DECEMBER 2 Joyce Meyer Devotional
DON’T DREAD
The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. —HEBREWS 13:6
Dread is a close relative of fear. It anticipates the future with fear and apprehension. We are tempted to dread many things. We may dread simple daily chores such as getting up in the morning, driving to work in traffic, going to the grocery store, or doing the laundry. But we can just as easily believe we can fulfill these responsibilities with a good attitude, trusting God to give us the grace we need for each one. Dread not only steals joy; it also steals much-needed energy. We hear people say often, “I dread doing this or that,” but this is useless. They must do the task anyway, so why dread it? If we consistently verbalize our dread, our words will defeat us. We will do what we must, but we will be miserable while doing it. If you have given in to the temptation to dread things in the past, now is an opportune time to decide that you will have a happy attitude instead. We can and should all be thankful that we have something to do, that food is available for us to purchase, and that God gives us the ability and strength to take care of our possessions. Turn the table on the enemy (the devil) by finding the good in everything. Be positive, and think of what you do have, not what you don’t have. Make today a happy day by refusing to dread anything. “Father, help me not to dread the tasks I have to do. Thank You that I am able to do them and that I can ask for Your help, knowing that You are with me in everything I do. In Jesus’ name. Amen.”
DON’T MIND ME, I’M ONLY DYING SLOW
“Let each thing you would do, say or intend be like that of a dying person.” —MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 2.11.1
Have you ever heard some ask: “What would you do if you found out tomorrow that you had cancer?” The question is designed to make you consider how different life might be if you were suddenly given just a few months or weeks to live. There’s nothing like a terminal illness to wake people up. But here’s the thing: you already have a terminal diagnosis. We all do! As the writer Edmund Wilson put it, “Death is one prophecy that never fails.” Every person is born with a death sentence. Each second that passes by is one you’ll never get back. Once you realize this, it will have a profound impact on what you do, say, and think. Don’t let another day tick away in ignorance of the reality that you’re a dying person. We all are. Can today be the day we stop pretending otherwise?
December 2 Eyeslave Devotional
Read: Ezekiel 43-44; Philemon - Hebrews 2 Ezekiel 44:4-5
“Then brought he me the way of the north gate before the house: and I looked, and, behold, the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD: and I fell upon my face. 5And the LORD said unto me, Son of man, mark well, and behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears all that I say unto thee concerning all the ordinances of the house of the LORD, and all the laws thereof; and mark well the entering in of the house, with every going forth of the sanctuary.”
In the days of Ezekiel, it was a concern of God who it was that came into the temple and what their spiritual condition was. To me it seems the church today is so flippant on just who comes into our churches. In many places it is, “Come one, come all, come as you are and leave as you were.” Please understand that I am not against a sinner coming to check out your church, but we need to get back to understanding that the church is a place where holy people meet and that the prevailing attitude is one of worship toward a holy God. The more we disregard holiness, the more the standard of our churches will deteriorate until we do not pay much attention anymore to who it is that attends our churches. The begging and tricking that goes on today to get people to come into our churches has lowered the standard to such a point that the unrighteous feel downright comfortable, and if this is not corrected it won’t be long and the devil himself could show up. By then it may be too late for anyone to notice. December 3 Read: Ezekiel 45-46; Hebrews 3-4 Hebrews 3:13 “But exhort one another daily, while it is called Today; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.”
December 2 My Upmost For His Highest
Christian Perfection
“Not that I have already attained, or am already perfect . . .” Philippians 3:12
It is a trap to presume that God wants to make us perfect specimens of what He can do—God’s purpose is to make us one with Himself. The emphasis of holiness movements tends to be that God is producing specimens of holiness to put in His museum. If you accept this concept of personal holiness, your life’s determined purpose will not be for God, but for what you call the evidence of God in your life. How can we say, “It could never be God’s will for me to be sick”? If it was God’s will to bruise His own Son (Isaiah 53:10), why shouldn’t He bruise you? What shines forth and reveals God in your life is not your relative consistency to an idea of what a saint should be, but your genuine, living relationship with Jesus Christ, and your unrestrained devotion to Him whether you are well or sick. Christian perfection is not, and never can be, human perfection. Christian perfection is the perfection of a relationship with God that shows itself to be true even amid the seemingly unimportant aspects of human life. When you obey the call of Jesus Christ, the first thing that hits you is the pointlessness of the things you have to do. The next thought that strikes you is that other people seem to be living perfectly consistent lives. Such lives may leave you with the idea that God is unnecessary—that through your own human effort and devotion you can attain God’s standard for your life. In a fallen world this can never be done. I am called to live in such a perfect relationship with God that my life produces a yearning for God in the lives of others, not admiration for myself. Thoughts about myself hinder my usefulness to God. God’s purpose is not to perfect me to make me a trophy in His showcase; He is getting me to the place where He can use me. Let Him do what He wants.
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