USEFUL BREATH IS ON PAUSE

 

IMPORTANT NEWS FOR USEFUL BREATH SUBSCRIBERS:  

This is the final post on this blog for awhile. It might even be the final post. Time will tell.

Please visit https://www.valleycc.org/bible-helps.html to find new resources to help you with reading and understanding scripture. 



I’ve been posting this blog every day since October 2006. I hope it is has been a help and encouragement to the many readers who have joined me over the years. Thanks for your support and participation.



The blog will continue to stay online and you can find specific passages of Scripture by using the search bar.

I may turn the blog into a two-year daily devotional book. We'll see if that happens.

Dave Burkum

Never Having Enough

Today's Reading:
Ecclesiastes 4:1-6:12
Hebrews 11:17-31
Psalm 132:1-18 
Click on Text Link to Read Online

Focus Verses: Ecclesiastes 4:10-12
10 Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless. 11 As goods increase, so do those who consume them. And what benefit are they to the owners except to feast their eyes on them? 12 The sleep of a laborer is sweet, whether they eat little or much, but as for the rich, their abundance permits them no sleep.

Insight:
One by one, the writer of Ecclesiastes methodically dismantles the idols and false hopes of life. Money and possessions are among the meaningless things to love. Why love something that cannot satisfy? Why accumulate when there is never enough? Why make more to spend more? Don't treasures become junk once you realize they are nothing more than things to store or stare at? Who benefits? Who gets a better night's sleep—the person with nothing to lose or the person with an abundance of things to lose? What good is it to gain the whole world and lose your soul?

Response and Action:
I want to love and value the things that matter most. I want to put first the things that last. I want to live in a way that all I need is all I want. I will strive to be a good steward, I will not seek fulfillment in possessions. I will strive to be a hard worker, but I will not put my trust in wealth. I will do all I can to be a fruitful servant, but I will not expect things to give me joy. I will endeavor to be responsible in my financial affairs, but I will not waste time worrying about loss. I will give thanks for the many blessings and provision I enjoy, but I will not be deceived into thinking that life is about having an abundance of things.

O God, help me to be a good steward of all you have given me. Grant me the wisdom and the will to guard my heart, to feed my spirit, to stimulate my mind, and care for my body. Help me to seek first your kingdom and your righteousness. Help me to value and love the things worthy of value and love. Help me to love you with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength. Through Christ, I pray. Amen. 

Spiritual Formation Verses: 1 Timothy 6:9-10
 9 Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

Resources:
Breaking the Idols of Your Heart
by Dan Allender and Tremper Longman

Certainty and Hope

 Today's Reading:
Ecclesiastes 1:1-3:22
Hebrews 11:1-16
Psalm 131:1-3 
Click on Text Link to Read Online

Focus Verses: Hebrews 11:1-2
1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. 2 This is what the ancients were commended for.

Insight:
By faith, it is possible to have a certainty about how I see the world and where I place my hope. The story of faith recorded in the Scriptures includes many men and women who lived by faith. What they believed about God guided their choices and actions. Real faith looks beyond circumstances and the limitations of self. 

Hebrews 11:39-40 - "These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect."

People who have faith in God look beyond what they have received and what they are experiencing today. They believe that God has something better planned for humankind, and that he will be faithful to his promises.

Response and Action:
I will put my faith in God. I believe that God has something better planned for his people, something better for me, and something better for the world. I will follow the example of the long train of believers throughout history who have exemplified faith in God.

My faith in God, and confidence in his promises, will guide my actions and choices each day. I will live each day with a certainty about God's love and faithfulness.

O God, increase my faith. Help me to live out my faith in thought, word, and deed. Help me to gain insight, inspiration, and encouragement from examples of faith recorded in Scripture and throughout Christian history. Help me to look beyond what is seen and to grasp what is unseen and yet so real. May I, like the ancients of the faith, be commended one day for my steadfast confidence in you. Amen.

Spiritual Formation Verses: 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 
16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being  renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Resources:
Living Faith: A Guide to the Christian Life
by John Schwarz

Encourage Each Other

Today's Reading:
Job 40:1-42:17
Hebrews 10:18-39
Psalm 130:1-8 
Click on Text Link to Read Online

Focus Verses: Hebrews 10:23-25
23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. 25 Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Insight:
God is faithful and he will keep his promises made to us in Christ. Because I have professed faith in Christ, I will hold on tightly to the hope I have in him. Christian community should be a source of encouragement to all believers. It should also prompt us to grow in love and to do good deeds.

Response and Action:
I must hold on tightly to the hope I have in Jesus. I must live out my faith in the company of friends who also follow Jesus. Christian community is necessary for me. I will be actively involved in the fellowship of the Church. Christian friends can encourage me in my faith and spur me on to do good deeds. I, too, can be a source of godly encouragement and prompting for others.

O God, you are faithful to your promises. Help me to remember your promises and cling to the hope I have in you. Surround me with Christian friends who can encourage me and push me toward righteousness. Help me to be a source of encouragement and prompting for my Christian friends. Amen.

Spiritual Formation Verses: Romans 15:4-6
4 For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope. 5 May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, 6 so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Recommended Reading:
Encouragement: The Key to Caring
by Dr. Larry Crabb and Dr. Dan B. Allender

 

Hearts and Minds

 Today's Reading:
Job 37:1-39:30
Hebrews 10:1-17
Psalm 129:1-8 
Click on Text Link to Read Online

Focus Verses: Hebrews 10:14-17 
14 For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy. 15 The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says: 16 “This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their  minds.” 17 Then he adds: “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more."

Insight:
The sacrifices of the Jewish priesthood had to be repeated over and over because they were only about forgiveness and repentance. The sacrifice of Christ Jesus was about forgiveness from sin, and it was also about something even greater—transformation and freedom from our bondage to sin. The priesthood of Christ brought more than forgiveness; it brought the possibility of new life.

By the power and grace of the Spirit of Christ, we can now escape from our fallen obligation to sin. Instead of trying to keep a law that is external and contrary to our nature, the Christ-follower has the will and the ways of God engraved upon their hearts and written in their minds. Because our nature is changed, we can be renovated from the inside out. We experience more than forgiveness; we experience transformation.

Response and Action:
My faith in Christ is about more than forgiveness. I look to the power and grace of his Holy Spirit to change me. I do not look to him for new rules and special insights to pursue in my own strength. Rather, I look to him for the transformation of my heart and mind. I want to have a heart and mind that are inclined toward the ways of Christ. The holiness and wholeness of my life must flow out from the change I am experiencing in the deepest parts of my being. I want more than forgiveness for my past; I desire strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow.

O God, help me to live for you and through you in thought, word, and deed. Help me to love you with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength. By the power and grace of your Holy Spirit, lead, teach, shape, and strengthen me that I might delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your name.  Thank you for Jesus who makes forgiveness possible. Thank you, even more, that he makes change and new life possible. Thank you for the new and living way he has opened for us. It's in his name that I pray. Amen.

Spiritual Formation Verses: Romans 8:12-13
12 Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. 13 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.

Recommended Reading:
Renovation of the Heart: Putting on the Character of Christ
by Dallas Willard

Once for All

 Today's Reading:
Job 34:1-36:33
Hebrews 9:11-28
Psalm 128:1-6 
Click on Text Link to Read Online

Focus Verses: Hebrews 9:23-28
23 It was necessary, then, for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. 24 For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God's presence. 25 Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. 26 Then Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27 Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, 28 so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.

Insight:
While many things before Jesus (the tabernacle, ceremonial washings, offerings, feast days, the temple, sacrifices, Passover) pointed to God's plan and desire to save the world from sin, Jesus himself is God's plan. Jesus is not another symbol or message about the salvation God has in mind for the world and mankind; Jesus actually is that plan. All those other things were preparing the way and pointing to him.

Response and Action:
My faith is in Jesus the Christ. I believe that he takes away the sins of the world through his sacrifice on the cross. The cross is much more than a symbol of God's love. Jesus’ sacrifice is God's love in action. Through Christ's death, the separation from God caused by my sins has been taken away. I will praise Christ Jesus, the Lamb of God, my redeemer, and my salvation. I long for his appearing on the final day when my salvation will be fully realized.

Lord Jesus, you are worthy of my praise, my life, and my all. You were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. I will give you my worship and honor and glory and power, forever and ever! I look for the resurrection and the life of the world to come. Amen.

Spiritual Formation Verses: Isaiah 53:6 
6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. 

Recommended Reading:
The Cross of Christ
by John R. W. Stott

Unless the Lord Builds the House

 Today's Reading:
Job 31:1-33:33
Hebrews 9:1-10
Psalm 127:1-5 
Click on Text Link to Read Online

Focus Verses: Psalm 127:1-2
1 Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain. 2 In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat—for he grants sleep to those he loves.

Insight:
As the Israelites climbed the road to Jerusalem for feast days and sang these songs, they remembered what it must have been like for the first generation who returned to Jerusalem after the exile (Ps. 126). They thought of how joyous and unbelievable it must have been for the children of those who had seen Jerusalem destroyed to one day return and rebuild it.

The returning exiles knew the consequences of turning away from God. They had seen their houses destroyed, and understood the futility of the things accomplished in their own strength. Psalm 127 was the perfect song to sing after Psalm 126. Those who know the futility and destruction of turning away from God can wisely declare: "Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain."

Response and Action:
I want to begin today with a Psalm 126 perspective--to look back at the foolish ambitions and efforts of my past, and to rejoice in the ways God faithfully continues to lead me out of those failures into a joyful and hopeful future.

I will give careful consideration to the things I work on today. Am I building something that honors God? Am I giving myself to the work and purpose and direction God is leading me to do? Am I depending upon his guidance, strength, and provision, or am I wearing myself out by doing things for my own reasons, in my own way, and in my own strength?

I want my life to be a house that God is building. I want to find rest and peace and satisfaction in God's will and purpose. God is the builder of the life I want to live.

O God, help me to live for you and through you in thought, word, and deed. Help me to turn away from what is wrong, and to do what is right. Help me to love you with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength. By the power and grace of your Holy Spirit, lead, build, provide, and sustain my life. Help me to delight in your will, and to walk in your ways, to the glory of your name. Through Christ, Amen.

Spiritual Formation Verses: Luke 14:28-30
28 "Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? 29 For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, 30 saying, 'This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.'

Recommended Reading:
A Long Obedience in the Same Direction
by Eugene Peterson

Written on Their Hearts

 Today's Reading:
Job 28:1-30:31
Hebrews 8:1-13
Psalm 126:1-6 
Click on Text Link to Read Online

Focus Verses: Hebrews 8:10-12
10 This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 11 No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. 12 For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more."

Insight:
External laws are not able to transform the heart and mind that opposes and resists them. Because God desires to forgive our sins, make us his people, and be our God, he declares that he will put his laws in our minds and write them on our hearts. Instead of doing good things to become God's people, God will make us his people in order to help us do good things. This is the covenant he makes with all who place faith in Christ Jesus.

Response and Action:
I need to surrender my heart and mind to God. I should expect him to change me and guide me. I must meditate on the Scriptures and prayerfully ask God to help me apply them to my daily life. I can't settle for a "behavior modification" approach to following Christ; I need my heart and mind to be changed so that Christ-like behavior will flow out from what I am in Jesus.

O God, you are my rock and my salvation. Forgive my wickedness and forget my sins. Save me from the inside out. Heal and transform my heart and mind. Be my God, and make me one of your people. Make me new by the power of your Holy Spirit. Amen.

Spiritual Formation Verses: 2 Corinthians 3:17-18
17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

Resources:
Renovation of the Heart
by Dallas Willard

READING SCHEDULE: MAY 2-8

IMPORTANT NEWS FOR USEFUL BREATH SUBSCRIBERS:
As of Sunday May 9, the Useful Breath daily blog posts will be coming to an end. You are encouraged to visit https://www.valleycc.org/bible-helps.html to find new resources to help you with reading and understanding scripture. 



I’ve been posting this blog every day since October 2006. I hope it is has been a help and encouragement to the many readers who have joined me over the years. Thanks for your support and participation.



Dave Burkum

PS - I'd like to turn the blog into a two-year daily devotional book. We'll see if that happens. :-)

READING SCHEDULE & HELPS

SUNDAY
Job 28:1-30:31
Hebrews 8:1-13
Psalm 126:1-6

MONDAY
Job 31:1-33:33
Hebrews 9:1-10
Psalm 127:1-5

TUESDAY
Job 34:1-36:33
Hebrews 9:11-28
Psalm 128:1-6

WEDNESDAY
Job 37:1-39:30
Hebrews 10:1-17
Psalm 129:1-8

THURSDAY 
Job 40:1-42:17
Hebrews 10:18-39
Psalm 130:1-8

FRIDAY
Ecclesiastes 1:1-3:22
Hebrews 11:1-16
Psalm 131:1-3

SATURDAY
Ecclesiastes 4:1-6:12
Hebrews 11:17-31
Psalm 132:1-18

Never Having Enough

 Today's Reading:
Ecclesiastes 4:1-6:12
Hebrews 11:17-31
Psalm 132:1-18 
Click on Text Link to Read Online

Focus Verses: Ecclesiastes 4:10-12
10 Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless. 11 As goods increase, so do those who consume them. And what benefit are they to the owners except to feast their eyes on them? 12 The sleep of a laborer is sweet, whether they eat little or much, but as for the rich, their abundance permits them no sleep.

Insight:
One by one, the writer of Ecclesiastes methodically dismantles the idols and false hopes of life. Money and possessions are among the meaningless things to love. Why love something that cannot satisfy? Why accumulate when there is never enough? Why make more to spend more? Don't treasures become junk once you realize they are nothing more than things to store or stare at? Who benefits? Who gets a better night's sleep—the person with nothing to lose or the person with an abundance of things to lose? What good is it to gain the whole world and lose your soul?

Response and Action:
I want to love and value the things that matter most. I want to put first the things that last. I want to live in a way that all I need is all I want. I will strive to be a good steward, I will not seek fulfillment in possessions. I will strive to be a hard worker, but I will not put my trust in wealth. I will do all I can to be a fruitful servant, but I will not expect things to give me joy. I will endeavor to be responsible in my financial affairs, but I will not waste time worrying about loss. I will give thanks for the many blessings and provision I enjoy, but I will not be deceived into thinking that life is about having an abundance of things.

O God, help me to be a good steward of all you have given me. Grant me the wisdom and the will to guard my heart, to feed my spirit, to stimulate my mind, and care for my body. Help me to seek first your kingdom and your righteousness. Help me to value and love the things worthy of value and love. Help me to love you with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength. Through Christ, I pray. Amen. 

Spiritual Formation Verses: 1 Timothy 6:9-10
 9 Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

Resources:
Breaking the Idols of Your Heart
by Dan Allender and Tremper Longman

Unshakable Trust

 Today's Reading:
Job 23:1-27:23
Hebrews 7:18-28
Psalm 125:1-5 
Click on Text Link to Read Online

Focus Verses: Psalm 125:1-3 
1 Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever. 2 As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds his people both now and forevermore. 3 The scepter of the wicked will not remain over the land allotted to the righteous, for then the righteous might use their hands to do evil.

Insight:
The fifteen psalms called the "Psalms of Ascent" (Psalms 120 - 134) were to be sung when the children of Israel traveled to the Temple in Jerusalem (Mount Zion) three times a year to worship and celebrate the feast days prescribed in the Law of Moses. Christians have long considered these ancient pilgrimages to be a useful metaphor of their own spiritual journey and maturity (ascent) as followers of Christ.

As the people climbed the road to Jerusalem, and saw how it was surrounded by rugged and unshakable mountains, they sang praise to their God who surrounded them with his unshakable love and provision. They rejoiced in God's steadfast care, and put their hope in his promises.

Response and Action:
Though my journey to know and follow Jesus has been an uphill climb, I am trusting in God's enduring love. I believe he will keep his promises to those who worship him and seek his righteousness. I am surrounded by the unshakable love and care of my God who never sleeps or slumbers (Ps. 121). He watches over my life—my coming and my going—now and forever. I will celebrate and worship him today. I will live in hope, believing his promises to be faithful and true.

O God, I lift up my eyes to you, to you whose throne is in heaven. As the eyes of a child look to his mother, as the eyes of a captive look to his deliverer, as the eyes of the hungry look to their provider, and the eyes of a sinner look to the one who forgives, as the eyes of the broken look to the one who restores, as the eyes of the sick look to the one who heals, so my eyes look to Jesus Christ, my Lord and merciful Savior who lives and reigns with you, and the Holy Spirit, one God now and forever. Amen.

Spiritual Formation Verses: Hebrews 12:1-3
1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Resources:
A Long Obedience in the Same Direction
by Eugene Peterson
A wonderful book of meditations based on the Psalms of Ascent.

He Is Able to Save

 Today's Reading:
Job 20:1-22:30
Hebrews 7:1-17
Psalm 124:1-8 
Click on Text Link to Read Online

Focus Verses: Hebrews 7:23-25
23 Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office; 24 but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. 25 Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.

Insight:
Because Jesus has overcome death and lives forever, his priesthood is permanent and is therefore superior to any priesthood that preceded him.    The salvation he makes possible is complete and eternal. He died for us, and now lives for us. He is always pleading on our behalf before God.

Response and Action:
It's incredible to think that Jesus is forever interceding and advocating for all who are coming to God through faith in him. I want to be responsive to Christ's saving work in my life. I will follow him with  my whole heart and expect change and spiritual maturity, knowing that Jesus is able to save me completely.

King Jesus, thank you for your sacrifice. Thank you for interceding on my behalf. Thank you for saving me from the penalty of sin and the bondage to sin. By the power and grace of your Holy Spirit, lead, teach transform, shape, and strengthen me, that I might delight in your will and walk in your ways to the glory of your name. Amen.

Spiritual Formation Verses: Hebrews 4:14-15
14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.

Resources:
The Incomparable Christ
by John Stott

Thorns and Thistles

 Today's Reading:
Job 16:1-19:29
Hebrews 6:1-20
Psalm 123:1-4
Click on Text Link to Read Online

Focus Verses: Hebrews 6:4-9
4 It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, 6 if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace. 7 Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God. 8 But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned. 9 Even though we speak like this, dear friends, we are confident of better things in your case—things that accompany salvation. 

Insight:
It's very easy to miss the real point of this passage of scripture if we are sidetracked into a discussion about whether or not these verses say salvation can be lost. That's not an uninteresting subject or a bad conversation to have; it's just a distraction from the writer's main point—the things that accompany salvation.

Like land that produces a useful and blessed crop after it drinks in the falling rain, our lives should produce better things—a harvest of righteousness—once we have taken in the life-giving rain of salvation through Christ. If we are truly receiving the saving grace of God through faith in Christ, our lives will be transformed. We should expect better things—the things salvation produces. To be saved is to change and grow and produce a life that honors God, and is blessed by God.

Response and Action:
I want to experience transformation. With God's salvation and by his grace and power, I want to move toward better things. I want God's word and blessing in my life to produce fruit that gives witness to his salvation and power in my life. Through Christ, I will continually pursue righteousness and turn from sin. I will confidently expect change and growth in my life. I will not settle for a "taste" of heaven and the word; I will give every effort to experiencing the transformation salvation brings.

Thank you, God, for saving my soul. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for making me whole. Thank you, Holy Spirit, for giving to me your great salvation, so rich and free. Amen.

Spiritual Formation Verses: Romans 12:1-2
1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. 2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Resources:
Revolution of Character: Discovering Christ's Pattern for Spiritual Transformation
by Dallas Willard and Don Simpson

Solid Food for Maturity

Today's Reading:
Job 12:1-15:35
Hebrews 5:1-14
Psalm 122:1-9 
Click on Text Link to Read Online

Focus Verses: Hebrews 5:11-14
11 We have much to say about this, but it is hard to make it clear to you because you no longer try to understand. 12 In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid  food! 13 Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. 14 But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.

Insight:
Spiritual maturity requires a desire and an effort to understand. We must cultivate an appetite for deeper understanding. Deeper understanding will require chewing on things with more substance. The milk of elementary beliefs and ideas is a good starting point for being a Christian, but a willingness to wrestle through the bigger questions of life demands perseverance and effort. The simple things that nurture us in our Christian infancy are sweet and good, but we will need a much more nutritious and complex diet if we are to mature into Christians able to live out the gospel in a complicated and demanding world.

Response and Action:
My spiritual maturity requires my effort. A desire to grow is essential to growing. While I need to long for the pure spiritual milk that gets me started, I must not be content to live on milk alone. I must press forward for deeper things. I must wrestle with bigger questions. I must become more and more familiar with the scriptures. I must discuss and think and respond to more demanding aspects and concerns of what it means to follow Christ Jesus and live for him.

The way of spiritual maturity is more than a sweet and simple belief; it is a rigorous and demanding path that requires my best thinking, my deepest desire, and my wholehearted effort. Spiritual maturity results from more than belief and surrender; it requires diligent pursuit.

O God, give me a desire for maturity. By the power and grace of your Holy Spirit, lead, teach, transform, shape and strengthen me, that I might delight in your will and walk in your ways to the glory of your Name. Grant me the wisdom and the will to guard my heart, to feed my spirit, to stimulate my mind, and to care for my body. Help me to press on and to strain forward that I might know you more and more. Help me to take hold of the maturity and purpose you have in mind for me. Through Christ, I pray. Amen.

Spiritual Formation Verses: Philippians 3:13-14
13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Resources:
Life with God: Reading the Bible for Spiritual Transformation
by Richard Foster

 

God's Living and Active Word

Today's Reading:
Job 8:1-11:20
Hebrews 4:1-16
Psalm 121:1-8 
Click on Text Link to Read Online

Focus Verses: Hebrews 4:12-13
12 For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

Insight:
Nothing is hidden from God. God's word is alive and active; his truth is penetrating and able to cut to the heart of everything in creation. Even our thoughts and attitudes are an open book to God. God's truth must be heeded because we are all accountable to him.

Response and Action:
I recognize that God knows me better than I know myself. I will look to his word for guidance in my life. His word is able to help me see my own motives and attitudes. I will meditate on God's word and hide it in my heart. I will let the truth of God's word shape and direct me.

Almighty God, before you my heart is open, all my desires are known, and none of my secrets are hidden. Cleanse the thoughts of my heart by the power of your Holy Spirit. Guide me and teach me through your word. Help me to love you with my whole heart, and to live in your truth, that I might bring you glory. Amen.

Spiritual Formation Verses: Proverbs 16:1-3
1 To man belong the plans of the heart, but from the LORD comes the reply of the tongue. 2 All a man's ways seem innocent to him, but motives are weighed by the LORD. 3 Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed. 

Resources:
Life with God: Reading the Bible for Spiritual Transformation
by Richard Foster

 

Fix Your Thoughts on Jesus

 Today's Reading:
Job 4:1-7:21
Hebrews 3:1-19
Psalm 120:1-7 
Click on Texts to Read Online

Focus Verses: Hebrews 3:1, 12-14
1 Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess. … 12 See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. 13 But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness. 14 We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first.

Insight:
The writer of Hebrews encourages his Christian readers to fix their thoughts on Jesus, and to hold firmly to him in faith to the end. He warns them to not turn away from faith in the living God, and uses the story of the children of Israel wandering in the wilderness to illustrate his point. Their bodies fell in the desert, and they never entered into the promised land because of their unbelief.

Response and Action:
More than a mere warning, the Hebrew writer suggests two things I can do to cultivate enduring faith. 1) I must focus on Jesus. I should immerse myself in everything the scriptures tell me about Jesus -- his words, his actions, his promises, his mission, his teaching, his commands, his example, and his call to me. 2) I must be part of a Christian community that encourages and admonishes me in faith. I should seize every opportunity to stimulate and inspire others toward a deeper knowledge and experience of Christ. In my circle of Christian friends, we should be able to help each other identify and turn away from the deceitfulness of sin.

O God, you are my God, and I will ever praise you. I will seek you in the morning. I will learn to walk in your ways. Lead me step by step that I might follow you all of my days. Amen.

Spiritual Formation Verses: 1 John 1:5-7 
5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
 
Resources:
The Incomparable Christ
by John Stott