire the beauty, strength, and unbridled passion of a wild horse.  I think there’s something in all of us that wants to be like that.  At least I hope so.

No one wants to live life with a weak, defeated, too tame attitude. It’s important that your spirit, along with your passion, your strength, and your desire to run the race are not broken. On the other hand, an unbridled horse is of little use.  It can even be dangerous. So how do we keep the fire alive without crushing the spirit? How do we live with total abandon without being insensitive or hurting those we love?

The Greeks used an interesting word to describe the taming of a wild horse:  meekness.  The objective was to break the horse’s will, to capture that energy and power, but never break its spirit.

This is the same word Jesus used when He said a curious thing:  “The meek shall inherit the earth.”  This shocked many of His followers.  Meekness was contrary to what they were looking for in a Messiah.  They sought to conquer the earth through military and political domination.  They desired wealth acquired through hard work, self-assurance, and self-assertion.  They misunderstood meekness.

Picture a majestic, black stallion, pawing the ground as it breathes through flared nostrils.  You can tell how restless and anxious it is to escape.  You can’t get near it, but you are fascinated by it.  It is powerful and charged with energy and reminds you of the horses who bore the knights of the roundtable, the princes and princesses in fairy tales, and the cowboys of the wild west.

It takes great skill to break a horse’s will without destroying its spirit. A horse with no spirit has desire or stamina to go to battle. But a horse that has learned to respond to every signal and nudge, is a treasure and can be allowed to run to its full potential. 

When Jesus calls us to meek, He is not calling us to be weak. He wants to break our stubborn wills (no one ever suffered from a broken will)—but Jesus never broke anyone’s spirit.  He is the One who revives and strengthens our spirits (John 6:63).  He longs for us to be so in tune with Him, that a sign or word will sharpen our spiritual senses and turn us in the right direction, to be used to our fullest potential.



February 11
Colossians 1:21-22
“Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior.  But now He has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in His sight, without blemish and free from accusation...”

“Alienated from God,” implies isolation, loneliness, and a deep sense of not belonging.  Separated from God, looking from afar at Him as an enemy rather the Father who loves you is a terrible, lonely place to be.  The late Princess Diana is quoted as once saying that loneliness is the worst affliction human beings can suffer.  This from a woman beloved and surrounding by thousands of people, and yet for her own reasons, she understood loneliness.

Ephesians 4:19 tells us, “They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.”  The ultimate loneliness is to be separated from the life of God, not knowing all that He has for us, not knowing His people and the love and support available to us when we are part of God’s family.

God understands our need to be connected to other people.  That is why He invented fellowship!  That’s why a church can serve as a family for those who have no one else to love them.

Don’t let yourself be alienated from God.  That’s why Jesus died —to reconcile all of us to the God who loves us, and to give us a group of people, however imperfect, to love us and to be loved by us.


“When Christ said: ‘I was hungry and you fed me,’ He didn't mean only the hunger for bread and for food; He also meant the hunger to be loved. Jesus Himself experienced this loneliness. He came amongst His own and His own received Him not, and it hurt Him then and it has kept on hurting Him. The same hunger, the same loneliness, the same having no one to be accepted by and to be loved and wanted by. Every human being in that case resembles Christ in His loneliness; and that is the hardest part, that's real hunger.”  —Mother Teresa


February 12
1 John 4:8
"Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love." (NIV)

This is the week of love, of Valentines and flowers for some, and reminders of loneliness for others.

The apostle John simplified everything when he stated, "God is love." But sometimes we misunderstand the nature of that love. If you believe in Jesus, you might regard your relationship with Him as an invitation you once answered when He knocked on the door of your life, and you let Him in. Now you're a Christian. Simple. But it shouldn't stop there. We're not supposed to just start going to church, put a Bible on the coffee table, and figure, OK, took care of that. I'm right with God. That's not love experienced!

A life that knows true love is filled with a multitude of invitations, because of the nature of love. Love is a living relationship that never remains exactly the same, but grows deeper, more intimate, more secure. We can never get enough of it, and we will never come to the end of it, because God Himself, the Author of love, is infinite and His love knows no limits.

Every day, in a variety of ways, the Lord comes knocking on the door of your heart. Through circumstances, people, new opportunities, a change of venue, the beauty of nature, and sometimes through heartache and tragedy—God gives us the chance to experience and live through His love in a new way, everyday.

Don't miss your daily invitation to grow deeper in God's love. Seek Him in His Word. Look for Him in the faces of the people around you. Accept the hard things, as part of what makes you a deeper, more compassionate person. Give the love God gives to you away, freely, abundantly, wisely, and with a grateful heart.


"There is a land of the living and a land of the dead and the bridge is love..." —Thornton Wilder

"Love is caught, not taught. One heart burning with love sets another on fire. The church was built on love; it proves what love can do." —Frank Laubach

February 13
1 Peter 4:8
“Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.”

Extreme love.  Love so great that it makes up for not just a few sins—but a multitude!  And you know, we are not forced to live in this extreme stratosphere of love.  But we are invited to.

Jesus initiated extreme love.  First He taught His followers, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends” (John 15: 13), then He did it—and more so.  As He hung on the cross, He had few friends left to witness His suffering.  But He hung there anyway.  He died for his friends, and for those who hated Him, who misunderstood His purpose, and who were lost in sin and hardness of heart.  “While we were still sinners,” He died for us, so that we can know love.  We are invited to experience it, to live it, to demonstrate it in our own lives.

Love is the most potent emotion and power in all of creation.  It is love, after all, that motivated Creation, forgiveness, redemption, and eternal life for mankind.  Extreme love, when accepted gratefully, gives us extreme lives, full of purpose, meaning, sacrifice, and ultimate love. 

Hebrews chapter eleven is a partial list of daring individuals who chose to live in extreme love.  They are as varied a group of people as you will ever encounter, and they laid the foundation for our faith.   They were judges and farmers, rulers and prostitutes, prophets and parents. They shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of flames, escaped the edge of the sword; their weaknesses were turned to strength; they fought battles, and saw their dead raised to life.  Some were tortured, some faced jeers and flogging, others were chained in prison. They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated.  They lived in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground. They were commended for their faith...and God declared that the world was not worthy of them.

Now that’s extreme living.

“You can give without loving, but you cannot love without giving.” —Amy Carmichael

February 14
1 Corinthians 13

Today, please read the following verses, think about them, and purpose in your heart to apply them to your life.  They may be new to you, or familiar words you’ve read many times.  Either way, today you can make them new in your life. This passage says it all.  It may be the best description of love, and the way we should treat one another ever penned.

“If I could speak in any language in heaven or on earth but didn't love others, I would only be making meaningless noise like a loud gong or a clanging cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I knew all the mysteries of the future and knew everything about everything, but didn't love others, what good would I be? And if I had the gift of faith so that I could speak to a mountain and make it move, without love I would be no good to anybody. If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn't love others, I would be of no value whatsoever.

Love is patient and kind.
Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude.
Love does not demand its own way.
Love is not irritable, and it keeps no record of when it has been wronged.
It is never glad about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

Love will last forever, but prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will all disappear.

Now we know only a little, and even the gift of prophecy reveals little!
But when the end comes, these special gifts will all disappear.
It's like this: When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child does. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. Now we see things imperfectly as in a poor mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God knows me now.
There are three things that will endure: faith, hope, and love.

But the greatest of these is love.”

(1 Corinthians 13, New Living Translation)


February 15
Romans 8:18
“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”

I’ve often thought, there’s really nothing so glorious about suffering.  Nothing good about the indignities of growing old or being sick or having your heart broken.  As a pastor, I’ve watched hundreds of people suffer. I’ve listened to families weep over a child’s death.  I’ve watched beloved friends die the slow and agonizing death of cancer.  I’ve felt my own heartache through the loss of an infant son and dear brother. 

There are days when I shake my head and close my eyes tight to stop the tears and wonder what can ever be so “glorious” that it will make all this seem so insignificant.  Did the apostle Paul know what he was talking about?  Did he really understand pain and suffering?  Or is this just a nice, religious platitude thrown as a bone to the spiritually and intellectually weak?  And how does suffering translate to glory?

When a close friend suffered through cancer, it was painful, discouraging and faith challenging.  There were days when we could barely recognize her.  Her suffering changed her, stripping her of her usual good humor and upbeat attitude.  She was forced to consider her faith and her perceptions of God. 

And she did.  She clung to Jesus through the ordeal, and in the end, died with grace and dignity and words of love on her lips for her friends and family. When all was stripped away, she was reduced to her love for the Lord and her family and friends.  I thought, that’s how I want to be. 

God’s Word promises us that through the path of suffering there is gold—but it is a gold not easily mined and purified.  When God’s Word is hidden in our hearts, when it cleanses our souls, renews our minds, and inspires our lives, we can overcome anything.  We can suffer and yet know joy.  We can know what my friend and countless others who have gone before us now know for certain:

 “In all things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.  For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth nor any created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39).

February 16
Colossians 2:1
“I want you to know how much I am struggling for you...”

Was Paul bragging or trying to get credit for his hard labor to the church?  No, I believe Paul was trying to communicate how bonded he felt to his fellow believers, how much he valued them and what he was willing to do for them, out of love.

The unity we have in Jesus is far stronger than most of us realize.  As Christians, our identities should lie in the fact that by faith, we have been buried with Jesus, raised together by Jesus, and made alive together with Him.  While Paul was certainly a strong advocate of sound doctrine, he didn’t allow small issues to divide him from other believers.  Instead, he followed Jesus’ example, and demonstrated a willingness to lay his life down for his friends.

In talking about his struggles, Paul used the word “agon” from which we get the word “agony.”  This word was used by the Greeks for their Olympic games, to describe how the athletes agonized in wrestling and footraces, and agonized to win. When Paul talked about agonizing, he was saying he was fighting for the Colossians with everything he had!

Earlier in his letter to the Colossians, he said, “Christ in you, the hope of glory...To this end I labor....” Paul stretched his spiritual muscles the way a Greek runner trained for a race.  He did it for love, for unity, for Jesus.  What a better use of the energy and gifts God gives us, than tearing each other apart and finding reasons for division.  Jesus suffered for us, and those, like Paul, who followed Him, agonized for His body of believers. 

“I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you.” —Jesus, John 17, (NIV)

“In necessary things, unity; in doubtful things, liberty; in all things, charity.”
Augustine


February 17
Colossians 2:2
“My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love...”

I think when people are encouraged they are more likely to be united and generous toward one another in actions and in spirit.   Our English word for “encourage” means “with heart.”  So to encourage someone is to give that person a new heart—a new sense of courage, strength or the ability to carry on.

Shallow sentimentalism can actually make people feel worse.  Most of our lives don’t turn out like Hallmark specials.  But genuine, spiritual encouragement brings out the best in people and can help all of us get through hard trials, or just daily living.  Paul is stating in the verse above that his purpose for ministering to people was to encourage them.  If we all made that our daily purpose, to encourage at least one person, to offer real, selfless love, to care about the people we meet, then we earn the right to share our faith and we make a difference in people’s lives.

My wife and I had a friend once, an older woman who has since gone to heaven.  But while she was with us, I watched how she encouraged people just about every time I was around her.   Strangers, friends, family—anyone who came her way.  She took the time to ask about their lives, to care about their interests, and to encourage their gifts.  The Lord opened many doors for her to share her Christian faith, and people responded, because they knew she genuinely cared, and felt so encouraged in her presence.


"Flatter me, and I may not believe you. 
Criticize me, and I may not like you. 
Ignore me, and I may not forgive you. 
Encourage me, and I may not forget you." 
—William Arthur Ward

February 18
Colossians 2:2-3
“...being knit together in love, and attaining to all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the knowledge of the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”

A favorite talk show host of mine, Dennis Prager, is also a Jewish teacher and philosopher.  Recently he said on the air that he didn’t believe people were meant to be alone, to tough out life by themselves.  As evidence, he cited Genesis, where God takes a look at Adam and pronounces, “It is not good that man should be alone.”  So God provided Adam with a companion.  It is reasonable to assume that God intends for all of us to go through life with companions: spouses, family, and certainly brothers and sisters in the faith.  Without these people in our lives, we will never completely understand all that God has for us.

The true depth of understanding comes when our hearts are bound together in love.  A mere intellectual understanding of Jesus will not bring a full understanding of the mystery of God, because much of what God desires for us to know—the “hidden treasures of wisdom and knowledge”— comes from the love we give to one another, and the maturing that occurs as we learn to deny ourselves and care for others.

Love teaches us the “riches of understanding.”  We cannot pursue a knowledge of God in willful, unloving isolation.  A complete understanding of the mystery of God comes with being part of a loving community of believers.

If you are attempting to live your life without fellowship, I encourage you to seek out companions who share your faith, and who can encourage you, love you, and with whom you can share the mysteries and knowledge of God.

February 19
 Proverbs 4:5
“Get wisdom...”

 “Get wisdom,” the wise man wrote. I can think of nowhere else in the Bible where we are told to go get a godly virtue.

How?  James 1:5 promises straightforwardly, “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.”  Wisdom is a gift God wants to give us – and we need it. Wisdom prevents us from making poor choices, gives us the tools to get through difficult circumstances, provides the insight to learn from our mistakes, and helps us discover purpose and direction for our lives.  That’s quite a gift.

But is it really that easy?  Jesus said, “Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?” (Matthew 7:9-10). So if you ask for wisdom from your heavenly Father, you can be sure He will give it to you. Period.  But He also wants us to understand the process. “Consider it pure joy,” James also wrote, “whenever you face trials of many kinds, because the testing of your faith develops perseverance... so that you may be mature and complete...”

Wisdom is like salvation.  While God gives us the gift of salvation and eternal life the moment we ask, He also has a plan for maturing us in the faith.  He allows us time to “work out our own salvation with fear and trembling...for it is God who works in us...” (Philippians 2:2-13).

God not only gives us wisdom “generously” and immediately, but He also develops wisdom in our lives through a maturing process—that may include trials and times of testing.  But if the result is to grow wiser, to be able to handle life with more confidence and strength, then, as the apostle said, count it all joy!

“Wisdom rises upon the ruins of folly.” —Thomas Fuller
February 20
 1 Peter 1:6-7
“In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith--of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire--may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.”

Can the soul grow larger through suffering? And how does suffering change us?

The early apostles, in order to teach the reality of their faith, learned to embrace the grief and struggles of the people to whom they ministered.  Through their own sufferings, they learned the compassion of Jesus.

Gerald Sittser suffered a catastrophic loss when his family was killed in a car accident.  He wrote, “Catastrophic loss by definition precludes recovery.  It will transform us or destroy us, but it will never leave us the same.  There is no going back to the past...It is not true that we become less through loss—unless we allow the loss make us less, grinding our soul down until there is nothing left.  Loss can also make us more...I did not get over my loved ones; rather I absorbed the loss into my life until it became a part of who I am. Sorrow took up permanent residence in my soul and enlarged it...one learns the pain of others by suffering one’s own pain...However painful, sorrow is good for the soul...The soul is elastic, like a balloon. It can grow larger through suffering.”

Our faith is more precious to the Lord than gold.  He loves us with compassion, with tender mercy.  He knows that we live in a world that will hurt us at some point, in some way.   But He also promises that our pain will produce something fine in our lives; that it will enlarge our souls, and allow us to share the love and compassion we earn with others who suffer.

1. Gerald L. Sittser, “A Grief Disguised:  How the Soul Grows Through Loss” (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1995), p. 18.

February 21

Colossians 2:10
“...you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.”

A little mingling of eastern mysticism, astrology, some philosophy, and finally, religious legalism, and you have a deadly mix.  Deadly to the soul, deadly to the spirit.  This particular combination has tried to undermine the faith of believers since the earliest days of the church. 

Albert Camus once wrote, “Truth, like light, blinds.  Falsehood, on the contrary, is a beautiful twilight that enhances every object.”  The early apostles warned believers about persuasive opponents who twist the truth with “twilight” delusions.  Every generation of believers faces new assaults on their faith, and wrestles with their own questions, doubts, and discoveries.  But to those who are well founded in the Word and growing spiritually, this is not threatening—it is a healthy part of growth!  Ultimately, an honest seeker of the truth will discover what the apostle Paul said in today’s verse: we are complete in Jesus, and He is the head of all the powers and philosophies and ideas floating around out there.  He is the ultimate fulfillment of our search for the truth.

The false answers that attract people are not based on a realistic  understanding of human sin, human brokenness or human weakness.  Therefore, they never really address the real problem that plagues human beings, and they offer no real hope of forgiveness or redemption.  Those who fill themselves only with themselves will always remain full of themselves—but lacking the opportunity to grow, to give, to find meaning and purpose in life.

Redemption is the great gift of God to us through Jesus.  Our lives, with all our mistakes, foolish choices, and sin can start over, with purpose and meaning...complete.

“Christ was a complete man.” Augustine of Hippo

February 22
Mark 9:24
“Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!"

I feel for the despairing father who cried out these words to Jesus. His admission of unbelief had nothing to do with doctrine, or creeds or the things we tend to nitpick over. Neither did his declaration of “I believe!” He was a man conflicted over the deadly illness of his son.   It was about his son, a boy who was dying. As he watched over his sick and possessed child, and realized he could lose him—with no one to help, not even the disciples—he admitted what’s true for all of us in the crises of life.  We are a mixture of belief and unbelief.

I think most believers...believe!  We accept the truth of God’s existence and we cling to the hope of His love.  But there are times when faith is hard to grasp, hard to feel, difficult to see.  So we wrestle with our mixed emotions.  What this man did right, was to be honest, and to ask his God, who loves us, for help.

Have you ever felt like you had to throw off the pretense, the carefully protected image of “good Christian” or “faithful churchgoer” and declared in total honesty, “Help me with my unbelief”?  By including this story in the Gospels, the Lord is giving us permission to do just that.  This desperate father knew where to turn life when the person he loved most on earth, his beloved son, was in danger. He had that much belief.  His emotions, his fears, and his natural love for his son may have interfered with that belief, but
he knew where to turn for help.

Jesus was quick to relieve him.  He healed the man’s son, and taught His disciples the power of prayer.  He demonstrated once again His unfailing love.

“We both believe and disbelieve a hundred times an hour, which keeps faith nimble.” —Emily Dickinson

February 23
Exodus 20:21
"Moses drew near the thick darkness where God was."

Moses, the friend of God, once encountered the Lord in a burning bush, and later in a cloud. Now, he was bidden to approach the unapproachable, to meet God in the darkness.

Everything we see in this world as light is darkness, compared to the presence of God. The light in which God dwells might as well be dark, so blinding and unapproachable is it to us. In order for us to "see" God, to experience His presence, many of us must pass through the "dark night of the soul," dying to this world, and to ourselves. Only then can we be born again and awaken to the spiritual world.

St. John of the Cross divides this "night" into three stages, a parallel to nighttime.

The first part, our senses, is comparable to DUSK, the point at which things begin to fade from sight, and we find ourselves slipping away from the light, away from the Lord, away from reality. Truth becomes obscured, while long shadows of compromise, doubt, or pain dim our vision, and life begins to take on a dull, empty feeling. The more one tries to find satisfaction through senses, the more dull the senses become. Life becomes a twilight existence.

The second stage is faith, comparable to MIDNIGHT, or total darkness. Darkness might be appealing for awhile, because it conceals things we don't want to see. But it also makes us aware of even the smallest sliver of light. Likening midnight to faith might seem odd until you think about the Bible's definition of faith: "The substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen" (Hebrews 11:1). The things we can't see are often of God. Areas where He is working, unknown to us. Prayers that are being answered in ways we don't understand. In our darkest hour, we learn to trust the only source of light that is real. Jesus, the light of the world.

Finally, thank the Lord for DAWN, the final stage. Dawn is God. Dawn breaks once again in our lives as we emerge from the darkness of a deep trial or depression, knowing that through it all, God was there. Once again we can experience gratitude, love, and peace as His spirit washes over our souls like the break of a new day.

If you find yourself living through the "dark night of the soul," please be encouraged that God is there, waiting in the dark, and His love and constant presence will carry you back into the light.

1.    Peers, E, Allison, ed., “Dark Night of the Soul,” by St. John of the Cross (New York, NY:  Image Books, 1959).

February 24
John 3:3
“Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."

Late one night, under the cover of darkness, a well educated religious leader sought out Jesus of Nazareth, a somewhat controversial itinerant preacher of His time. 

“Rabbi,” Nicodemus addressed Him, “we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do the things You do unless God is with him.”

Nicodemus respected Jesus, and had drawn certain conclusions about Him.  He acknowledged Him as a good teacher, and even as someone capable of miracles.

Just a few verses above this story, the Bible says of Jesus that “He knew all men, and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man” (John 2:25).  Jesus knew what was in Nicodemus’ heart.  He didn’t waste any time with philosophical discussions or polite conversation.  He got right to the point:  “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

This is the first time in recorded history that the phrase “born again” is used in this way.  It’s a phrase that has been dragged through the media, maligned, made fun of, and often completely misunderstood.  It even left Nicodemus, the theologian, baffled.  He somewhat satirically asked Jesus, “How can a man be born when he is old?  Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”

So Jesus explained it to him this way: “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.  Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’”

Nicodemus’ mind must have been reeling as he tried to think this through. With all his knowledge and intellectual prowess, he was still no doubt wondering to himself, “What does this have to do with me?” as he blurted out, “How can these things be?”

Jesus gently chided him, saying, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things?”

In other words, you can be a very religious person, well-versed in religious philosophy and knowledge—maybe even a leader in your church or temple.  Yet with all those credentials, you can still be ignorant of the one essential condition stipulated by Jesus for entering the Kingdom of God.

It’s so logical, when you think about how Jesus explained it.  “That which is born of flesh is flesh.”  There are over five billion people on this planet, and we all got here one way—and one way only.  We were all born “of the flesh.”  Each of us came from our mother’s womb.

But there is another, spiritual, invisible world, which is all around us.  It is inhabited by spiritual beings, like angels, and it is where the Kingdom of God resides.  There is only one way to enter into this world as well.  “That which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”  You must be spiritually born into it. You must be born again, by the Spirit of God.

Jesus met Nicodemus face to face.  He challenged his mind and his intellect.  Now He gets to the heart of the matter, found in that familiar verse, John 3:16:
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” 

That’s what it means to be born again.  By the Holy Spirit of God, we have the opportunity to pass from death to life.  We are no longer bound by this world and its constraints.  We will not perish.  Our sin, our pain, our misery, the heartaches and failures that torment us and taunt us are now subject to a new order, to a new, eternal, life in the Kingdom of God.

February 25
Colossians 2: 16-17
“Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.”

What we eat and drink, how we celebrate – or don’t celebrate--a holiday or even the Sabbath are not the criteria for salvation or a standard by which we measure our spirituality—or any reflection of our relationship with God.  “Don’t let anyone judge you!” Paul says.

A particular diet will not make me closer to God or more righteous.  While there were good physical reasons for the Hebrew dietary law, just as there are sound reasons for healthy eating today, they were not the basis for spiritual maturity.  Interestingly, the Scripture doesn’t say “Forbid people from special diets or special days....” Rather, it says, “Don’t let anyone judge you either way.” There is great liberty in what Christians can do!  We can keep days and diets—or not.

The point is, laws and Sabbath rules, special offerings are not bad.  In fact, they are usually good. They just aren’t the real thing.  They were shadow of things to come. 

Jesus is the real thing.  He is the fulfillment of all the laws.  He is “the fullness of the Godhead.”  He is the alpha and omega.  He is everything we need to know the depth of God’s love and the key to abundant living—and He is available with just a prayer.


“Where the Spirit of the Lord, is, there is liberty.” —2 Corinthians 3:17

“The God who gave us life gave us liberty at the same time.” —Thomas Jefferson

February 26
Colossians 3:2
“Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.”

Our feet may walk this earth, and gravity keeps us physically anchored, but to live healthy, spiritually whole lives, our minds must be in heaven!  This means that in our practical, everyday lives, we can set our minds to approach people, our jobs, our daily tasks with a perspective that reflects God’s perspective. 

“Set your mind” is almost an order.  Study God’s Word, pray, draw close to the Lord, and allow the Him to pull you back up from the daily grind to see things from above.  Put your life in perspective as you see the bigger picture, the long view, and realize that the hassles of today will be old news in a short period of time.  They do not need to consume your thoughts and dictate your state of mind.  The Bible also says that we are raised up by God to sit in heavenly places with Jesus (Ephesians 2:6).  If we can set our minds to sit there everyday with Jesus, immersed in His love, then what a different view of earth, of people, and of life we will enjoy!


“If you read history, you will find that the Christians who did the most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next.” —C.S. Lewis

February 27
Hiding Place
Colossians 3:3
“You died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”

Hidden. Safe, secure, sheltered from the world.  The paradox of the Christian life is that we die to live, and we hide to let our lights shine.  When we abide in Christ, and grow deeper in our relationship with Him, we are hidden in a way that protects our souls from danger.  We are in Christ, and nothing, not even Satan himself, can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.

The world can look at Christians and identify them culturally and demographically. In the first century, the followers of Jesus were identified as Christians for the first time (Acts 11:26).  The world knew who they were, but it did not really KNOW them. Their lives were hidden from the world because they didn’t know Jesus.
Believers, who can be outwardly recognized by their traditions and activities, carry in their hearts the only power available to mankind for redemption and renewal. On this earth, the treasure of God is hidden in earthen vessels, so that “the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us (2 Corinthians 4:7). God hides us, and hides in us, only to shine even brighter when He is allowed to work in and through our lives.

Corrie ten Boom and her family hid Jews from the Nazis during World War II.  They created a hiding place for God’s children. When they were caught, and sent to concentration camps, Corrie found her own hiding place in the Lord in the midst of death, horror and the loss of her beloved family members.  She lived to share her family’s story, of God hidden in their lives, loving His people through them, and of them hidden in Him, finding the only solace possible in such horrific times.

Whatever your circumstances, God invites you to be tucked away in His love, protected, cared for, and strengthened to face whatever the world throws at you.

“You are my hiding place; You shall preserve me from trouble; You shall surround me with songs of deliverance.” Psalm 32:7

February 28
Colossians 3:5
“Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.”

What a violent description!  “Put to death...” When Paul writes to us about what it means to be a disciple of Jesus, his teaching is always followed by a call to LIVE IT OUT!  “ As a prisoner for the Lord,” he also wrote, “I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received” (Ephesians 4:1).

It is hard to conquer the lusts of our flesh.  That’s why Paul used such a violent metaphor.  To shed the scales of our lower natures requires resistance, and the sacrifice of effort.  We live in a very soft society, but the Lord wants us to be healthy and strong spiritually, and that requires us to stretch and strain.  The wonderful thing is, that God gives us the grace to do this, because He knows we cannot do it on our own.  He provides the power and comfort of the Holy Spirit to help us in the spiritual battle against the sin that desires to destroy us.

When the apostles wrote of sensuality and materialism controlling us in harmful ways, we are told to slay them. Sexual sin is one example.  Sexual desire is built into our genes and is not evil in itself.  But the moral indifference of our culture (and others before us) has fueled uncontrolled erotic passion, misguided sexual desire, and destructive behavior—which breed unintended and harmful, hurtful consequences.  God gave us something to give us pleasure; sin ruins it and turns it into pain—and often the people who suffer the most are innocent children and unsuspecting loved ones.

Greed is last in the list above, and greed, contrary to a line in a famous movie, is not good. Greed is the ruthless belief that everything, including other people, exists for my personal pleasure and purpose.  Greed turns our desires into idols, which we obsess over and worship for what they can do for us.  The irony is, that we are wired by God to have healthy, holy desires what He longs to fulfill in an abundant life—but selfish, evil desires will never be satisfied and will leave us hungering for more.

Again, the paradox of the Christian life.  “Put to death...” all that is not of God in our lives, so that we may truly live.


“Sometimes we don't need another chance to express how we feel or to ask someone to understand our situation. Sometimes we just need a firm kick in the pants. An unsmiling expectation that if we mean all these wonderful things we talk about and sing about, then let’s see something to prove it.” --Dietrich Bonhoeffer