Daily Might …

Daily Might
• Brief power-packed inspirational readings for every day

of the year!

• Encouragement, comfort, spiritual refreshment—the

extra boost you need to make the most of every day!

• Up-to-the-minute applications of Bible principles for

happy, successful living!

• Practical pointers to help you meet life’s challenges!

fuel for the soul

• Topical index!

“Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might”

(Ephesians 6:10).

I SBN 3 - 03730 - 158 - 9

Daily Might
A - E N - B A - D V- 0 0 5 - P [Link]
fuel for the soul
Daily Might

David Brandt Berg

Acknowledgments
Unless otherwise indicated, all Bible quotations in this
book are from the New King James Version, © 1982 Thomas
Nelson, Inc. References marked “KJV” are from the King
James Version of the Bible. References marked “TLB”
are from The Living Bible, © 1971 by Tyndale House
Publishers, Inc. References marked NIV are from the New
International Version, © 1973 International Bible Society.

ISBN 3–03730–158–9

Edited by Keith Phillips

Design by Giselle LeFavre

© 2004 Aurora Production AG, Switzerland

All Rights Reserved. Printed in Thailand.

Visit our Web site at [Link].

 Introduction

The Bible tells us “God is a Spirit” (John 4:24 KJV) and “God is
love” (1 John 4:8). Not only is He the all-powerful, everywhere-
present, eternal Spirit of love, but He is also our kind and
loving heavenly Father who created this beautiful world for us
to live in and enjoy.
God is far beyond our human understanding, but because He
loves us and wants us to know and love Him, He sent His Son
to us in the form of a man, Jesus Christ. Jesus came to show
us what God is like and to bring us to Him (John 3:16; 1 Peter
3:18). Jesus talked about love and showed love and lived love
all the time—and in the end He loved us enough to give His
life to save us.
The greatest gift God has for you is eternal life in Heaven—
also known as salvation, being saved, or being born again.
You receive this gift the instant you believe that Jesus Christ
is God’s Son and accept Him into your life.
None of us are perfect. We’re all sinners by nature, and our
sins separate us from God (Isaiah 59:2). The only way we can
be reconciled with God is if our sins are atoned for, and only
Jesus—who was Himself perfect—could do that. Jesus gave
His life “a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28). Jesus died so
all could have eternal life, but He would have done it for you
alone. God loves you so much that He gave His only Son to
die in your place, and Jesus loves you so much that He did
that willingly.
God made salvation simple—so simple, in fact, that even a
child could understand and receive it. All you have to do is
admit that you’ve made mistakes and need God’s forgiveness,
accept in childlike faith His explanation that He sent Jesus to
pay for your mistakes, and ask for forgiveness.
Would you like to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that
Jesus Christ really is the Son of God and the way to salvation?
Just try Him! If you haven’t yet received Jesus as your Savior,
you can do it right now by praying a short prayer like the
following:
Dear Jesus, thank You for dying for me so that all my mis-
takes and wrongs can be forgiven. I now open the door of my
heart and ask You to come in. Please forgive me and give me
Your free gift of eternal life. Amen.
If you have prayed to receive Jesus, you can be assured that
He heard and answered. You’ve taken the first step into a
wonderful new life of love that will never end. (To gain a better
understanding of salvation, see the readings listed under
“Salvation” in the Index.)

The new you

Once you’re saved, you can start enjoying many of the ben-
efits immediately. Jesus said, “The kingdom of God is within
you” (Luke 17:21). If you have Jesus, the kingdom of God
has already entered you. You can begin living in the continual
heaven of His love, peace, and joy right here and now.
ii
You can also expect some pretty big changes in yourself.
You’re a “new creation” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Don’t be sur-
prised if you actually feel different, think differently, view
the world differently, and are happier than you have ever
been before. “I have come that you may have life,” Jesus
said, “and that you may have it more abundantly” (John
10:10).
You may not be totally different—at least not right
away—but you’ll soon notice a change in your spirit, your
thoughts, and the direction your life is going. As you begin
to get your answers and spiritual strength from the Lord
and His Word, things you never even dreamed possible
will become possible. With His help, you will be able to
overcome bad habits and personal weaknesses that you
never could before.
You can’t expect everything to always be easy or go your
way, however. From the day you receive Jesus to the
day you arrive in Heaven and see Him face to face, your
spiritual life is an ongoing learning, growing, and maturing
process. How much you change and how quickly you grow
depends largely on how much you desire to change, how
much you apply yourself to learning more about the Lord
and His plan for your life, how far you are willing to go with
Him, and how much you ask for His help and depend on
Him when troubles come your way.
To help speed the growing process and ease the growing
pains, Daily Might presents many basic and important prin-
ciples from the Bible in understandable terms. If you’re just
getting started in your new life for the Lord, there are a few
more things you’ll need to know in order to get the most out
of this book:
iii
Power up!
You cannot become all you could be or all God wants you to
be without His power, and the means of power that He has
provided for you is the Holy Spirit.
John the Baptist told those who came to him in search of
truth and reconciliation with God that Jesus would “baptize
with the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 3:11). Jesus later promised His
followers that He would “send the Promise of the Father” upon
them, so they would be “endued with power from on high”
(Luke 24:49). Acts chapter 2 recounts how they received the
Holy Spirit shortly thereafter.
If you have received Jesus as your Savior, you have been
“born again of the Spirit” (John 3:3–8) and have already re-
ceived a little of that Holy Spirit power. But that doesn’t mean
that you’ve received the full measure, or “baptism,” of the Holy
Spirit. This is usually a separate experience that happens later
(Acts 8:14–17; 19:2–6).
The Greek word translated as “baptize” in the New Testament
is baptizo, which means to be fully covered or completely
immersed. So to be “baptized in the Holy Spirit” means to be
completely filled to overflowing with the Spirit of God. A glass
of water makes a good illustration. If the glass has at least
some water in it, you could say that it’s a glass of water, even
though it’s not a full glass. Many Christians are like glasses with
just a little water, a little bit of God’s Spirit. But those who have
been baptized with the Holy Spirit are like glasses that have
been filled to overflowing. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is such
an infilling of power from on high that they cannot contain it all!
The infilling of the Holy Spirit, like salvation, is a gift of God.
All you have to do to receive it is believe that it’s there for you
iv
and ask for it. “Your heavenly Father [will] give the Holy Spirit
to those who ask Him” (Luke 11:13).

Soul food—Nourishment and growth

After being “born again” you are similar spiritually to what
a newborn baby is like physically. You have a lot to learn
and a lot of growing to do, so don’t be discouraged if you
don’t understand everything all at once. The way to mature
in faith and understanding of God’s ways and plan for your
life is to “desire the pure milk of the Word [of God], that you
may grow thereby” (1 Peter 2:2). Reading the Bible, Daily
Might, and other Christian publications can help keep you
healthy and strong spiritually and accelerate your spiritual
growth.

Spiritual warfare
A fierce, continual battle is taking place in the unseen spiritual
realm that surrounds us. It’s a spiritual battle of good against
evil, a battle for our hearts and minds, which control our ac-
tions and destinies. God and His heavenly forces are fighting
and defeating the Devil and his demons.
The battle carries over into our physical realm and involves
us. “We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against
principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the dark-
ness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the
heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12). The Devil is especially
out to get Christians. If he can’t stop you from being a
Christian, he will try to stop you from being an active, effec-
tive Christian. He will do everything he can to interfere with
v
your relationship with Jesus, stunt your spiritual growth, and
hinder anything you try to do that would further the kingdom
of God.
The Bible admonishes us to “fight the good fight of faith”
(1 Timothy 6:12) and to not be ignorant of the Devil’s tactics
(2 Corinthians 2:11). A number of the daily readings in Daily
Might are devoted to helping you learn to recognize the
Devil’s attacks so you can fight back and overcome them.
You won’t be able to win every skirmish, but you’re on the
winning side, and if you will stay close to your Commander
in Chief and follow His instructions, you’ll have many more
victories than losses.

Heavenly communication
—Conversing with God
God loves you so much that He not only wants to commu-
nicate with you through His written Word, but also directly.
Like the loving Father He is, He takes a personal interest
in you and wants to be involved in your daily life. He knows
that you have questions and problems, and He wants to
give you the answers and solutions. He wants to speak
personal words of love and encouragement to you that will
boost your faith and get you through the rough times. Most
of all, He wants you to know how much He loves you. So
He created a means of two-way communication, a channel
between Him and you, so that you can talk to Him in prayer
and, in reply, hear words He gives especially for you. Daily
Might will help you establish and maintain that line of two-
way communication.

vi
Spread the good news
Telling others about God’s love and Jesus is known as “wit-
nessing.” Just as children grow up and have children of their
own, the born-again child of God should grow up to bear spiri-
tual children, more saved souls for God’s kingdom. This is the
most important and satisfying job in the whole world—what
has come to be known as the Great Commission: “Go into all
the world and preach the Gospel [good news] to every crea-
ture” (Mark 16:15). Twenty-eight of the 366 daily readings
in this book are devoted to helping you understand and fulfill
that commission. (See “Witnessing” in the Index.)

The secret to sustained spiritual growth is spending time with

Jesus every day, communicating with Him through prayer and
learning from Him through the Word. May Daily Might help you
toward that end and daily draw you closer to Him!

vii
JANUARY 1

❧I
We’re in the best of hands.
“
SAID TO THE MAN WHO STOOD AT
THE GATE OF THE YEAR: ‘Give me a light that I may tread
safely into the unknown.’ And he replied: ‘Go out into the
darkness and put your hand into the hand of God. That shall
be to you better than light and safer than a known way.’”1
We don’t know what the future holds, but we know who
holds the future. The things we need to know, the Lord tells
us, and sometimes the things we want to know, He tells us,
but most of the time He throws a veil over the future so it is
known only to Him—and that really keeps us close to the
Lord.
He’s promised to never leave or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5).
“I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world”
(Matthew 28:20 KJV). He’s also given us the torch of His
Word to show us where our path is going. “Your Word is a
lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105).
I don’t worry o’er the future,
For I know what Jesus said;
And today I’ll walk beside Him,
For He knows what lies ahead.
Many things about tomorrow,
I don’t seem to understand,
But I know who holds tomorrow,
And I know who holds my hand!2

1
Minnie Louise Haskins (1875–1957)
2
Ira Stanphill (1914–1994) 1
JANUARY 2

❧J
The best is yet to come!

ESUS PROMISED HIS FOLLOWERS

THAT THEY WOULD GO BEYOND WHAT EVEN HE HAD DONE.
“He who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also;
and greater works than these he will do” (John 14:12). And
they did! Those He was speaking to at the time carried the
Gospel much further than Jesus had been able to during His
brief public ministry, and those they reached carried it even
further—and it hasn’t stopped yet!
Why shouldn’t we also do “greater things”? The world popu-
lation is greater, the need is greater, the opportunities are
greater, and the means are far greater with the printed word,
radio, television, air travel, the postal system, the Internet,
and much, much more. We’ve got the greatest opportunities
in history and all the means at our disposal. If we will stay
close to Jesus, He will help us surmount whatever obstacles
we may encounter, win victories, and accomplish His pur-
poses in the coming year and always.
Of course, we should give all the credit and praise to Jesus
because He will have done those great things through us.
“May the God of peace … make you complete in every good
work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing
in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever
and ever” (Hebrews 13:20–21).

2
JANUARY 3

“Heaven and earth will

pass away, but God’s
words will by no means

❧I
pass away” (Matthew 24:35).

N ESPECIALLY TRYING TIMES, WE

NEED TO LIVE MORE IN THE WORD. We must put our faith
in the Word. Then it wouldn’t matter if everybody in the
whole world lost faith, or the whole world went haywire, or
the heavens and earth passed away. We will keep going for
God as long as our faith is in the Word. No matter what
happens, we will still stand if our feet are planted on the
firm foundation of God’s Word. I can fail, you can fail, the
whole world can fail, but God’s Word will never fail!
Often if it weren’t for that tiny spark of faith, we would just
flicker out. But when we tank up on God’s Word, we get re-
inspired. God blows on our little ember of faith and brings
it back to life again. It comes so much through taking in the
Word. “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of
God” (Romans 10:17). His Word is always an encouragement,
even when everything seems to be going wrong.
The Bible stands though the hills may tumble,
It will firmly stand when the earth shall crumble;
I will plant my feet on its firm foundation,
For the Bible stands.1

1
Haldor Lillenas (1885–1959). 3
JANUARY 4

God is the only One who

can give real meaning to

❧S
living.

O MANY PEOPLE TODAY DON’T

KNOW WHAT TO BELIEVE. They don’t know where they
came from, who they are, or where they’re going. They’re in
absolute confusion because they’ve lost touch with the only
concrete frame of reference, and that’s God and His plan for
their life as explained in the Bible. They’ve either never had
or lost faith in God, so therefore they lose faith in love and
life and people—in everything!
But we who have found God’s love in Jesus have found a
God that cannot fail and a love that lasts forever. We know
Him, whom to know is life eternal (John 17:3). We’ve been
born again and now have an entirely new outlook on life.
His coming into our lives not only purifies and regenerates
our spirits, but also renews our minds, breaking old con-
nections and reflexes and gradually rebuilding and rewiring
it into a whole new computer system with new reactions to
nearly everything around us.
Besides the wonderful happiness, life, and love that Jesus
gives us, we’ve also found a real purpose in living and
Someone to live for. We now find a thrill in our newfound
faith, the greatest of satisfaction in our work for Jesus, and
pleasure in the fellowship of our spiritual family.

4
JANUARY 5

The Word of God is like a

map to help you find your

❧W
way through life.

HILE TRAVELING ALONG A

ROAD, you can only see what’s ahead of you moment by
moment. But if you’ll look at the map and have faith in it,
you can also see where the road came from, regardless of
where you started out yourself. And even if you’ve never
been to your final destination or traveled that road before,
you can also know where the road ends. But if you don’t
take time to study the map, you could waste an awful lot of
time or ruin your chances of getting to your destination at
all.
You should no more try to find your own way through life
than you should take a trip without a map. God can see it
all. He not only knows where you are right now and where
you came from, your present and your past, but He also
knows the safest, surest, and most pleasant route to get you
where you’re going. Consult and follow the “Map Book,” the
Bible, and you will know too. Just as you must look at the
map, believe that it’s true, and follow it to get where you’re
going, if you will read God’s Word, believe it, and follow it,
you’ll come out at Heaven. Absolutely! Without fail!

5
JANUARY 6

If you sometimes feel like

nothing, cheer up! God

❧L
can use you.

ITTLE IS MUCH IF GOD IS IN IT. In

fact, God doesn’t have to have anything to begin with. He
made the world out of nothing (Hebrews 11:3). Pretty good
old world, isn’t it? He hung it on nothing (Job 26:7). Hangs
pretty good, doesn’t it? And He can make something out of
nothing—even you—if you will let Him.
God doesn’t go very much for bigness after the manner of
this world. In fact, He specializes in using people who seem
most likely not to succeed; yet by the miraculous power and
grace of God they become shining lights to others. God only
makes great people out of little people, to show His great-
ness (1 Corinthians 1:26–29).
Dare to trust Him in spite of yourself, and give Him all the
credit when He does the miracle—what you couldn’t do. If
you can believe in God, everything is possible, because He
makes everything out of nothing. We’re all nothing and can
do nothing good of ourselves (Galatians 6:3; John 15:5). God
is like the circle around the nothing that makes it something.
With God all around you, even your nothing can be some-
thing. In fact, you can be almost anything!

6
JANUARY 7

You don’t have to

understand God in order

❧N
to love Him.

O ONE CAN EVER FULLY UNDER-

STAND GOD. It’s impossible because, as He says, His ways
are far above our own. “As the heavens are higher than the
earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My
thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:9). Forget trying to
figure out God! Just accept His love by faith.
Jesus tried to make it simple. He said, “Unless you are con-
verted and become as little children, you will by no means
enter the kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 18:3). What baby
or little child understands all about his mother or father, or
how he was born, or all about life? Yet he is instinctively
attuned to the most profound thing in the world—love.
He feels his parents’ love and receives it and responds with
love.
The Bible tells us that “God is Spirit” (John 4:24) and “God
is love” (1 John 4:8). He’s the very Spirit of love in your
heart. It’s impossible to fully understand God and His love,
but it is possible to receive His love and to love Him in re-
turn. Making a personal connection with the God of love is
so simple that many people can’t believe it. It’s just a matter
of asking in faith and receiving.

7
JANUARY 8

Put God to the test.

❧A
Prove He exists!

LOT OF PEOPLE WHO SAY THEY

DON’T BELIEVE IN GOD AREN’T REALLY ATHEISTS. Maybe
they simply haven’t made a final decision because they
haven’t had a chance to know the truth. But even if they
have doubts or questions that need answering before they
will be convinced, if they’re sincere and really want the
answers, if they really want to know, God will show them.
So even if you don’t believe in God or the Bible or anything
else, you can put God in a test tube and prove He exists—
and you are the test tube! You just need to put God inside of
you and see what happens. If you will sincerely pray, “God,
if there is a God out there somewhere, show me. Reveal
Yourself,” He will! Once you admit the possibility by doing
that, then you’re giving God a chance. There’s a tiny spark
of faith, and God will honor that faith by letting you see and
feel and know the proof. He may not do it immediately or in
the way you expect, but sooner or later in some way He will.
God loves faith. He loves us because we believe Him. Once
you begin to believe, then God will prove Himself in many
ways—by answers to prayers and miracles, and by changes
in your life.

8
JANUARY 9

Faith and obedience come

first, then God answers

❧T
prayer.

HROUGHOUT HIS WORD, God

commanded people to do something first before He answered
their prayers. God told Moses to strike the rock, and then He
would bring forth water (Exodus 17:6). Before Jesus raised
Lazarus from the dead, He told the mourners to first take
away the stone that covered the entrance of Lazarus’ tomb;
then He brought Lazarus back to life (John 11:39–44). Jesus
told the blind man to go wash in the Pool of Siloam (John
9:1–7) and the ten lepers to go show themselves to the
priests (Luke 17:12–14). They manifested their faith by
obedience, and then God did the miracle.
“We walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7). God
likes to test our faith. He likes to see how much we really
believe, and He often will not answer our prayers or let us
see where He’s leading us until we obey what He’s already
told us or showed us. Many times we just have to step out
by faith, even if we can’t see the ground we’re going to put
our foot on. We have to take that first step by faith in order
to receive His blessings. But if we take that step of faith and
it’s God’s will, He will do the humanly impossible! Step by
step, as we follow Him, He will lead and guide and reward
our faith with more and more answers to our prayers.

9
JANUARY 10

Have you found the

greatest doctor in the

❧H
universe?

EALING HAS ALWAYS BEEN ONE

OF OUR MOST DESPERATE PHYSICAL NEEDS. Jesus healed all
that came to Him—anybody and everybody—as long as
they had faith that He could heal them. Their most immedi-
ate need was healing of their bodies, even before they could
understand salvation, and He often healed them before He
ministered to their spiritual needs.
The day of miracles is not past! God is still in the business
of transforming bodies that need it. He’s still the Great
Physician. He still says, “I am the Lord who heals you”
(Exodus 15:26). He “forgives all your iniquities … heals all
your diseases” (Psalm 103:3).—Not just some or a few or
many or most, but all of them. God can heal anything!
He’s your heavenly Father. He loves you and He answers
prayer. God not only can do it, He wants to do it. Healing
is there! He will heal if you will believe. All He asks is that
you honor Him with faith by believing the promises in His
Word. It’s just that simple!
Power, all power, surely is Thine!
Touch me and heal me, Savior divine.1

1
10 Adelaide Addison Pollard (1862–1934).
JANUARY 11

The best way to find God’s

will is to say, “I will” to

❧G
God.

OD MAY GIVE YOU YOUR CHOICE,

but He alone knows what is best, so you’d better ask Him
what that is. How do you find God’s best? The first require-
ment is having no will of your own. According to the
Scripture, you need to surrender your life, your mind, and
your will, and not be conformed to this world:
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God,
that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, accept-
able to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be
conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renew-
ing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and
acceptable and perfect will of God” (Romans 12:1–2).
Ask God to lead and guide you. Ask Him to open your heart
and mind to His truth. Ask Him to help you to understand it
and follow it. Be willing to yield to His will, whatever it may be,
and then you’ll find out—you’ll know—because then you’re in
a position for God to show you. If you’re His child and you’re
letting Him do the choosing, what’s He going to choose for you?
He’s going to choose that which is the best for you.
He knows, He loves, He cares,
Nothing this truth can dim.
He gives His very best to those
Who leave the choice with Him.1

1
Author unknown. 11
JANUARY 12

Our salvation is only by

❧W
grace, never by works.

E CANNOT SAVE OURSELVES BY

OUR OWN GOODNESS or attempts to keep God’s laws. We
cannot be good enough to earn, merit, or deserve the
heavenly perfection of His salvation. It is impossible for
anyone to be saved without the miracle-working power of
God. It only comes by His grace, His love, and His mercy.
Salvation is free; it is the gift of God. You can’t work for it.
You can’t earn a gift or else it wouldn’t be a gift. God’s Word
says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and
that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest
anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:8–9).
God’s idea of righteousness is a self-confessed sinner who
knows he needs God and depends on Him for salvation.
God’s idea of saintliness is not self-righteousness and sinless
perfection; it’s a sinner saved by grace, a sinner who has
no perfection, no righteousness of his own, but is totally
dependent on the grace and the love and the mercy of God.
Those are the only saints there are; there are no others. You
haven’t got anybody’s righteousness except Christ’s, and He’s
the only One that can give it to you (Philippians 3:9).

12
JANUARY 13

You can’t keep the birds

from flying over your
head, but you can keep
them from building a nest

❧T
in your hair.

HE DEVIL IS ALWAYS ON THE JOB,

tempting us to disobey God. And though nobody can keep
temptation from coming, we don’t have to yield to tempta-
tion. God gives us enough sense by His Spirit to know the
difference between what’s right and what’s wrong, what’s
good and what’s bad, then He lets us choose. The Devil
cannot prevent us from choosing. That’s the one thing we
can do no matter what the Devil does. We each have a will,
and we can choose to ignore the Devil and resist his
temptations. “Therefore submit to God. Resist the Devil and
he will flee from you” (James 4:7).
It is impossible for the Devil to win over you unless you
give in to him, for “He who is in you [Jesus] is greater than
he who is in the world [Satan]” (1 John 4:4). The only way
the Devil can win is if you quit, give up, give in, surrender,
or stop fighting. As long as you keep fighting, you keep
winning! So when the Devil tempts you to get down and
discouraged—fight back! Put on the armor of God, that
you may be able to withstand the Devil’s attacks (Ephesians
6:10–17). Don’t even listen to him, much less surrender!

13
JANUARY 14

“The fool has said in his

heart, ‘There is no God’”

❧J
(Psalm 14:1).

UST BY LOOKING AT CREATION, you

know that there is a Creator. Just logically and reasonably,
it’s obvious that there’s a God. Only a fool could really
believe that it all happened by accident. Just look at the
trees and the birds and you know that it wasn’t an accident;
too much planning went into it all. God’s entire glorious
creation is a constant testimony to the existence of a divine
designer. “Since the creation of the world His invisible
attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things
that are made” (Romans 1:20).
Although the whole creation testifies of the existence of the
invisible God, many people today refuse to receive the testi-
mony because they choose to be ignorant. They don’t want
to confess that He exists. They would like to get rid of Him,
but in order to do that they need some other explanation for
how all this got here, so the Devil helped them cook up the
idiotic scheme of evolution. “As they did not like to retain
God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased
mind” (Romans 1:28).
But we who believe marvel at the work of God’s hands. We
see Him in His handiwork. We come to understand Him
better through the things that He made, and we glorify Him
and are thankful.

14
JANUARY 15

God’s delays are not

❧G
denials.

OD ANSWERS PRAYER, but not

always the way we want or expect Him to. He is rarely in a
hurry, as is evident in His creation. It takes Him time to
make a baby, a flower, a tree, a sunset, or even a blade of
grass. We can’t rush God. We’ve got to wait till it’s His time.
Perhaps He is waiting for the circumstances to be right to
ensure the result He wants to bring. Take, for example, the
man in the Bible who was blind from birth. He had had to
be blind all his life so that everybody would know it and
so that when Jesus came along one day and marvelously
healed him, God would be glorified (John chapter 9). It
may sometimes take years before you know why God didn’t
answer prayer as you thought He should, or right when you
asked Him to, but the time will come and you’ll know God
was right.
The greatest darkness is just before dawn; the greatest des-
peration is just before salvation; the greatest hopelessness
attacks just before rescue. So never doubt for a moment that
God is going to answer. He will! Trust Him and thank Him
for the answer, even if you don’t see it immediately. You’ll be
glad you trusted Him tomorrow!

15
JANUARY 16

God’s creation is His love

❧D
manifested toward you.

OES GOD LOVE YOU? You can see it

and feel it in the beautiful world He’s given you to live in.
Just look around you at God’s beautiful creation and you’ll
know that God loves you. His love is obvious from all that
He’s made for you to enjoy (Romans 1:20).
Look at the patience and mercy of God. To every man ever born
He has at some time sent His light to enlighten his darkened
heart with the love of God, to show him His love (John 1:9). He
showers all this beauty and blessing not only on the just, but
even upon the unjust who really don’t deserve His love and
mercy. He still sends them sunshine almost every day, rain to
make the flowers grow, the beautiful trees, the grass, the sky,
the clouds, the heavens, the sun, the moon, the stars, and all the
rest of God’s wonderful creation (Matthew 5:45).
If you don’t believe God loves you, just look around at His
blessings. What more can He say? He didn’t have to make
life so wonderful or the world so beautiful, but He did—and
He did it just for you!

16
JANUARY 17

Let others see Jesus in

❧S
you.

O MANY PEOPLE TODAY ARE LOST,

lonely, downtrodden, weak and weary, poor and persecuted,
victims of war and crime and exploitation. They are the ones
nobody wants, the ones who have so little and seem to count
so little in man’s scheme of things.
Then there are those who are well off materially and ap-
pear to “have it together,” but are lost and lonely prisoners
of their own selfish desires and misplaced priorities. They
are weary and heavy laden with problems, stress, fears,
and phobias. They wear smiles but ache inside. They fear
the future. They are engulfed in emptiness, pain, guilt, bit-
terness, condemnation, and remorse.
There are so many lost and desperate folks in the world
today! It’s like the question in that old Beatles song, “All the
lonely people, where do they all come from?” Well, I’ll tell
you where they come from. They come from a world that
has selfishly turned from the light of God’s love and is being
swallowed up by the darkness.
There is a great need for His love to shine through. Hold it
up for all to see. Shine the light of God’s love on people, and
He will do the rest. He’ll cause it to accomplish His purpose
in their lives (John 12:32). Let others see Jesus in you!

17
JANUARY 18

All you have to do is follow

❧J
Jesus!

ESUS ALWAYS KNOWS BEST, even

when we don’t know what we’re doing. As long as we’re
obeying and following Him, He’ll lead the way and we’ll
soon see where we’re going, just like sheep with their
shepherd. Jesus said when a good shepherd takes his sheep
to pasture, he goes before them and the sheep follow him
(John 10:4). Jesus is the Good Shepherd, and He knows
what’s ahead. He knows where the green pastures and the
mountain passes are. He knows where the cool waters flow.
He knows where the sheepfolds are, where you’ll be safe and
secure. He also knows the danger spots, so you’d better stay
close to Him.
You should always follow the guidance of the hand of God.
You cannot go by your own understanding of the situation.
You dare not rely on your own experience or wisdom. You
must look for the Lord’s supernatural, miraculous, power-
ful leading. You must be guided by the hand of God. If you
follow Jesus, you’ll never go wrong! He’s right out there with
you, and He knows exactly what to do. Don’t try to rush
ahead of Him or show Him the way you think you should go.
He’s the One who has got to lead, because only He can.
May your prayer always be: “Lord, I will follow. Show me
the way.”

18
JANUARY 19

The baptism of the Holy

❧W
Spirit is a baptism of love.

HAT IS THE BAPTISM OF THE

HOLY SPIRIT? It’s a baptism of love most of all—love for God
and love for others. Everybody who is saved has a measure
of the Holy Spirit, like having a little bit of water in the
bottom of a glass, but being baptized with the Holy Spirit is
like filling the glass to running over. Jesus said of the Holy
Spirit: “He who believes in Me … out of his heart will flow
rivers of living water” (John 7:38). God pours in His Holy
Spirit and fills us from bottom to top until we have a mighty
tide of love and happiness that not only satisfies our own
souls, but also overflows on others so they can find and be
filled with God’s love too.
We’re not just filled with the Holy Spirit once, but we’re
refilled every day as we read the Word and ask Him for more
love. The more of His love we receive from Him, the more
our hearts are filled to running over, till we aren’t able to
contain it. Then as we overflow on others, they also are filled
with His love and grow and blossom spiritually.

19
JANUARY 20

Faith is doing what God

tells you to do today, and
trusting Him to take care

❧I
of tomorrow.

T’S TODAY THAT YOU HAVE TO HAVE

FAITH FOR. It’s today that God has provided the strength for.
“As your days, so shall your strength be” (Deuteronomy 33:25).
God gives you power for the hour, grace for the trial, at the
hour and when it comes, not before. You don’t have to have
faith for tomorrow today. Trust God! Your heavenly Father loves
you and is going to take care of you tomorrow, just like He’s
taking care of you today.
Jesus said, “Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow
will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its
own trouble” (Matthew 6:34). Quit worrying about tomor-
row! That’s a commandment! It’s not optional. It’s not some-
thing that’s just good advice. It’s an order! When tomorrow
comes, God will take care of it.
I have nothing to do with tomorrow.
My Savior has made that His care.
Its grace and its strength I can’t borrow,
So why should I borrow its care?1

1
20 Author Unknown
JANUARY 21

The Word of God is the

most powerful truth on

❧T
earth!

HE PEN IS MIGHTIER THAN THE

SWORD. Men and women of God have seldom ruled empires,
but they have won worlds of men and women with their
words, faith, and ideals. The words of God’s prophets and
messengers have crossed the ages, swept around the earth,
and changed the course of nations. Their words have
captured hearts and minds, and set multitudes forever free.
Their message of life and love through Jesus has won
countless millions to God’s eternal kingdom—a kingdom far
greater, longer lasting, and happier than man’s mere worldly
empires of the sword. Their words have saved millions from
hopeless, Christless tombs, and given the love of God to a
world dying for His love.
The Word of God is far greater than anything man can
muster. It can change hearts; no atom bomb can do that. It
can change minds; no number of bullets has ever done that.
It can fill people’s lives with love and genuine purpose; no
conquering army has ever managed to do that. God’s words
are spirit and life (John 6:63); who else can claim that? That’s
how powerful God’s Word is!

21
JANUARY 22

❧D
You can know your future!

O YOU, LIKE SO MANY PEOPLE

TODAY, sense that we’re living on borrowed time? Are you
worried about the future of the world and what is going to
happen to us all? Well, you can know what’s going to
happen!
How can this be? By what means can mortal man transcend
the bounds of time and peer into the future?—By tuning
into God and His wonderful Word! In the spirit, where God
dwells, the past, present, and future are all one. It all looks
the same to Him, and He can easily reveal to His prophets
and seers the mysteries of the future.
You’ll be amazed at how specific and clear God’s Word is
about many soon coming events. It may not tell you every
detail, but through it you can know what major events to
expect. In some cases it even describes the characters in
these events, and tells us where and when these events are
going to take place.
Why does God tell us these things in advance?—Because
He doesn’t want us to worry about or fear the future. To be
forewarned is to be forearmed. To understand what’s going
to occur is to be prepared to face it and take it as it comes,
trusting in Him and His unfailing love and concern.

22
JANUARY 23

“Neither shall they learn

❧O
war anymore” (Isaiah 2:4).

NE OF THESE DAYS VERY SOON, the

King of kings is going to come back to claim His kingdom.
“He shall judge between the nations, and rebuke many
people; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and
their spears into pruning hooks” (Isaiah 2:4). There will be
the world’s first complete and lasting disarmament—turning
their weapons of destruction into instruments of peace!
At last there will be peace on earth, under the reign of Jesus
Christ, the Son of God and Prince of Peace Himself. Today’s
wicked and vengeful men of war will be stopped. There’ll be
no more big powers and oppressed poor. He’s going to put
an end to all this war business. “He makes wars cease to the
end of the earth; He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in
two; He burns the chariot in the fire” (Psalm 46:9). All those
warplanes and tanks and missiles are going to be burned up,
thank God!
Then and only then, under the supreme and powerful rule
and reign of the Prince of Peace and His men and women of
peace, will all wars finally cease. Then and only then will
the world at last be governed fairly and well with true jus-
tice, liberty, peace, plenty, and happiness for all. Hallelujah!
What a day that will be!

23
JANUARY 24

“First apostles”

❧W
(1 Corinthians 12:28).

E ALL WANT TO BE HUMBLE, but

we don’t like to be humbled—and talking with others about
our faith can be a humbling experience, especially at first.
It’s like the story of the woman who said, “Oh, this just kills
me!” when she was asked to go witnessing. It kills our pride,
and that’s exactly what it should do. The more God can get
us and our egos out of the way, the more He and His love are
able to shine through.
When you’re out witnessing and begin to feel self-conscious
or like people are looking down at you, it helps to remember
that God is proud of you and you have every reason to be
proud of Him and proud to be His messenger. The Greek word
that is translated “apostle” in the New Testament is apostolos,
literally “somebody sent out,” and in 1 Corinthians chapter
12, where Paul lists the jobs and offices of the Church, God
puts His apostles at the top of His list. “First apostles.” You
may be on the bottom of some people’s list, but you’re on the
top of God’s list! We’re not to be proud of ourselves, as though
we are something great ourselves, but we can be proud to be
servants of the Almighty God, the Most High, His faithful
messengers bearing His words to the people.

24
JANUARY 25

“Many are the afflictions

of the righteous”

❧M
(Psalm 34:19).

ANY ARE THE AFFLICTIONS OF

WHOM?—Even the righteous suffer afflictions, “but the
Lord delivers them out of them all.” The Lord allows such
things as sickness, troubles, and problems to test and
strengthen our faith, and to help us get even greater
victories out of seeming defeat. Sometimes “bad” things
happen just to keep us close to the Lord. Sometimes they
happen to draw us closer to each other. Sometimes they
happen to keep us humble. Sometimes they happen to make
us pray. So even troubles and tribulations are good for us if
we let them accomplish God’s purpose.
It’s important to remember that whatever God does, He does
it in love. “All things work together for good to those who
love God” (Romans 8:28). God is not going to let anything
happen to you, His child who loves Him, except what is for
your ultimate good. So even though “many are the afflic-
tions of the righteous,” the Lord is going to deliver you out
of them all, no matter how many or what. A-L-L, all! Not
just some or a few or most or many, but all of them! So the
next time you’re afflicted with sickness or other troubles,
expect God to deliver you, just as He has promised to in His
Word.

25
JANUARY 26

One of the greatest

❧Y
healing factors is faith.

OUR PHYSICAL STATE OF HEALTH is

definitely dependent on your emotional state of health, and
your emotional health is largely dependent on your spiritual
condition. In fact, some doctors estimate that emotional
causes contribute to as much as 90 percent of all illnesses.
Fear, tension, and hatred all produce various psychological
and nervous diseases. Many physiological diseases like heart
trouble, arthritis, and stomach ulcers can also be caused by
worry, fear, bitterness, hatred, or a negative attitude toward
life. Science has proved that all of these negative attitudes
and feelings can cause an actual buildup of poisons in the
body that in turn cause illnesses. In other words, the wrong
state of mind can actually poison your body!
That is why faith is such a marvelous cure. Knowing that
your heavenly Father loves you and is going to take care of
you and yours—your health, your family, your future, your
job, everything—eliminates fear and gives you peace of
mind, contentment of heart, and a feeling of spiritual well-
being that brings rest to your vital organs, and that in turn
actually causes the elimination of poisons from your body.
Simple faith in God’s love is the best medicine there is!

26
JANUARY 27

Winners never quit,

❧W
but quitters never win.

HEN THINGS GET TOUGH, you’ve

got to fight all the harder in the spirit. If you’ll do that and
not give up, you’ll win greater victories.
Take a lesson from the 18th-century, Scottish-born U.S. naval
commander John Paul Jones (1747–1792). In one battle his
ship had been hit and was sinking. Half his men had been
killed, and many others had been wounded, including Jones
himself. When the enemy captain asked Jones if he was
ready to surrender, Jones screamed back, “Surrender? Hell
no! We haven’t even begun to fight!” Jones kept on fighting,
and eventually won the battle!
Maybe you haven’t even begun to fight the ol’ Devil yet.
Maybe “you have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving
against sin” (Hebrews 12:4), like Jesus did. Even though it
killed Him, only three days later He rose in triumph from
the tomb!
So don’t be weary in well doing, for in due season you will
reap if you don’t give up (Galatians 6:9). “You therefore
must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ ...
that you may please Him who enlisted you as a soldier”
(2 Timothy 2:3–4). Fight the good fight, keep the faith,
finish the course, and Jesus will give you a crown of life
(1 Timothy 6:12; 2 Timothy 4:7–8; Revelation 2:10).

27
JANUARY 28

Days filled with sharing,

years filled with caring,
there’s just no comparing

❧O
a life filled with love.

LD AGE SHOULD BE THE GREATEST

TIME OF LIFE. If you’ve filled your days with love, lived a
good life, and done your best to please God, it’s a time when
you can see the good fruit of your labors. That should give
you a feeling of genuine permanent accomplishment, and
you can look forward to eternal rewards.
It’s really sad that so many people view old age as a terrible
time of life, when really things should be getting better and
better. Old age only becomes a disappointment if we find
ourselves growing older in years without growing closer
to God. That’s like walking in a circle; it’s motion without
progress. But God didn’t give us the gift of life intending
the first half to be the best. What God begins, He completes
and brings to perfection (Psalm 138:8; Philippians 1:6). So
neither fear old age nor fight it, but take hold of this stage of
life and make something beautiful out of it.
Age is opportunity no less,
Than youth itself, though in another dress;
And as the evening twilight fades away,
The sky is filled with stars, invisible by day.1

1
28 Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807–1882).
JANUARY 29

The secret of success:

Choose and yield to God’s

❧G
will.

OD HAS GIVEN US A FREE WILL,

but to be successful for Him or even as happy as He would
like to make us, we have to continually yield that will to
Him. We have to find out from Him what His will for us is—
what He knows is best for others and us—and then choose
that.
Once you have found and chosen God’s will, He will reach
down and take ahold of you and move you where He wants
you to go. Everybody has their place and job for the Lord,
like the pieces on a chessboard. Chesspieces have no will of
their own. When a player picks up a chesspiece and moves
it to another square, the chesspiece doesn’t protest; it yields
and goes where it’s sent, right? Well, you’re in the hands of
the Master Player and He’s going to put you wherever He
wants you, so trust the Lord.
You don’t have to make all the decisions; you only have to
be yielded to His moves and let Him do the thinking and
the choosing. You’ve got very limited vision, but He can see
the whole game, the whole chessboard and all the pieces. It’s
wonderful to let God decide, because He always has our best
interests at heart and He knows what’s best.

29
JANUARY 30

Deliver us, Jesus, from the

spirit of “busyness”—too
busy for You and too busy

❧T
for Your Word.

O LEARN FROM JESUS, you have to

stop and look and listen. If you don’t, instead of running
over with His truth, His love, and His joy, you’ll get run over
by all the cares of this life. If you drive yourself too hard
and too fast, you may never get there! You’ll get out of touch
with Jesus and our heavenly headquarters. Like the little
girl said about her new kitten, “Oh Mama, the kitty’s gone
to sleep and left its engine running,” you may be running
around but still be asleep spiritually. You may be busy but
not be getting anywhere, “as one who beats the air”
(1 Corinthians 9:26).
You cannot do the Master’s work without the Master’s power,
and to get it, you must spend time with the Master. Jesus
said that only one thing is needful: to sit at His feet and learn
of Him. Those who have chosen this good part, it shall never
be taken away from them (Luke 10:39–42). If you’re too busy
to get alone with Jesus and pray, you’re too busy!
So take time to be holy—wholly His. He says, “Be still, and
know that I am God. In quietness and in confidence shall be
your strength” (Psalm 46:10; Isaiah 30:15).

30
JANUARY 31

Christ stands at the

heart’s door and asks to

❧J
come in.

ESUS IS THE VERY PICTURE OF

PATIENCE, calmness, love, gentleness, and longsuffering.
He’s the picture of tenderness, gently wooing like a dove. He
goes where there are open, receptive, hungry hearts. He
seeks out the humble and contrite hearts, but resists the
proud. He waits lovingly and meekly at your heart’s door,
not forcing Himself on you, not pushing the door open, but
waiting for you to simply open your heart and invite Him to
come in.
Jesus promised, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If
anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to
him” (Revelation 3:20). When you open your heart’s door to
Jesus, He always comes in. He likes to fill every place that’s
made for Him. If you will just open your heart, His Spirit of
love will flow in.
If you haven’t yet received Jesus as your Savior, you can
right this minute by asking Him to come into your heart
with His love, life, liberty, truth, peace, plenty, and happi-
ness here, now, and forever. Simply pray: “Jesus, come into
my heart. I believe You are the Son of God. Please forgive me
for my sins. Help me to love You and others, and help me to
tell them about You. Amen.”

31
FEBRUARY 1

We don’t need to fear the

Devil or his demons. Jesus

❧J
is with us!

UST AS THE FEAR OF GOD LEADS TO

LIFE (Proverbs 19:23), fear of Satan leads to death. Fearing
God is a form of worshiping God. It’s giving Him the
reverence He deserves. But to fear the Enemy, to fear Satan,
is giving him just the kind of worship he wants. It’s really
worshiping the Devil, so don’t do it—not for a fraction of a
second!
Satan’s powers are not to be feared, much less worshiped.
They are to be resisted and rebuked and gotten rid of! You
have to fight fear like you have to fight the Devil. Resist it
with faith and the Word of God. “For God has not given us a
spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind”
(2 Timothy 1:7). Give God due respect by putting your faith
in Him, and all fear will disappear.
Although this world, with devils filled,
Should threaten to undo us,
We will not fear, for God hath willed,
His truth to triumph through us!
The Prince of Darkness grim,
We tremble not for him!
His rage we can endure,
For lo, his doom is sure!
One little word [Jesus] shall fell him!1

1
32 Martin Luther (1483–1546).
FEBRUARY 2

Don’t trade the best for

❧A
something merely good.

LOT OF PEOPLE TRY TO GET AWAY

WITH WHAT THEY CALL “GOD’S SECOND BEST.” They desert
God’s highest calling because they aren’t willing to pay the
price.
But we shouldn’t even consider second best because as far as
God is concerned, there’s only one best—the “high calling
of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14 KJV). If we take
second best, it’s not really His second best; it’s our best.
What is sin? It’s missing the mark, missing the target,
missing the bull’s eye. It’s not really doing the most import-
ant thing that God wants us to do. So “let us lay aside the
weights and the sins” (Hebrews 12:1)—anything that keeps
us from doing God’s highest and His best, anything that
keeps us from being where He knows we’ll be of most use to
Him and the biggest blessing to others.
(Prayer:) Lord, bless and keep us all in the center of Your
will. Keep us single-minded, single in purpose. We have no
idea how great Your purpose is, but we’ve answered Your
call. Do help us to do Your best—the best we can, and noth-
ing less.

33
FEBRUARY 3

Living by faith means

❧S
putting faith into action.

OME PEOPLE SEEM TO HAVE THE

IDEA that living by faith means living by nothing or living
for nothing or with nothing. Well, they’re mistaken. Living
by faith means putting feet to your prayers. It means doing
everything you can possibly do. It means praying as though
everything depended on prayer, and doing as though
everything depended on doing. Real faith is not a passive
thing. It puts into action what it believes.
It’s been said that God helps those who help themselves, and
that’s true. He also helps those who can’t help themselves,
but He seldom helps those who can help themselves but
won’t. He works on the principle of “whatever a man sows,
that he will also reap” (Galatians 6:7). Nothing succeeds like
success, and God blesses those who are fruitful, diligent,
hard working, truly trusting, and genuinely obeying. He
will always reward hard work, diligence, and faithfulness. If
we do our best, God will do His best to help us.
So whatever you do, don’t have a do-nothing religion. Have
a do-something religion—whatever the Lord tells you to do.
Have a do-it-together religion. Do what you can do, and God
will do the rest.

34
FEBRUARY 4

Be a faithful operator—

❧W
pray.

HEN GOD PUTS A THOUGHT IN

YOUR MIND ABOUT A CERTAIN PERSON, that’s a message
from Him. He’s putting in a phone call to them, and He
wants you to act like one of those old-time telephone
operators and connect the call.
God initiates the call, and you are like the telephone opera-
tor who transfers the call. If you do your part, which is to
pray for that person, you can put God through to whomever
He’s trying to reach. Your faith is the hand that flips the
switch that makes the connection so they can receive God’s
message. You are the link between God and them, so if you
fail to pass the call on, they will never get the message.
Of course, the person on the other end of the line has to pick
up the phone when it rings, and they have to listen and re-
ceive the call. You can’t make them answer the phone. That’s
their responsibility. There are a number of reasons why you,
the operator, sometimes can’t get through, but you have to
keep trying.
You’re the operator, and it’s your responsibility to pass on
the message. So be faithful to pray for the person that comes
into your thoughts. Please don’t fail, or someone will miss
God’s important call.

35
FEBRUARY 5

To truly give is to give

❧G
cheerfully.

OD LIKES CHEERFUL GIVERS—

those who give voluntarily because they know it pleases
Him and they’re helping others, expecting nothing in
return. That kind of giving can be the greatest of all
pleasures, because as the purse is emptied, the heart is filled.
“The generous soul will be made rich, and he who waters
will also be watered himself” (Proverbs 11:25). “It is more
blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35).
But when we don’t give cheerfully, we’re not really giv-
ing. It’s like the story of the rich man who thought he was
throwing a copper penny into the church offering, but no-
ticed as it left his fingers that it was a gold sovereign. When
he saw what he was losing, he tried to snatch it back, but
the usher put his hand over the bag and said, “Sorry! Once
in, forever in.”
So the rich man said, “Well, at least I’ll get credit for the
sovereign in Heaven.”
“No you won’t,” said the usher. “You’ll only get credit for
the penny.”
“God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7). We must
give willingly and in love if we want our giving to do any
good and if we expect any credit for it from the Lord.

36
FEBRUARY 6

Do you feed your body but

❧Y
starve your soul?

OU COULD FEED YOUR BODY AND

LOSE YOUR SOUL, like the man in the Bible who stuffed his
barns full of grain, only to have God say to him, “You fool!
This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then
who will get what you have prepared for yourself?”
(Luke 12:16–21 NIV).
Having a full stomach and a full purse and a full head
cannot give you a full heart. If you put the desires of the
flesh above the needs of your spirit, then you will find that
nothing ever satisfies. You will become as the world-famed
British poet Lord Byron (1788–1824) when he said at the
height of his fame, “I’ve drunk of every fount of pleasure
and quaffed every cup of fame, yet, alas. I die of thirst!”
Just like you have to eat in order to have physical strength,
you have to feed from God’s Word to have spiritual strength.
You’ve got to feed your soul or you will never fully develop
or mature spiritually. If you really want to grow in spirit,
you will feed from the Word every day.
“Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward
man is being renewed day by day” with the life-giving
nourishment of His Words (2 Corinthians 4:16).

37
FEBRUARY 7

We are citizens of the

world by birth, but citizens

❧W
of Heaven by rebirth.

HEN WE RECEIVED JESUS, the

King of kings, into our hearts, we automatically and
instantly became citizens of God’s great heavenly kingdom.
Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36),
and the Bible tells us, “His kingdom is an everlasting
kingdom” (Daniel 4:3). “Of the increase of His government
and peace there will be no end … to order it and establish
it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even
forever” (Isaiah 9:7).
We are no longer citizens of this temporal world only, but
citizens of a new and everlasting world of love and life and
truth and justice and happiness in Jesus. Ours is the only
country that never did a wrong thing or fought a wrong war
or persecuted the poor or oppressed the weak or polluted
the earth. Our country’s trying to save the world, stop the
wars, relieve the poor, feed the hungry, heal the sick, and
liberate the captives who are bound. We’re citizens of the
only truly righteous nation in the universe, the kingdom of
Jesus Christ. That’s our country, and Heaven is our home.
Are you a citizen of Heaven? Have you received your pass-
port? Are you claiming your citizenship papers? Your pass-
port is Jesus, and your citizenship papers are the promises of
God for your salvation.

38
FEBRUARY 8

“Our struggle is not

against flesh and blood,
but against … the
spiritual forces of evil
in the heavenly realms”

❧W
(Ephesians 6:12 NIV).

E ARE FIGHTING IN A WAR, not

against carnal man, but against spiritual forces. That war is
going on all the time in the unseen realm of the spirit that is
all around us and even in us. It is a war between God and
the Devil, between the forces of good and the forces of evil,
between the angels of Heaven and the demons of Hell,
between the people of God and the Devil’s agents on earth.
“The weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in
God for pulling down strongholds” (2 Corinthians 10:4). We
need a lot more than mere physical weapons to fight and win
this war. To tear down the spiritual strongholds of the evil
forces that oppose God and His people and His purposes, we
need to wield the powerful spiritual weapons of God’s love
and Word.
It’s serious business fighting the Devil, but it’s a fight that
we’re destined to win. As long as we stay on guard spiri-
tually, as long as we stay close to Jesus and His Word, we
can’t be beaten. How can we be so sure?—Because He who
is in us—Jesus—is greater than he who is in the world—the
Devil (1 John 4:4).

39
FEBRUARY 9

Nothing happens without

God’s will, especially to

❧N
His child whom He loves.

OTHING “BAD” HAPPENS TO A

CHRISTIAN WITHOUT SOME GOOD REASON. “All things come
of God” (2 Corinthians 5:18), and “all things work together
for good to those who love God” (Romans 8:28). Don’t worry
about the times of testing and weakness, thinking that you
must have done something terribly wrong, so God must be
finished with you. What you feel is God’s tender hand upon
you, making you into the person He knows you can be. As
hard as it is, these breakings and remakings are inevitable.
He must make you weak in yourself so you will depend on
His strength. He must make you humble. He must make you
desperate for Him and His help.
You’re in His hands and He will perfect that which concerns
you (Psalm 138:8). So don’t be angry or bitter at God for
these testings. They are only for a time. You will rejoice
and be grateful when you look back and see how this was
necessary for Him to accomplish His good purpose.
Things don’t just happen to children of God,
They’re part of a wonderful plan.
The troubles, reverses, the sorrows, the rod
Are strokes of the Great Sculptor’s hand.1

1
Alice Reynolds Flower (1890–1991),
40 “It Didn’t Just Happen.”
FEBRUARY 10

John 3:36 ends all our

worries: “He who believes
in the Son has everlasting

❧Y
life.”

OU DON’T NEED TO WORRY about

whether or not you are going to lose your salvation or how
you are going to manage to stay saved, because eternal
salvation by grace means once saved, always saved. Once
you’ve received Jesus Christ as your Savior, there are no ifs,
ands, or buts about it—you are a saved child of God! “He
who believes in the Son has everlasting life” (John 3:36).
That one verse should be enough to end all your worries.
You have eternal life right now, and you can’t lose it.
Besides, you can’t keep yourself saved any more than you
could save yourself in the first place. Even though you’re
not perfect and you’re bound to make mistakes, God is going
to save you anyway. Once you’ve received Jesus, you are
completely purified and redeemed in the eyes of God by the
sacrifice of Christ on Calvary. You’re saved right now because
God has promised it and His Word is true. He cannot go
back on His Word!
Salvation is forever. He’s already given it to you, and He’s
not going to take it back. It’s yours!

41
FEBRUARY 11

❧M
It’s wise to be simple!

ANY PEOPLE STRIVE TO GAIN

MORE AND MORE KNOWLEDGE, but they’d be wiser if they
just stayed simple. Jesus has to get by people’s head
knowledge to get to their hearts. The Bible warns us to
beware of being corrupted from the simplicity that is in
Christ (2 Corinthians 11:3), and Jesus Himself said, “Unless
you are converted and become as little children, you will by
no means enter the kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 18:3). If
we’ll recognize that in the Lord’s eyes we’re just like little
children that don’t know anything and that He is the only
One who knows what He’s doing, that’s being really smart!
The newborn babe doesn’t try to analyze his mother and
father and brothers and sisters and the new world and life
around him. He just accepts and enjoys them and starts
learning how to live and enjoy life. You don’t have to person-
ally know all the answers or be able to explain everything;
just know Him. He brings you love, He makes your life, and
He gives you happiness and all you ever wanted and more.
What else matters?
Jesus loves me, this I know.
For the Bible tells me so.
Little ones to Him belong,
We are weak, but He is strong!1

1
42 Anna Bartlett Warner (1827–1915).
FEBRUARY 12

Don’t worry, God will

❧G
supply.

OD IS VERY GOOD TO US when we

love Him and try our best to serve and please Him. In fact, He
tries to be as good to us as possible. He will give us
“exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think”
(Ephesians 3:20). “No good thing will He withhold from those
who walk uprightly” (Psalm 84:11). “Delight yourself also in
the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart”
(Psalm 37:4). “And my God shall supply all your need
according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Philippians
4:19).
He will solve every problem, He will meet every need, He
will even give us our heart’s desires if we please Him. He’s
promised it. He’ll give us what we ask for and have the faith
for. Our God is a God of miracles, and He can supply from
some of the most unexpected sources. When we please Him,
He not only gives us everything we need, but even many of
the things we want.
If you will be faithful to God and stay in the center of His
will, He will be faithful to take care of you.

43
FEBRUARY 13

“Every Bible should be

bound in shoe leather.”1

❧M ANY PEOPLE WON’T READ THE

BIBLE, but they will “read” a Christian. The only love of God
that many people can see is the love they see in us, and if we
don’t show them a love they can see and feel, they’re going
to have a hard time believing that there is Someone up there
whom they don’t know, and that He really loves them.
In winning people, you often have to inspire their faith in
you before they can believe God. They may not understand
or believe what you have to say about God unless you show
them His love by some visible, tangible work that puts your
words into action and your faith into effect and makes it fact
and not fiction, a sample, not just a sermon. Show them His
real love, and manifest it by genuine proving action.
The only way that others will ever find God’s joy and peace
and love and happiness and Heaven is through you. So in
everything you do, remember that God wants you to show this
world how wonderful it is to belong to Him (Matthew 5:16).

1
44 Dwight Lyman Moody (1837–1899).
FEBRUARY 14

❧L
Love is…

OVE IS BELIEVING, trusting,

helping, encouraging, confiding, sharing, understanding,
feeling, touching, caring, praying, giving. Love is communi-
cation. Love is an emotion. Love is passionate, alive, vibrant,
and warm. Love is something that gets better all the time!
Love is the greatest need of mankind, so love is the great-
est service to mankind. Love is spiritual, but is manifested
in the physical. Love is seen as it is put into action. Love
is thoughtfulness. Love is always. Love knows no hours or
days. Love is always finding a way. Love is giving all. Love
is rare—the unselfish kind. Love is priceless. Love is its own
reward.
Love is sacrificial. Love is preferring the happiness of others
to our own. Love is patient. Love is kind. Love is merciful.
Love can overcome any obstacle, heal any wound. Love is
quick to forgive. Love is humble.
Love is never lost.—It always has its effect sooner or later.
Love is forever.
Love is the name of God. Love is the power of God.
Love is God, for God is love! God’s ultimate love is Jesus
(1 John 4:8–9).

45
FEBRUARY 15

If you want to drive away

the Devil and his doubts,
start praising the Lord no

❧T
matter what’s happening.

HE DEVIL CAN TELL YOU A LOT OF

TRUTH ABOUT YOURSELF THAT’S HORRIBLE, not to speak of
the lies he tells you. One of his favorite tactics is to try to
persuade you to quit by hitting you with a barrage of doubt,
discouragement, and self-pity. If you don’t keep your eyes
on the Lord and your mind on His Word when that happens,
you’re doomed to defeat, doubt, discouragement, and final
failure.
When you’re discouraged, the Devil tries to make you mad
at the truth because he’s afraid of being defeated by it. If
you listen to the Devil’s lies, you’ll forget the words of God.
If you spend your time listening to the Devil’s doubts and
singing his dirges, you’ll forget God’s praises.
So rebuke the Enemy in Jesus’ name when he tempts you
with negative thoughts. Start praising the Lord and you’ll
often praise your way right out of the pit into which the
Devil is trying to cast you. When he comes around with his
doubts, lies, and fears, don’t just stand there—do something!
Sing, shout, praise the Lord, quote Scriptures! Sock it to him
with the Word! The Devil can’t take the Word. He’ll turn tail
and run every time!

46
FEBRUARY 16

For God’s sake, don’t

praise man, praise God!

❧A
Give Him all the glory.

T THE TOWER OF BABEL, the

people said, “Now we’re going to make a name for ourselves.
Look how big and powerful we are! Look how great we are!”
Instead of giving God the credit, they tried to take it for
themselves, so God came down and scattered them and laid
waste to their tower (Genesis 11:1–9).
One of the biggest dangers you have is to begin thinking too
highly of yourself. The minute you start patting yourself on
the back, God will see to it that you’re humbled (Romans 12:3;
1 Corinthians 10:12; James 4:6). He’s a jealous God, and He
wants and deserves all the glory (Exodus 20:5; Isaiah 42:8).
Whatever you do in word or in deed, you are to do all to the
glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31; Colossians 3:17). So make
that your prayer—that you will please the Lord by doing all
things to His glory. “God forbid that I should boast except in
the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Galatians 6:14). To Him
be the glory forever and ever!

47
FEBRUARY 17

The perfect synchroniza-

tion of this great universe
is proof of its divine archi-

❧T
tect.

HE MARVELOUS WONDERS OF OUR

UNIVERSE, the bodies of our solar system such as the Sun,
Earth, Moon, and the other planets and their moons, as well
as the stars of every galaxy, all work in perfect unison. Each
stays where it belongs and only orbits where it’s supposed
to, in the path it’s supposed to follow and at the speed it’s
supposed to travel, so that they don’t collide and their
courses can be calculated with astounding accuracy.
How could anybody say it all happened by accident? If you
have a reasoning mind at all, all you have to do is just look
at the creation to know somebody had to design and put
it together. Someone had to design the pattern and make it
work like that.
In what has since become a widely used metaphor, British
theologian and philosopher William Paley (1743–1805)
likened the origin of the universe to that of a watch: “When
we come to inspect the watch, we perceive that its several
parts are framed and put together for a purpose. The
inference we think is inevitable, that the watch must have
had a maker. The universe must have had a designer. That
designer must have been a person. That person is God.”1

1
48 Natural Theology (1802).
FEBRUARY 18

“Lovest thou Me? … Feed

❧O
My sheep.”

NE OF JESUS’ LAST MESSAGES TO

HIS DISCIPLES WAS “FEED MY SHEEP” (John 21:16 KJV).
What He meant by that, of course, is that He wants us to
have real love for the lost, to tell others about His love, and
to feed them spiritually with His Word.
The most wonderful experience you can ever have is to
find the love of God in Jesus, and then pass it on to your
children, your mate, your loved ones, your friends, and even
strangers. Jesus alone can save you, but He can’t save you
alone. If you’re really saved and you really love Jesus, you’re
going to share His love; you’re going to tell others.
What can you do for Jesus?—You can reach the lost, you
can feed His sheep, you can share His love with others.
That’s what He wants you to do. This is the greatest work in
the world: to feed His sheep, to witness the Word of God,
to preach the Gospel, to tell others about God’s great love,
to show them the love of Jesus. So keep on loving Jesus and
continue to search out His dear little sheep and love them
into His fold till the Great Shepherd returns for His own
(Isaiah 40:10–11; 1 Peter 5:2–4).

49
FEBRUARY 19

❧T
Live in the Word.

HE BIBLE IS A VERY DEEP BOOK.

Read it and you will find a continual revelation of more and
greater truth. In fact, you’ll find that the Bible is such an
enormous study and so fascinating and so deep and so broad
that it is, as the prophet Ezekiel said, “waters to swim in”
(Ezekiel 47:5 KJV). So, dive in and swim! Revel in the depths
of His Word—the refreshing water of the Word that will
feed your soul, strengthen your body, renew your mind, lift
your spirit, encourage your heart, and purify your whole
being.
You should hunger for the pure milk of the Word, just like
a newborn baby hungers for his mother’s milk (1 Peter 2:2).
There is a saying about health: “You are what you eat.”
That’s just as true of your spirit: You are spiritually what
you read or take in by other means. So be sure you’re getting
the right spiritual food—the good, wholesome, nourishing,
uplifting, encouraging, inspiring, feeding truth of the Word
of God. God will bless you as you take in His Word.
(Prayer:) Help us, Jesus, to remember what King David said
about Your Word: The secret to being blessed in all we do is
living in Your Word night and day (Psalm 1:2–3). Help us to
do that. Amen.

50
FEBRUARY 20

If you don’t get the credit

here, you’ll get it in

❧W
Heaven.

HAT A SURPRISE WE’RE GOING

TO GET WHEN JESUS HANDS OUT THE REWARDS, as to who
was really greatest. Some people serve unselfishly, sacrifi-
cially, utterly giving themselves to the utmost, yet they
never seem to get any credit for it and are virtually un-
known. But God has a great big book, and it’s known to
Him. He’s writing it all down and will reward everyone
accordingly. “For God is not unjust to forget your work and
labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in
that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister”
(Hebrews 6:10). “For we must all appear before the judgment
seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in
the body, according to what he has done, whether good or
bad” (2 Corinthians 5:10).
Salvation is free, but rewards are earned. At the judgment seat
of Christ during the marriage supper of the Lamb, Jesus will
greatly reward all those who had the faith and perseverance to
stay in His school till class was dismissed (Revelation 19:6–9;
20:4; 2:26–28). Be faithful to the end so when that time comes
you will know you have done your job the best you can. Then
you will “rejoice and be exceeding glad, for great is your
reward in Heaven” (Matthew 5:12).—Not always here, but
always there!

51
FEBRUARY 21

“Blessed are those who

are persecuted for
righteousness’ sake”

❧A
(Matthew 5:10).

“
LL WHO WILL LIVE GODLY IN
CHRIST JESUS SHALL SUFFER PERSECUTION” (2 Timothy 3:12
KJV). Persecution shows we’re hitting the Devil where it
hurts. Jesus was terribly persecuted and finally crucified for
telling the truth and showing God’s love to the world, and
He warns us to expect the same: “A servant is not greater
than his master. If they persecuted Me, they will also
persecute you” (John 15:20). But He also tells us: “Rejoice
and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in Heaven,
for so they persecuted the prophets which were before you”
(Matthew 5:12). “If we suffer for Jesus’ sake and the
Gospel’s, we shall also reign with Him” (2 Timothy 2:12).
We owe the message of God’s love to all, but especially
to those who will believe and receive it. We’re not to fear
persecution, but neither are we to cause ourselves unneces-
sary trouble by giving the message to people who we know
won’t receive it and will possibly even persecute us for it.
The whole purpose of witnessing is to win others with God’s
love, not antagonize or offend. The Lord expects us to exer-
cise wisdom. “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst
of wolves,” Jesus says. “Therefore be wise as serpents and
harmless as doves” (Matthew 10:16).

52
FEBRUARY 22

The most important job

you have is listening to the

❧I
King.

T’S NOT UP TO THE KING TO GO

CHASING AFTER HIS SUBJECTS, screaming and hollering at
them to try to get them to follow his instructions. Rather, his
subjects should come to the king with quietness and
respect, present their petitions, and then wait silently for
the king’s answer. You need to treat Jesus like the King He is.
If you’re in a room full of people and the TV is on, if they
keep raising their voices and drowning out the TV, no
matter how loud the volume is, you won’t get what it has
to say. Jesus, unlike the TV, will just shut up if you don’t
listen. When Israel stopped listening and ceased to believe
and obey what God had to say, He just stopped talking to
them for nearly four hundred years between the Old and
New Testaments. The Lord does not like to talk to deaf,
unbelieving, or unheeding ears, so He just shuts up.
But if you seek the Lord and want to hear from Him, He will
speak to you and lead you step by step. He says, “Call unto
Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty
things, which you do not know” (Jeremiah 33:3).

53
FEBRUARY 23

God’s idea of perfection is

❧G
love.

OD’S IDEA OF PERFECTION IS

OFTEN QUITE DIFFERENT FROM OURS. God took a man who
persecuted many of the first Christians and made him the
apostle Paul. Jesus took a woman who was one of the most
notorious harlots in town and made her one of His favorite
followers, Mary Magdalene. King David had one of his
soldiers killed so he could take the man’s wife for himself,
but David also became one of the Bible’s greatest heroes
because he had a great repentance.
God’s idea of saintliness is not sinless perfection; it’s a sin-
ner who has no perfection, no righteousness of his own at
all, but is totally dependent on the love and mercy of God.
These are the only saints there are; there are no others.
When we feel so righteous and good, it’s really because we
are self-righteous. We’re not closer to God, but closer to
ourselves. So let’s forget about trying to be perfect, because
we never will be. Let’s just follow God and do the best we
can for Him and others.
The only standard of righteousness or perfection is this:
Do you depend totally on God and trust only in Him and
His love and His mercy? True righteousness is being full of
the Lord and His love, for only He is always right about all
things.

54
FEBRUARY 24

“I will not doubt though

all my ships at sea come
drifting home with broken
masts and sails.”1

❧W HEN EVERYTHING GOES WRONG

and seems contrary to the Word of God and the usual, only
those with great faith can say with Job, “Though He slay
me, yet will I trust Him” (Job 13:15). Even though God let
the Devil nearly destroy him, Job still didn’t say “uncle” to
the Devil. He kept on believing and obeying, and he came
out doubly blessed.
But a lot of people give up on the way to victory. They get
weak and tired and quit. They suffer so many things in vain
(Galatians 3:4). They go through so much, and then miss the
victory. Like Esau, they give up too easily. Esau despised his
birthright and settled for something he could see and easily
believe in, rather than something he couldn’t see and had to
have great faith for (Genesis 25:33–34).
So when things look darkest, don’t look down, look up! Be
not fearful, but believing. Keep believing and obeying no
matter what happens. Don’t get down in the mouth, but
praise God and thank Him for the glorious victories of the
future, even if you can’t see them now and have to take them
by faith. You’ll be glad you trusted Him tomorrow!

1
Ella Wheeler Wilcox (1850–1919), “Faith”. 55
FEBRUARY 25

“It is no longer I who burn,

❧W
but Christ burns in me.”

HEN A CANDLE BURNS, it’s

mostly the wax, not the wick, that’s burning. An oil lamp is
the same; it must be the oil that burns, and not the wick. If
the wick burns without oil, it will be consumed quickly.
Most of the wick must be deeply immersed in the oil, so
only a small part of the wick is exposed to the air and flame.
That way, it’s mostly the oil that burns and very little of the
wick—almost none. The oil flows freely through a wick that
is deeply soaked in the oil, and as the oil burns, it gives a
bright, clear light.
Sometimes we work too hard, trying to do everything our-
selves when we need to let Jesus do it through us. When we
do the burning, we give off smoke and soot and burn out
fast, but when we let the Lord’s oil, the Holy Spirit, flow
through us and do the burning, we last a long time.
“It is no longer I who burn, but Christ burns in me” (Galatians
2:20, paraphrased). “Let your light so shine before men, that
they may see your good works and glorify your Father in
Heaven” (Matthew 5:16).

56
FEBRUARY 26

The secret of calm and

peace and rest and
patience and love is

❧J
resting in the Lord.

ESUS SAID, “Come to Me, all you

who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take
My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and
lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My
yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:28–30).
Jesus promises that His yoke will be easy and His burden
light, but there’s one condition: “Come to Me.” When you
are wearied with the strain of it all, you can fly to Jesus on
the wings of prayer and faith and get the relief that He alone
can give you. He knows what you need most of all: rest and
peace and fellowship with Him, and feeding on His Word.
“And you will find rest for your souls.” Not many people
understand that a soul is both body and spirit. If you don’t
rest in the Spirit, you are going to wear out your body.
Take His yoke on you—not the yoke of this world or your
own yoke, but the yoke of Jesus’ own love and His burden
of love for others.

57
FEBRUARY 27

Let the Lord do the

❧T
worrying!

HE TWO GREATEST SOURCES OF

FEAR AND WORRY ARE THE PAST AND THE FUTURE—
remorse over the past, and fear of the future—and God’s
Word forbids us to worry about either. If you know the
Lord, then you’re His child, and you don’t have anything to
worry about.
Worry is a sign of fear, and fear is not faith. Lack of faith
can be a terrible, frightening thing because fear has tor-
ment (1 John 4:18). But faith in God, trust in God, gives
you a feeling of rest of body, peace of mind, contentment
of heart, and spiritual well-being. It’s faith that keeps you
from worry. It’s faith that keeps out fear. Jesus said, “Let not
your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in
Me” (John 14:1). The beginning of faith is the end of worry.
When you trust the Lord, you know He’s going to take care
of you and you don’t have to worry about anything.
“God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of
love, and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7). So commit your
way, your life, your mind, your thoughts, your time, your
everything to the Lord. “Cast your burden upon the Lord
and He shall sustain you” (Psalm 55:22). His shoulders are
broad enough to carry any load!

58
FEBRUARY 28

God wants you to be

❧G
happy!

OD IS NOT A SAD GOD; He’s a

happy God who wants you to be happy too! The Bible says,
“Happy are the people whose God is the Lord” (Psalm
144:15). This is the whole point of salvation, to relieve us of
the suffering, pain, death, and tears brought into the world
by the Devil and the sins of man. God is not a monster who’s
trying to deny you everything and make you miserable. He
loves life and created it for you to enjoy. He made this
beautiful world as a home for you to live in and enjoy, and
He gave you a wonderful body, mind, and heart with which
to enjoy it. He even promises you the desires of your heart
when you delight yourself in Him (Psalm 37:4).
But God’s pretty smart and He knows that the happier you
are, the more you’ll love Him, the more obedient you’ll be out
of pure love, and the better job you’ll do for Him in sharing
Him and His love with others. He wants to make you happy
with His love, and He wants to help you make others happy,
too, with both His love and your love. Our main purpose in
life, as Martin Luther (1483–1546) said, is to love God and
enjoy Him forever—and I might add, to try to help others to
do the same.

59
FEBRUARY 29

For our witness to go as

far as it can, we must
teach others to teach

❧A
others to teach others.

S ACTIVE CHRISTIANS AND

WITNESSES FOR JESUS, our object is to preach the Gospel to
everyone, everywhere (Mark 16:15). But if we’re going to
accomplish that task, we can’t try to do it all ourselves. We
must teach others to teach others. That’s the way to multiply
our efforts and results.
The apostle Paul wrote, “The things that you have heard
from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful
men who will be able to teach others also” (2 Timothy 2:2).
To be productive and self-propagating, we must not only
witness and win souls, but we must make disciples of those
souls—disciples who can teach others to teach others to
teach others in an endless chain reaction of preaching the
Gospel. That’s how Jesus meant for it to spread.
Jesus didn’t reach millions Himself. He spent most of His
time teaching and training His disciples to carry on. He
preached most of His sermons to them and a few others,
until by the time He was ready to leave them behind, they
were well able to carry on with the inspiration of the Holy
Spirit—and they did a terrific job!
So each one teach one—the name of the game being multi-
plication of citizens for the kingdom of God.

60
MARCH 1

We must learn to live in

Jesus’ strength; we cannot

❧I
live in our own.

F WE TRY TO DO THE MASTER’S

WORK WITHOUT THE MASTER’S POWER, we’re tackling an
impossible task. We cannot strive in our own strength.
Unless we look to Jesus in very earnest prayer for the
strength and spirit and inspiration to help us through, we’re
apt to wear ourselves out.
It’s like the story about a small boy who was trying very
hard to lift a heavy object. The boy’s father came into the
room and asked him, “Are you using all your strength?”
“Yes, of course I am,” the boy impatiently exclaimed.
“No, you’re not,” the father answered. “You haven’t asked
me to help you!”
So it is with Jesus and us. Aren’t we so often like that little
boy? But a little help from Jesus is the biggest help we can
get, and that’s all the help we need. Just a little help from
Jesus will make it right. Without Him we’re nothing, but
with Him we can do anything (John 15:5; Philippians 4:13).
“Give me a task too big, too hard for human hands, then
shall I come at length to lean on Thee, and leaning find my
strength.”1

1
Wilbur H. “Witt” Fowler. 61
MARCH 2

God said, “It is not good

that man should be alone”

❧A
(Genesis 2:18).

LTHOUGH ADAM HAD GOD and

the whole world to himself in the Garden of Eden, he wasn’t
truly happy or satisfied. He looked each of the animals over
trying to decide not only their names, but also which one
could be his companion. But none of them fully met his
needs, so God created a very lovely helpmeet for him, which
was His intention all along, of course. Apparently God
needed to let Adam go through all that so he would really
appreciate Eve when she arrived.
God put Adam to sleep, took out one of his ribs, and made
a woman out of it. Why didn’t God take a bone out of his
head?—If he had, she might have tried to be the head of the
house. Why didn’t He take a bone out of his foot?—Adam
might have wanted to walk all over her then. He took a piece
of Adam that was close to his heart, so Eve would always be
close to his heart.
God knows we all need companionship and a helper to stand
by us, and if we’ll just wait and be patient, God will always
bring along the right mate—and by that time we’ll really
appreciate them.

62
MARCH 3

❧I
Wait for God to work!

F YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO,

stop everything. The worst thing in the world you can do is
to keep on going when you don’t know what to do. That was
King Saul’s mistake and it cost him his kingdom.
Giving God time to work solves so many problems. A few
minutes, a few hours, a few days, and we find that God has
taken care of things without our help. Give God a chance.
Give Him time. Wait on the Lord (Psalm 27:14). Take time to
hear from God, and He’ll take the time to straighten out the
problem (Jeremiah 33:3). If you stop and look to Him before
you leap, you may not have to leap at all.
When you don’t know where to go, sit still. When you’re
driving your car through a fog and it becomes so dense you
can’t see, you shouldn’t just keep on driving; you should
find a place where you can pull off a safe distance from the
road and wait. Sit still until the fog lifts and you can clearly
see your way.
Slow down! Trying to force the situation and push your way
through just won’t work. He says, “Be still and know that I
am God” (Psalm 46:10). “In all your ways acknowledge Him,
and He shall direct your paths” (Proverbs 3:6).

63
MARCH 4

You’ll never know the

true power of love until
you learn the power of

❧W
surrender to God.

E CAN ONLY FIND FULLNESS OF

FAITH when we are willing to yield our pride and our own
will to God. Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, “O
My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me;
nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will” (Matthew 26:39),
and that should be our prayer. God has to have our coopera-
tion. Submission is the first step. If we are unwilling to take
that step, we won’t be able to go to other steps. The Lord
will do everything else for us—give us strength, wisdom,
guidance, and love—but we have to make the decision. All
that He asks is for us to commit ourselves. He likes for us to
freely choose and yield to Him because we love Him.
Total love gives all. But if we give our all to the Lord, He
gives His all to us. You can have peace and power that you’ve
never known before, through Jesus, if you’ll just let Him
control your life.
Deep abiding joy fills all my life today.
There is a secret reason why I love to pray.
There is an inner wellspring deep within my soul:
Jesus, precious Jesus, has at last complete control!1

1
64 Author unknown.
MARCH 5

Fulfilled Bible prophecy

proves that the Bible is the

❧J
inspired Word of God.

ESUS SAID, “I have told you before

it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe”
(John 14:29).
“Search from the book of the Lord, and read: not one of
these shall fail; not one shall lack her mate. For My mouth
has commanded it” (Isaiah 34:16). The mate of every
prophecy is its fulfillment. Hundreds of prophecies given
in the Bible—sometimes hundreds and even thousands of
years in advance—have been fulfilled down to the most
intricate detail, and the ones that are yet to come will be
fulfilled just as surely. What God has determined and said
will happen, He’s going to do. God will make sure that
every single prophecy is fulfilled!
It’s thrilling to study fulfilled prophecies because it encour-
ages your faith to know that other prophecies regarding
the future will also be fulfilled just as accurately and just
as surely. “God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son
of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He
not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?”
(Numbers 23:19). “Till heaven and earth pass away, one jot
or one tittle will by no means pass from the Word till all is
fulfilled” (Matthew 5:18).

65
MARCH 6

❧W
God offers us a pardon.

E ALL STAND ACCUSED OF

WRONGDOING, and we’re all guilty; we’re all sinners
(Romans 3:23). God is the judge, and the Devil is the
prosecuting attorney who demands the execution of the
law—and of us (Job 1:6–12; Revelation 12:10). But Jesus is
our defense attorney and He already paid the price of our
pardon, so God can set us free.
When the Devil reminds God of all your sins, all you have to
do is look to your defense attorney, Jesus (1 John 2:1). Jesus
will then look to the Father and say, “Father, forgive this
man. This is another one of Mine who has received Me and
believed in Me as his lawyer, as his defense attorney, as his
advocate. He has received My defense; he has received My
sacrifice in his place, and he believes that I took his punish-
ment for him. Therefore, You can hand him one of those par-
dons.” And God hands down the pardon, and Jesus hands it
to you, and the Devil slinks away with his tail between his
legs, defeated again!
You’ve got a pardon from God, no matter what you’ve done,
because Jesus took your punishment on the cross. “The
blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin”
(1 John 1:7).

66
MARCH 7

If you want to read a

marvelous book, read the

❧T
Bible.

HE BIBLE IS AN ABSOLUTELY
INEXHAUSTIBLE SOURCE OF WISDOM AND KNOWLEDGE, in
which you can constantly find treasures new and old
(Matthew 13:52).
If you love beautiful poetry and oratory, read the Psalms
and the Prophets. If you like philosophical arguments,
you’ll enjoy the book of Job. The Song of Solomon is
romantic. Science fiction? It’s got nothing on the future as
foretold in the books of Daniel, Ezekiel, and Revelation.
The Bible is more fascinating and amazing than Greek and
Roman mythology and all the legends and fairy tales and
made-up stories of man put together. If you want to read
about miraculous and supernatural happenings, just read
the Bible. It’s more thrilling and more wonderful than any
other book ever written—and it’s true! It tells stories, but it
doesn’t tell lies. Every single passage is the truth of God!
And the most wonderful thing about the Bible is that
through its life-giving words, especially those found in the
four Gospels, we can personally know its divine author, who
alone can guarantee life and love and happiness and Heaven
forever through simply reading and believing these words of
love from Him to us (John 20:31).

67
MARCH 8

Even though war and

confusion are all around
you, you can have peace
in your heart through the

❧N
Prince of Peace, Jesus.

O MATTER WHAT IS HAPPENING

ON THE OUTSIDE, you can have peace on the inside. You never
have to worry! Jesus is able to keep you safe, even if you’re
right in the middle of trouble or chaos (Psalm 91). He never
sleeps. He watches all the time. He knows every hair of your
head, and everything is in His hands, as the old hymn says:
He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock
That shadows a dry, thirsty land;
He hideth my life with the depths of His love,
And covers me there with His hand.1
Jesus is able to keep you no matter where you are, but if He
knows it would be better to take you home to Heaven, either
way you’ve got it made. “Your life is hidden with Christ in
God” (Colossians 3:3), and Jesus will keep you in perfect
peace as you keep your mind stayed on Him, because you
trust in Him (Isaiah 26:3).
Safe in the arms of Jesus,
Safe on His gentle breast!
There shall thy heart be happy,
There thou shalt find sweet rest!2
1
Fanny Crosby (1820–1915).
2
68 Crosby
MARCH 9

Life is in the seed, not the

❧W
sower.

INNING PEOPLE TO JESUS IS LIKE

FARMING: We plant little seeds of truth in the earth of
people’s hearts, and the great warm sunshine of His love and
the water of His Word will cause some of those seeds to
burst forth in the miracle of new life.
Of course, we hope to win many others to faith in Christ,
but that’s really God’s job and the work of the Holy Spirit.
We can only give people the truth and show them the Lord’s
love; we can’t force results or make the decision for them.
Whether or not they choose to believe and receive and fol-
low that truth is between each individual and God.
One person sows the seed, another may water it, but it is
God that gives the increase (1 Corinthians 3:6). We can only
try to prepare the ground, soften it with our prayers, and
sow the seed. It’s up to the individual to receive it, and only
God can make it take root and grow and produce fruit.
Our job is simply to go forth bearing precious seed and to
plant it in fertile, fruitful, receptive hearts. We may not
always see the harvest ourselves, but as long as we have
faithfully done our part, we can leave the rest up to God.

69
MARCH 10

God can give you the

solutions to your problems
that will make the

❧Y
mountains melt away.

OU WILL GET A LOT MORE DONE IF

YOU WILL SPEND MORE TIME IN PRAYER, alone with God.
You will get more instruction, insight, and inspiration from
the Lord when you are alone and quiet than at any other time
because He has your full attention and you can give Him the
reverence that is His due. Even Jesus had to get up at the
break of day, before His disciples, and find a quiet place to
get alone with and hear from His Father (Mark 1:35).
You’re going to have to get quiet by yourself—somewhere,
somehow, sometime—if you’re going to hear from the Lord.
You can’t solve your problems on your own. You’ve got to
be desperate for God’s solutions, and then you’ve got to stop
everything else and listen.
(Prayer:) Help us, Jesus, to remember that we can’t go on
without the heavenly vision that You give. We all need more
quiet time alone with You, to nestle in Your arms and be
refreshed and strengthened by Your Spirit, to have You and
You alone to think about and pray about and to get close to,
without any other distractions.

70
MARCH 11

The Devil flees when he

sees the weakest saint

❧Y
upon his knees!

OU’RE NOT STRONGER THAN THE

DEVIL, but God is (1 John 4:4). With God on your side,
you’re more than a match for the Devil. So when the Devil
tries to fight you or what you’re doing, pray and ask God to
deliver you from his clutches.
The Devil has no power over you when you pray and claim
God’s promises. The Devil can’t stand the Word or the name
of Jesus; he turns tail and runs! Remember, Jonah got out of
the belly of the whale when he exclaimed, “Salvation is of
the Lord!” (Jonah 2:9).
“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am
your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I
will uphold you with My righteous right hand” (Isaiah
41:10). Don’t in any way be terrified by your adversaries
(Philippians 1:28). “Resist the Devil and he will flee from
you” (James 4:7).
When you pray, you just can’t lose for winning and the
Devil just can’t win for losing, because God is with you. God
has given you the power to call in the forces of Heaven to
assist you and to overpower all the forces of evil—the Devil
and his minions—so use it.

71
MARCH 12

Grace plus faith plus

❧J
nothing––that’s salvation!

ESUS, GOD’S GIFT OF LOVE TO US, is

just that, a gift. We just have to receive Him humbly. We
can’t possibly pay enough to buy our way into Heaven, to
buy eternal life, to buy the happiness that Jesus brings.
Accepting salvation through His Word is a work of God’s
grace. “For by grace have you been saved through faith, and
that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8).
You can’t earn a gift or else it wouldn’t be a gift.
Salvation is not a reward, it’s not pay, it’s not wages; it is a
gift that you can’t earn by faithfulness or by any kind of
works of your own. Your good works can’t save you and
your bad works can’t damn you. We’re saved purely by faith
in Jesus, the gift of God, by His grace. The worst sinner can
go to Heaven by faith, and the “best” person can go to Hell
because of unbelief. Heaven is full of sinners, saved by grace
through faith.
Do you depend totally on God’s grace and His mercy? Do
you give Him all the glory and all the credit? It’s wonderful
when you realize that you don’t have to do it. Jesus has done
it for us!

72
MARCH 13

To be “faithful unto death,”

❧T
just be faithful today.

HE BEST THING THAT WE COULD

POSSIBLY ASK OF THE LORD for ourselves is that we will be
faithful. “Be faithful unto death,” He says, “and I will give
you a crown of life” (Revelation 2:10 KJV).
When you think about trying to be faithful for the rest of
your life, that seems impossible. That’s just too big; you’ll
never make it. But what about today? You may have had
your trials and tests, you may have gotten discouraged, you
may have made mistakes, but have you still got your faith
today?—Then you’re full of faith. You’ve been faithful today.
You can only live one day at a time, so you can only be faith-
ful one day at a time. Don’t worry about when you weren’t
faithful yesterday or whether you’re going to be faithful to-
morrow, but do your best to be faithful today. Just be faith-
ful one day at a time. You don’t even have to have faith for a
whole day. The only faith you need is what you’ve got right
now. Just have faith for this moment, right now, one moment
at a time. Just be faithful for one moment, one hour, one day
at a time, and you will inherit an eternal crown of life.

73
MARCH 14

To learn all the lessons

God has for us, we need
to ask Him what He’s

❧W
trying to teach us.

E CAN GO THROUGH LIFE AND

MISS MANY OF THE THINGS THAT GOD IS TRYING TO TEACH
US. Some things are obvious, but others aren’t, and we can
miss the point if we don’t ask Him or don’t open our eyes to
what He’s trying to show us through them.
Many things happen that God would like to speak to us
through, but if we don’t look at them as messages from Him,
then they just pass and we don’t get it; we don’t learn from
it and it’s wasted. What God wants to be a lesson may not be
a lesson if we don’t take the time to ask Him, “What are You
trying to show me?”
The more we pray about things beforehand, the more the
Lord is able to help us and the better things will turn out.
But it’s just as important to pray about the outcome, espe-
cially when things don’t go the way we expect or want them
to. If we take time to think about it and ask the Lord, He can
help us learn from every experience. The lesson is there if
we will ask for it, but by the same token, if we don’t ask, a
lot of times we don’t receive (Matthew 7:7; James 4:2).

74
MARCH 15

Why does God allow the

❧G
Devil to test us?

OD PROTECTS HIS CHILDREN, but

has anything bad ever happened to you since you’ve been
saved? Has God ever let the Devil touch you in some way
through an accident, affliction, mistake, or other trouble?
If God is in control, why does He allow those things?
Look at what happened to Job. Did he bring his misfor-
tune upon himself? Was it his fault? Had he sinned? No. It
happened because the Devil asked God if he could test and
tempt Job to see if he could break him and make him deny
God’s goodness. God let the Devil take away all Job’s wealth,
then his family, and finally his health. It was all a test—per-
petrated by the Devil but allowed by God—in order to show
that Job really loved God in spite of it all.
God will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we are
able to bear (1 Corinthians 10:13). He doesn’t let the Devil
give us more than we can take, but He does let him test our
faith to see if we will flee to the Lord and quote His Word
and take a stand of faith. It’s one way God has of trying to
keep us close to Him, constantly dependent upon Him and
His protection. And when we pass the test, God delivers us,
like He did Job.

75
MARCH 16

God works, and that’s all

❧W
you need to know!

E ALL USE ELECTRICITY IN OUR

EVERYDAY LIVES, even though none of us has ever seen it,
only its effect. In the same way, we must accept the existence
of God, even though we can’t see Him. We simply know He
does exist and He is here, ever-present, all-knowing, and all-
powerful.
All that most of us know about electricity is that it works.
We flip the switch and make contact with this invisible
power, and it does the work for us. Likewise, we must learn
to make personal contact with the power of God through
prayer, a spiritual seeking of contact with His Spirit through
obedience to the laws of His Word. We must avail ourselves
of God just as we do electricity, and let His light and power
into the rooms of our lives to give us light and power and
joy in living by doing many things for us that we cannot do
for ourselves.
Just reach out your hand of faith and turn the switch of
decision, which makes the contact and starts the flow of that
power into your life. You don’t have to personally know all
the answers. Just flip the switch and God will go to work!

76
MARCH 17

Have you been filled with

❧B
the Spirit of God’s love?

EFORE THE TIME OF CHRIST, God

only anointed certain leaders, kings, and prophets with His
Spirit, but now His Holy Spirit is available to all who receive
Jesus.
Ever since the Day of Pentecost, when the first disciples
were filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus has made it possible
for every Christian to have a direct connection with Him
by means of the Holy Spirit. Now everybody can have the
Holy Spirit and be led individually by the Lord. Now we
can all enjoy Him together anywhere, everywhere, any time,
all the time, in all His power and fullness, and we can all be
reached equally, fairly, and simultaneously through the com-
munication of the Holy Spirit.
Everyone who receives Jesus as their Savior is given a cer-
tain amount of the Spirit, but receiving a complete infilling
or “baptism” of the Holy Spirit is usually a subsequent ex-
perience to that of salvation. This is why the apostle Paul in-
quired of certain Christians that he met, “Have you received
the Holy Spirit since you believed?” (Acts 19:2 KJV).
If you are saved, this power from God is yours for the ask-
ing. “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts
to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father
give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him” (Luke 11:13).

77
MARCH 18

“We walk by faith, not by

❧S
sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7).

O MANY PEOPLE TODAY SAY, “I’ll

believe it when I see it. Seeing is believing.” But that’s not
the way faith works. To the Christian, believing is seeing.
God wants us to trust Him and believe first of all, and then
we’ll see the answer. He puts us through that period of
believing and trusting by faith to see if we really love Him
and are willing to trust Him. He wants to see if we really
have faith. He appreciates our faith to believe what we
cannot see.
We can’t expect to receive faith from God for a situation
when we’re looking at ourselves or conditions instead of
looking to Him. Man says, “Tie up in port. Don’t attempt
the impossible; you’ll sink!” God says, “Launch out into the
deep! Cast forth your nets and I’ll give you such a catch of
fish there will not be room enough to hold it” (Luke 5:4–9).
Man says, “Look at the waves! Look at the condition of your
vessel! You can’t do it!” God says, “Look at Me. With man
it is impossible, but with God nothing is impossible, and all
things are possible to those who believe” (Matthew 14:29–31;
Luke 1:37; 18:27).
Keep your eyes on Jesus.
His promises avail!
Keep your eyes on Jesus.
His Word can never fail!1

1
78 Author unknown.
MARCH 19

God is still on the throne

and prayer changes

❧M
things.

OST PEOPLE TODAY SEEM TO PUT

THE STORIES OF JESUS and His disciples way back in the
past. They’re looked on as fairy tales; they have no reality to
them. God is far away, Heaven is far away, Jesus has long
been dead—everything’s so far away. But the day of miracles
is not past!
God is still alive, well, and working just as powerfully as
ever amongst those that trust in Him. He says, “I am the
Lord, I do not change” (Malachi 3:6). Jesus is just as real as
ever (Hebrews 13:8). God’s Word hasn’t changed; His prom-
ises still have no restrictions, no limitations, and no qualifi-
cations except our faith.
All God asks of us is that we honor Him with faith by
believing His promises in His Word. When you pray, bring
those promises with you to remind Him. When you remind
God of His Word, it shows you have faith in it. This posi-
tive declaration of your faith pleases God and moves Him
to work on your behalf, so quote Scriptures and hold God
to His Word. “There has not failed one word of all His good
promise” (1 Kings 8:56).
Keep on believing, God answers prayer.
Keep on believing, He’s still up there.1

1
Lucy Milward Booth-Hellberg (1868–1953),
“Keep On Believing,” paraphrased. 79
MARCH 20

He is no fool who gives a life

he cannot keep for a love he

❧W
will never lose.

HATEVER THIS LIFE AND THIS

WORLD HAVE TO OFFER, it’s only for a little while. But salvation,
souls, and service for the Lord are forever; they are eternal. “And
the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the
will of God abides forever” (1 John 2:17). “For the things which
are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are
eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:18).
Moses esteemed the reproach of Christ greater riches than the
treasures in Egypt, which could have been his, because he looked
to the reward (Hebrews 11:26). He looked beyond his day and all
of its problems and temptations and saw Jesus. He had an eye on
eternity and its great rewards, and counted the riches of Christ
greater than all the riches of Egypt, the richest, most powerful
nation on earth in that day, of which he could have been pharaoh
(Hebrews 11:24–27).
If we pay the same price and make the same sacrifices, we too can
look forward to eternal rewards and everlasting glory. By giving
our all to the Lord, we are going to receive so much more. What a
small price to pay for all we’re getting in return!

80
MARCH 21

❧I
Winter’s over, spring is here!

T’S A PITY TO LIVE IN UNHAPPINESS,

when just around the corner your life can be thrilling and
fulfilling and wonderful beyond all expectation.

Beyond the blue horizon waits a beautiful day.

Goodbye to things that bore me, joy is waiting for me.
I’ve found a new horizon, my life has only begun.
Beyond the blue horizon, waits a rising sun!1
For all of us who have found Jesus, that certainly is true. Our
lives are constantly full of new horizons from which the rising
Son, Jesus, brightens each new day.
He came so we may have life, and so we may have it more abun-
dantly (John 10:10). He wants us to enjoy life to the fullest, here
and now—not just pie in the sky and Heaven hereafter, but “a
hundredfold now in this time ... and in the world to come eternal
life” (Mark 10:30 KJV). All this and Heaven too! Heaven on earth
and Heaven hereafter! When we found Jesus, it was like the end of
a cold, hard winter and the beginning of a beautiful new spring-
like awakening of the spirit of life. Hallelujah! We have heaven on
earth in our hearts!

Truth and spring our God can bring,

And happy you can be.
Take Jesus’ joy right here and now,
And live a life that’s free!

1
Leo Robin (1895–1984). 81
MARCH 22

The secret of victory is

❧W
the Word.

HAT IS THE LIFE-GIVING FLOW

THAT GIVES US LIFE FROM GOD?—It’s God’s Word. It’s His
Word that gives us life and food and nourishment and
strength and spiritual health. Jesus Himself said, “The
words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life”
(John 6:63).
Some people become “alienated from the life of God”
(Ephesians 4:18). How is this possible?—It happens when
they become separated from the Word, because Jesus is
the Word (John 1:14). The minute you start crowding the
Word out of your life, you are getting too busy. If you’re
not faithfully living in the Word—reading the Word,
absorbing the Word, and practicing the Word—beware!
Eventually you will lose confidence in the Word because of
your own double-mindedness and double-heartedness, and
you will drift further from the Lord. When you neglect the
Word, you neglect the Lord, and when you do that, you
are programmed to self-destruct spiritually.
There’s nothing more powerful than the Word! The Word is
the secret of power and victory and overcoming and fruit-
fulness and fire and life and warmth and light. The secret of
everything good is the Word!

82
MARCH 23

“God is a Spirit”

❧G
(John 4:24 KJV).

OD IS THE SPIRIT OF LOVE. He’s

the Great Spirit, the Creator. He’s not some old bearded
gentleman way off somewhere, or some kind of ferocious
monster that you can’t understand, but He is the guiding
light of the universe, the all-powerful, omnipresent,
omniscient, omnipotent spirit that pervades all things. He is
in everything, and everything is part of God, in a sense
(Acts 17:28; Colossians 1:16–17).
God dwells in life. He dwells more in one little sparrow than
He does in all of the buildings and monuments supposedly
dedicated to Him. “The most High does not dwell in temples
made with hands” (Acts 7:48). He said even the Heaven of
heavens cannot contain Him! Nevertheless, the High and
Holy One dwells in the heart of the meek and the lowly
(Isaiah 57:15). He will live in your heart if you’ll ask Him to
come in.
He’s everywhere. He is the very spirit of love in your heart.
He’s inside of you—so close. His love is there wherever you
are, whenever you ask for it. As King David so beautifully
expressed in the Psalms, “If I’m up in Heaven, You are there.
If I descend into the depths of Hell, You are there. Wherever
I am, You are with me. I can never depart from Your Spirit”
(Psalm 139:7–12).

83
MARCH 24

❧G
Ask for prayer.

OD ENCOURAGES US TO CALL FOR

HELP AND ASK OTHERS TO PRAY WITH US, and He promises
us greater results if we do. “If two of you agree on earth con-
cerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by
My Father in Heaven. For where two or three are gathered
together in My name, I am there in the midst of them”
(Matthew 18:19–20). “Pray for one another. … The effective,
fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much” (James 5:16).
One can chase a thousand, but two can put ten thousand to
flight (Deuteronomy 32:30). That’s why it’s important that
you make your request known, not only to the Lord but also
to your brothers and sisters in Christ.
If God knows your needs before you call (Matthew 6:8),
why doesn’t He just go ahead and supply them without
your having to ask?—Because He wants you to confess
your dependence on Him and manifest your faith in Him.
Similarly, you can pray for yourself and God will answer,
but the answer won’t be as great a testimony. When you
ask others for prayer it’s not only a manifestation of your
faith in God, but also a confession of your need for and
dependence on Him and therefore a greater testimony to all
when He answers—and that, of course, greatly pleases Him.

84
MARCH 25

No matter how good you

are, Jesus can make you

❧I
better!

T’S NOT POSSIBLE FOR YOU TO

TRULY CHANGE YOURSELF, but it’s possible for Jesus to
change you by His miracle working power. He’ll do things
you can’t do!
His coming into your life not only renews and purifies and
regenerates your spirit, but it also renews your mind, break-
ing old connections and reflexes and gradually giving you
a whole new outlook on life and new reactions to nearly
everything around you (Ephesians 4:23; Romans 12:2). This
is what it means to be “born again” in spirit so that you be-
come a “new creation” in Christ Jesus, with old things being
passed away and all things becoming new (John 3:3;
2 Corinthians 5:17).
It’s impossible for you to make such a change as this your-
self. “With men this is impossible, but with God all things
are possible” (Matthew 19:26). If you want this change, it’s
necessary for you to ask Jesus to come into your heart. He’s
the One who makes “new creations.” All you do is ask Him
to come in, and then He works the miracle.
Some changes are instantaneous; others take a while. But if
you’re saved and truly want Jesus to change you, you’ll be
changed—because Jesus changes people!

85
MARCH 26

“He who rules his spirit is

better than he who takes

❧W
a city” (Proverbs 16:32).

E CAN’T BLAME ALL OUR

PROBLEMS ON THE DEVIL. Our number one problem is often
with us. The evil spirits are subject to us (Luke 10:19–20);
it’s our own spirits that are often not as submitted to the
Lord as they should be.
If we’re saved, then Jesus will never leave us nor forsake us
(Hebrews 13:5), but we can lose His power by our dis-
obedience and wrong attitudes. Our spirits have free will
and must be brought voluntarily under the Lord’s control,
otherwise they can certainly lead us astray just as bad as
an evil spirit. In fact, our own spirits become evil when we
disobey and are out of fellowship with God and out of His
Spirit (Romans 6:16). When we don’t control our spirits,
we leave ourselves wide open to spiritual attack. “Whoever
has no rule over his own spirit is like a city broken down,
without walls” (Proverbs 25:28).
God leaves the choice up to us which way we want to go,
but if we will make the right choice to go God’s way, then
He can step in to help us overcome our weaknesses. We need
to yield to the Holy Spirit, then the Lord will help us rule
our spirits.

86
MARCH 27

Trust in the darkness

❧G
brings triumph at dawn.

OD’S WORD SAYS, “Count it all joy

when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of
your faith produces patience. But let patience have its
perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking
nothing” (James 1:2–4). Through every difficulty you face,
God is molding and making you, so trust Him!
Trust Him through it like every man of God and every
woman of God has had to do. That’s what made them the
women and men of God that they became—they trusted
through the dark spots, they trusted through the storms,
they trusted through the trials, they trusted through the
afflictions. And because they trusted, He bought them
through those dark spots and into the light of a brighter
day. In the end those trials of their faith didn’t seem so
bad, because they worked for them “a far more exceeding
and eternal weight of glory” (2 Corinthians 4:17).
So when the times get rough and storms rage, when the
nights get darker and the discouragement deeper, don’t give
up! Just look to Jesus, the author and finisher of your faith
(Hebrews 12:2). Jesus is there with you. He is with you in
the darkness. He is with you in the trial. He is with you in
the depths. He is with you there because He loves you. He is
there to pull you through.

87
MARCH 28

Ask God to give you direct

revelations, straight from
Him, to show you exactly

❧G
what to do.

OD STILL SPEAKS TODAY. He’s still

speaking and revealing, and He can speak and reveal to you
directly. You can get your orders directly from the Lord
Himself.
How do you test your inspiration?—Scripture is the
yardstick, the final authority by which you can measure
anything that’s said. True revelations won’t teach anything
contrary to the Word, but they can fill in a lot of gaps and
instruct you in your present circumstances. Just be sure that
your revelations are in line with and don’t contradict the
Word of God. Ask Him for Scriptures to confirm what you
receive directly from Him.
It’s wonderful to be able to go straight to the Lord for the
answers, instructions, and guidance you need. When you
get His statement on the matter in question, you know
you’re on the right track and you can go ahead and act with
conviction and faith, without hesitation. You’ve heard from
Heaven, and that settles it!

88
MARCH 29

Praise brings down the

❧P
blessings of God.

RAISE IS VERY IMPORTANT IN

HEAVEN, because in Heaven everyone praises the Lord all
the time. It’s part of being there. And when you praise the
Lord, it takes you there in the spirit and you partake of that
praiseful atmosphere. “Enter into His gates with thanksgiv-
ing, and into His courts with praise” (Psalm 100:4).
Praise is one of the greatest powers of Heaven. When you
praise the Lord, you open yourself to the healing balm of
Heaven and it clears your mind, relieves stress, and refreshes
your spirit. Strength and power lie in praise—not only
power that lifts your spirit, but power to draw more power
from the heavenly realm. Praise opens a channel to the
heavenlies that allows the heavenly blessings to pour down.
You don’t just praise your way to victory, you also praise
down the blessings of God.
Praise is a form of love. It’s you telling the Lord how much
you love Him and how thankful you are for all He does for
you. As you praise and love Him, He loves you in return and
pours His blessings on you. So sing those praises, pray those
praises, pour forth those praises to the Lord. The blessings
come down as the praises go up!

89
MARCH 30

Help us to stay close to

You, Jesus, and to others

❧G
in the faith.

OD ALWAYS SEEMS TO BLESS

HARMONY, people living at peace with each other, helping
each other, and showing a large measure of love. His
dynamics of the spirit operate amazingly: He says that one
can chase a thousand, but two can put ten thousand to flight
(Deuteronomy 32:30). In other words, it doesn’t just double
your power, but it increases it tenfold! There is tremendous
strength in unity.
One of Jesus’ last earthly prayers was that His followers
would be one, just as He and His Father were one
(John 17:21–23). If we truly love Jesus, we should try to
work in unity with other Christians for the sake of His
kingdom, not in competition with each other but yoked
together in love, pulling the load together.
Blest be the tie that binds our hearts in Christian love;
The fellowship of kindred minds is like to that above.1
“Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord
Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that
there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly
joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment”
(1 Corinthians 1:10).

1
90 John Fawcett (1740–1817).
MARCH 31

There are some things

❧T
that God cannot do.

HERE ARE SOME THINGS THAT

GOD CANNOT DO, because He has bound Himself within
certain limitations so as not to interfere with your power of
choice. Just like Adam and Eve in the Garden, everyone is
given a chance to choose. In fact, when all is said and done,
that’s the main reason we’re here in the first place: to learn
how to make decisions under God’s guidance. You have to
make the decision; He’s not going to force you to do His will.
“Whoever will may come” (Revelation 22:17).
God never forces Himself on anyone. He just gives people
the opportunity to receive His blessings. If they refuse them,
it’s their loss. “Each of us shall give account of himself to
God” (Romans 14:12). We cannot hide behind others when it
comes to our majesty of choice. God wants you to make your
own choice according to your faith, not somebody else’s.
He wants you to learn to trust Him personally, and to not
always lean on others. No one else can make your choices for
you, not even God. “According to your faith let it be to you”
(Matthew 9:29).

91
APRIL 1

❧L
Jesus has left the cross!

ET’S NOT ONLY REMEMBER JESUS’

DEATH ON THE CROSS. Let’s not always be seeing a Christ on
the cross and the sense of suffering and death and fear that
image sometimes generates. We don’t have a Jesus on the
cross; He’s left the cross! We have an empty cross. “O death,
where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?”
(1 Corinthians 15:55 KJV). We don’t have a Christ in the
grave. We have a live Jesus living in our hearts.
Up from the grave He arose;
With a mighty triumph o’er His foes;
He arose a victor from the dark domain,
And He lives forever, with His saints to reign.
He arose! He arose! Hallelujah! Christ arose!1
He rose in victory, joy, liberty, and freedom, never to die
again, so that He could redeem us as well and prevent our
having to go through the agony of death of spirit. What
a day of rejoicing that must have been when He rose and
realized it was all over. He had won the victory; the world
was saved; He had accomplished His mission! He had gone
through the horrors of death and Hell for us, and it was
over!

1
92 Robert Lowry (1826–1899).
APRIL 2

Prayer is not just speaking

your piece, but most of all

❧I
letting God speak His.

F WE’RE TRULY TRYING TO FOLLOW

AND PLEASE GOD, we have to play it by ear—and it better
be our ear and God’s music! To some Christians, playing it by
ear means getting God’s ear and trying to put their program
across on God. Prayer for them is a one-way street; they do
all the talking. They are more concerned with having God
hear what they have to say than they are with hearing what
God has to say. They’re trying to get Him to sign His name to
their program. They’d get a lot farther by signing their name
to God’s program—or better yet, signing a blank sheet of
paper and letting God add His program to it.
We need to learn to listen to the Lord most of all. Instead of
praying, “Hear, Lord, Your servant speaks,” we should be
like dear little Samuel, the child prophet, who said, “Speak,
for Your servant hears” (1 Samuel 3:10).
God always knows what’s best and chooses only what’s best
for you—the unbeatable choice. So don’t make the mistake
of telling Him what to do or how to do it. Learn to get His
answers, and you will find that His program is best.

93
APRIL 3

If there’s anything good

about us, it’s only You,

❧J
Jesus.

ESUS IS OUR ONLY HOPE! Every one

of us is a mess, and if we don’t keep our eyes on Jesus and
our mind on His Word, we’re doomed to defeat, doubt,
disillusionment, and final failure. When Peter walked on the
water, as soon as he took his eyes off of Jesus, he started to
sink (Matthew 14:28–31). Jesus is the only One who can
keep you from falling. Hold onto His hand and don’t look at
the waves.
God knows you’re anything but perfect, can’t be perfect,
and never will be perfect. In fact, you’re probably pretty
much of a mess, like the rest of us. So the only standard is
this: Do you depend on Jesus and His grace, love, and His
mercy, and give Him all the credit? Whenever you do a good
job or get something right, do you say, “Thank You, Jesus!
Don’t thank me; thank the Lord. It’s all the Lord”?
(Prayer:) Help us to keep our eyes on You, Jesus. Help us
to always remember that if we accomplish any real good or
appear to be good, it’s only because You’re working in us and
through us (Philippians 2:13). You’re the One who does it all.
We’re nothing. We just have to depend on You, Jesus, and
we do!

94
APRIL 4

Let the voice of God’s

Word speak directly to

❧Y
you.

OU CAN READ A SCRIPTURE ALL

YOUR LIFE AND NOT REALIZE ITS MEANING until the Holy
Spirit opens it to you and brings it to life. When the Lord
applies a verse or passage to you or some situation you’ve
been praying about, that’s called the voice of His Word.
Suddenly that verse or passage becomes alive. It’s no longer
just mere words, but you really get the point.
Have you ever been reading the Word when all of a sudden
what you’re reading really hits you? That’s for me! That’s the
answer! God couldn’t have spoken any more emphatically if
He’d screamed it in your ear! It may have been written for
somebody else thousands of years ago, yet all of a sudden it
hits you personally. The Holy Spirit grabbed ahold of that
arrow, pulled back the bow, and hit the mark, your heart.
The Lord only has to speak the Word and it can unlock
a whole situation. It’s the key that unlocks the door that
reveals the whole truth. If there’s a Scripture that fits the
situation, He will likely use it to give you the answer. Thank
God for His Word!

95
APRIL 5

“By His stripes we are

❧W
healed” (Isaiah 53:5).

HAT DOES THAT MEAN, “By His

stripes we are healed”? The original Hebrew word translated
here as “stripes” literally means “bruises, hurts, wounds.”
Similar to how Jesus’ blood was shed for the salvation of our
spirits, His body was broken for the healing of our bodies.
Jesus didn’t have to suffer in His body for our sins. He
only had to shed His blood and die for our sins. But to save
our bodies it took His body. His body suffered and was
broken for us in a number of ways—the crown of thorns,
the scourging, the nail and spear wounds—so that through
this He could also atone for our infirmities.
What does “atone” mean? It means to make amends or pay
for something. Jesus bought our souls with His blood so
that we could be saved, but He also bought our bodies with
His sufferings. So if you’ve been sick and you need healing,
claim it by faith. It’s there for you!
Do you believe that Jesus suffered for you, not only for your
salvation but also for the healing of your body? If so, you
can claim the miraculous power of God’s healing.

96
APRIL 6

Isn’t it wonderful to know

Jesus? Isn’t it wonderful to

❧O
be saved?
”
UR GOD IS THE GOD OF SALVATION”
(Psalm 68:20)—total salvation of body, mind, and spirit. God
has rescued us from the very gates of death and Hell. If you
have received Jesus, the battle for your soul is won, and it’s a
permanent victory. You’ll never have to worry about whether
you’re going to go to Heaven or not. You have eternal life
through Jesus, which is the gift of God, and you cannot lose it
(John 3:36; Ephesians 2:8). He will keep you. You are His.
God says that He’s blotted out your sins as a cloud and
put them behind His back, to be remembered no more
(Isaiah 44:22). You’re all clean now and no longer under the
power of sin (Romans 6:14). You can start life all over with
the Lord, for you’re a new creature in Christ Jesus. “Old
things have passed away ... all things have become new”
(2 Corinthians 5:17).
You’re born again, a new person, God’s new child, with a
new plan and purpose in living. He’ll give you peace of
mind, purity of heart, rest of soul, and happiness of spirit
now and forever.
Happy now, happy now,
Since I found the favor of my loving Savior.
All the past is gone at last,
And I don’t care where or how, praise God!1

1
Author unknown. 97
APRIL 7

When God can get you out

of the way, then He has a

❧A
chance.

T THE AGE OF 40, when Moses

was cocky and overconfident and tried to free his people
himself, he was a big flop and had to run for his life in a
personal exodus of his own. It took God 40 years in the
wilderness to teach Moses humility and utter dependence
on God, until he no longer even wanted the job! It wasn’t
until he thought he wasn’t ready or able that he was. Man’s
extremity is God’s opportunity. When you come to the end
of your rope, then God has a chance to work.
Sometimes God has to break us—and it’s not fun being
broken. It almost makes you feel like you want to die, but
then you’re willing to live for Jesus. Only from such death
to self can life be born anew (John 12:24–25). Then it is no
longer you that live, but Christ that lives in you (Galatians
2:20). You are now dead and your life is hid with Christ in
God (Colossians 3:3).
So if you feel incapable or insufficient, cheer up! That’s
when God has a chance to take over and do things to suit
Himself. Only He can do it anyway, so give Him a chance.
Let go and let God! Surrender to Him today.

98
APRIL 8

We all need the

encouragement and

❧W
prayers of others.

HEN YOU’RE HAVING A TRIAL OR

A PROBLEM, you should never complain or dump your
doubts and fears on others, but that doesn’t mean you can’t
ask for counsel or prayer about your problem.
Some people keep things in and suffer through their trials
without asking for help or prayer. Well, you can admire
them for being able to take it, but wouldn’t it be better
if they would just honestly confess that they need help
and prayer? Spilling it all out prevents a lot of misunder-
standings and it gets you some prayer and sympathy, at
least—the very things you like to have when you’re going
through a trial.
Many times it really helps to talk about your problem, but
of course you should try to find someone who is spiritually
strong, because you don’t want to stumble others or bring
them down or discourage them in any way.
“Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one
another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent
prayer of a righteous man avails much” (James 5:16). “Bear
one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ”
(Galatians 6:2).

99
APRIL 9

“Bear fruits worthy of

❧T
repentance” (Matthew 3:8).

RUE REPENTANCE IS NOT JUST

BEING SORRY, it is metanoia, Greek for a complete change of
direction. Many people are always being sorry but never
really changing, like King Saul. Poor Saul never learned. He
apologized and was sorry many times, but he never really
repented, he never really changed, he never turned and
went the other way. Saul would break down and weep
before the prophet Samuel, but he didn’t weep because he
was repentant; he wept because he was sorry he was about
to lose the kingdom (1 Samuel 15:24–30). He didn’t really
confess and forsake his sin, the evil root beneath the outer
show (Proverbs 28:13).
Though King David also committed great sins, he had great
repentance and a genuine change. Therefore God had great
forgiveness for him. David sought God’s heart (1 Samuel 13:14;
Psalm 51). David deeply loved God, and he really wanted to
glorify God and please Him. God loved David in spite of all
his sins and mistakes because David was willing to confess
and change—and he went on to become one of God’s greats,
in spite of himself.

100
APRIL 10

It’s not forever that loved

❧D
ones will be gone.

EATH IS A SAD PARTING, even for

Christians. It’s a sad parting for those of us who are left
behind, and in a way it’s even sad for those who go on, to
have to leave us behind for a little while. But thank God, our
sorrow is not as those who have no hope, for we know we’re
going to be reunited again soon. We may have to be apart for
a little while, but we’ll appreciate each other more than ever
when we’re reunited in Heaven. What a day of rejoicing that
will be!
Does Jesus care when I’ve said goodbye
To the dearest on earth to me?
When my sad heart aches, till it nearly breaks,
Is it aught to Him? Does He see?
Oh, yes, He cares, I know He cares,
His heart is touched with my grief;
Though the days be weary, the long nights dreary,
I know my Savior cares!1
Our dear ones are with Jesus, so if we stay close to Him, we
cannot be far from them.

Death hides but it does not divide.

Thou art but on Christ’s other side.
Thou art with Christ, and Christ with me.
In Him I am still close to thee.2
1
Frank E. Graeff (1860–1919).
2
Author unknown. 101
APRIL 11

One of the Devil’s jobs is

❧I
to help keep us in line.

N A WAY, the Devil is our friendly

adversary. He has his own agenda, of course, but even that
can serve God’s purpose when it helps keep us in line. The
Devil can be pretty lenient with his own—or at least he
gives that impression to keep them firmly in his grip—but
he doesn’t let active Christians get away with anything! He’s
the Accuser of the saints (Revelation 12:10).
The Lord is like a shepherd, we are His sheep, and the
Devil and his demons are like sheepdogs. Sheepdogs help
the shepherd by keeping the sheep in the flock. They don’t
bother the sheep as long as the sheep stay together, but if
one sheep gets out of line or strays from the shepherd, the
sheepdogs bark and yap and nip at the stray sheep’s heels to
get it to rejoin the flock—and the little sheep runs back to
the shepherd real quick!
Stay close to the Lord like a little lamb at the shepherd’s
side, because if you get out of touch with the Lord, the
Devil gets in touch with you! He’ll start nipping at your
heels, so stay close to the Lord.

102
APRIL 12

“Sing to the Lord a new

❧G
song!” (Psalm 98:1).

OD’S CHILDREN HAVE USED MUSIC

AND SONG FOR MANY PURPOSES THROUGHOUT HISTORY. In
fact, they not only played music and sang songs, but they
recorded them as well—not with the advanced methods we
use today, but in whatever ways they could. You can read in
the Bible the lyrics of some of the earliest songs of God’s
children.
Moses was a singer and songwriter. David wrote lots of
songs, and many of them are recorded in the book of Psalms,
a whole book of songs. Jeremiah wrote a song now known as
Lamentations. Hannah, the mother of Samuel, wrote at least
one song (1 Samuel chapter 2), and Deborah and Barak sang
a duet before the children of Israel (Judges chapter 5). God
even used musical instruments to save His children from
their enemies, like the trumpets made of rams’ horns that
caused the walls of Jericho to fall (Joshua chapter 6) and the
Midianites to flee from Gideon’s meager army of 300 men
(Judges chapter 7).
You can read all through the Bible how God’s children sang
and made a “joyful noise unto the Lord” (Psalm 100:1 KJV).
Even Jesus and His disciples sang songs (Matthew 26:30),
and Paul exhorts that we should all sing psalms and spiritual
songs (Colossians 3:16). The apostle John even heard singing
in Heaven—the song of Moses (Revelation 15:2–3).
“Come, let us sing to the Lord!” (Psalm 95:1).
103
APRIL 13

The hand that rocks the

❧W
cradle rules the world.

HAT AN IMPORTANT JOB A

MOTHER HAS! The mothers of the next generation are the
ones who are molding the future. Motherhood is just about
the greatest calling in the world. Of course, taking care of a
baby may not always seem very important, but don’t ever
minimize it. Who knows what an impact that child may have
on the lives of many others one day.
Motherhood takes the strength of Samson, the wisdom of
Solomon, the patience of Job, the faith of Abraham, the
insight of Daniel, and the courage and administrative ability
of David. It also takes the love of God, that’s for sure! What
a job!
The thing that makes a mother so wonderful is her self-
sacrificial spirit that is willing to sacrifice her time and
strength and even her own health, if necessary, for the sake
of that child. Any woman can have a baby, but it takes a
real mother to learn how to “train up a child in the way he
should go” (Proverbs 22:6).
The bravest battle that ever was fought!
Shall I tell you where and when?
On the maps of the world you will find it not;
’Twas fought by the mothers of men!1

1
104 Joaquin Miller (1837–1913), “Motherhood.”
APRIL 14

God can open doors

that no man can close

❧C
(Revelation 3:8).

IRCUMSTANCES AND CONDITIONS

ARE NOT ALWAYS THE BEST WAY OR FINAL CRITERIA in
finding the will of God, but they can be a helpful indication.
This is referred to as “open and closed doors” because this is
how God sometimes operates—by opening some doors of
opportunity and closing others.
If you’re trying to please God, He will put golden oppor-
tunities in your path. God works in mysterious ways, His
wonders to perform, and sometimes we’re just swept along
by His current. Where God guides, He provides, and where
He is providing open doors, He’s obviously guiding. So don’t
hesitate—just walk right in! Take advantage of those golden
opportunities He sends your way.
But if He is not opening doors for you, don’t get impatient
and try to batter them down. Trying to force the situation
and push your way through just won’t work. We sometimes
have to accept God’s no in order to find His yes. Be patient
and wait, and He will make an opening for you.
(Prayer:) Lead and guide us, Lord, according to what You
know is best. If we follow Your leading and want to do Your
will, then we know You’ll open the doors and work every-
thing out.

105
APRIL 15

If your heart’s desire is to

please the Lord, the Lord
will usually let you do as

❧O
you please.

UR PERSONAL DESIRES IN A
MATTER ARE OFTEN A FAIRLY GOOD INDICATOR OF THE
LORD’S WILL FOR US, because as long as our motives are
right, He gives us what we want and have faith for. “Delight
yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires
of your heart” (Psalm 37:4). “According to your faith let it be
to you” (Matthew 9:29).
The Lord is able to help you want to do what He wants you
to do. If a certain thing is God’s will for you and you’re open
and yielded to what He wants, He will give you an inner
conviction about it—what is sometimes called “the witness
of the Spirit.” This is how God often works: He gives differ-
ent people desires for different ministries and mission fields,
and then He gives them faith to see through what they and
He want done.
If you love the Lord, your personal desires are usually the
right ones because you only want to please Him. So delight
yourself in the Lord most of all, and seek to do His will.
When you do, it is His delight to also give you the desires of
your own heart, because He’s the One who puts them there
when you’re pleasing Him.

106
APRIL 16

“I have given you the

authority over all the
power of the Enemy [the

❧D
Devil]” (Luke 10:19 TLB).

ON’T UNDERESTIMATE THE

POWER THAT GOD HAS GIVEN EACH OF HIS CHILDREN. “He
who is in you is greater than he who is in the world” (1 John
4:4). In other words, “My power in you is much greater than
the Devil’s power in his children—much greater!” In fact,
the power of Satan’s children is so puny by comparison that
they’re like little kids playing with matches, while we’ve got
lightning bolts! The power of God’s Holy Spirit of love is the
greatest power on earth!
If you humbly yield to God, then He will empower and
fill you with His Spirit. You then become a powerhouse,
a generator of the Spirit of God. It’s like you have a big
electric power cable in your hand, but you’re so in tune with
it yourself that you can hold the cable and use its power to
create, to mend, to heal, and to love. “For with God nothing
will be impossible” (Luke 1:37), and “all things are possible
to him who believes” (Mark 9:23). Are you “strong in the
Lord and in the power of His might”? (Ephesians 6:10). If
not, receive power now by asking Him to fill and renew you
with His Holy Spirit, and He will! (Acts 1:8; Titus 3:5).

107
APRIL 17

“Though Jesus was a Son,

yet learned He obedience
by the things which He

❧W
suffered” (Hebrews 5:8).

HY DID JESUS HAVE TO LEARN?

Wasn’t He the Son of God? (John 5:18; Philippians 2:6).
Didn’t He already know everything?
The main thing His heavenly Father was trying to show
Jesus was how to love sinners enough to be willing to die for
them—to understand their suffering, to have compassion on
them, to want to heal their sick and save their souls. That’s
what Jesus learned while He was here.
Why did He learn those things? Just so they would be for-
gotten and left behind when He left this world?—No! It was
so He could take all that knowledge and experience with
Him and thereby have even greater sympathy and love for
us and be a greater help to us, both now and hereafter. “For
we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with
our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet
without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of
grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in
time of need” (Hebrews 4:15–16). “He is also able to save to
the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He
always lives to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:25).

108
APRIL 18

Spend your life losing

your life for others; that’s

❧J
the secret of saving it.

ESUS SAID, “Whoever desires to

save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My
sake and the Gospel’s will save it” (Mark 8:35). “Seek first
the kingdom of God” (Matthew 6:33). And what is His
kingdom? His kingdom is souls. His kingdom is reaching the
lost with the Gospel. Jesus didn’t call us to save ourselves;
He called and commissioned us to save others.
Do you want to save your life? Then lose it for Jesus, spread-
ing the Good News to others. Live for Jesus, and He will
take care of you. Obey Him and do His will, tell others about
Him and win others to the kingdom of God, and then help
them do the same.
The fastest way to lose your life is to live selfishly, like the
man who set out to build bigger barns for all his goods. “But
God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required
of you; then whose will those things be which you have
provided?’” (Luke 12:20). What a warning!
How much better to heed His call, take up the challenge, and
do your best to share His love with others. Then you will
hear Him say to you, “Well done, good and faithful servant.
Enter into the joy of your Lord” (Matthew 25:21).

109
APRIL 19

Give no place to the Devil

❧W
(Ephesians 4:27).

HEN WE LOVE THE LORD AND

GIVE HIM OUR ALL, our entire lives are in His hands, under
His loving care, and the Devil has nothing that he can lay
claim to—nothing he can use to make us feel condemned and
distant from God.
It’s like the story of Huddersfield: There was once a rich land-
owner who decided to buy the entire village of Huddersfield,
and over time he bought every piece of land in the area—
every piece, that is, except one little plot. One stubborn old
farmer refused to sell his tiny piece of land, and nothing would
change his mind. The landowner even offered the farmer much
more money than his property was actually worth, but the
farmer was so fond of his land that he absolutely refused to
sell. When the landowner finally gave up, he tried to encour-
age himself by saying, “What difference does just one little
plot of land make? I’ve bought everything else, so Hudders-
field is mine. It belongs to me!” But the stubborn old farmer
overheard him and said, “Oh, no it doesn’t! We own Hudders-
field. It belongs to you and me!”
Don’t let the Devil be able to say that of you to God! “Aha!
Look, God! Even though he belongs mostly to You, a little
bit still belongs to me!”

110
APRIL 20

“We are fools for Christ’s

sake” (1 Corinthians 4:10).

❧S
Whose fool are you?

OME PEOPLE JUST DON’T SEEM TO

UNDERSTAND THE MIRACLE OF CONVERSION or the idealistic
desire to devote one’s time to God’s service. “The natural
man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they
are foolishness unto him” (1 Corinthians 2:14). Because there
was such a sudden change in their lives, many new Chris-
tians have been thought to have suddenly gone mad, like the
apostle Paul, or been “driven crazy by religion” (Acts 26:24;
Mark 3:21; John 10:20).
In fact, nearly all the prophets and men of God through-
out the Bible and past ages were thought to have been nuts
by the rest of the world—misfits and dreamers who heard
voices and had hallucinations and were pretty well flipped-
out over religion.
It all depends on who is calling whom mad. If people think
we’re a little eccentric or off center, it’s not because we’re off
the center; it’s because they’re wobbling around themselves,
way off the one and only true center, Jesus Christ. Man
without God is off center. They’re the ones who are not in
their right minds, because they can’t possibly know what’s
right without Jesus!

111
APRIL 21

What’s every Christian’s

duty?—To love others into

❧I
the kingdom of God.

F THE WHOLE PURPOSE OF OUR

EXISTENCE IS TO FIND AND RECEIVE GOD’S LOVE IN JESUS,
then why doesn’t the Lord just take us home to Heaven the
minute we do?—Because once we’re saved, we have a job to
do; we have a responsibility. There are lots of other people
who need to know Jesus, and we are the means by which He
has chosen to make Himself known.
Jesus alone saves, but He doesn’t want to save us alone. He
wants to save the whole world, but in order to do that He
needs us to tell others about His love, to give His love and
message of salvation to the whole world.
Jesus told His closest followers, “As the Father has sent Me,
I also send you” (John 20:21). He says this still to His follow-
ers of today, calling them to give their lives daily in loving
concern and care for others, to share His heart and love with
those who are seeking for “the Way, the Truth, and the Life”
(John 14:6). He came to love the world, and He calls us to do
likewise.
Will you answer His call? Will you do what you can to win
others to Him? Will you spread the Word, spread the mes-
sage, spread His love?

112
APRIL 22

Only the Lord can keep

❧T
you faithful.

OO MANY PEOPLE THINK ABOUT

FAITHFULNESS as being something that they must work up.
But faithfulness is a result of faith, and faith is a gift of God.
You just have to depend on the Lord to keep you faithful.
If you feel you don’t have enough faith, read the Word;
that’s the source of faith. You have to give Him a little co-
operation, you have to listen, you have to read, you have to
obey, but that’s the easy part. It’s His job to keep you faith-
ful, full of faith, which comes from Him!
So quit trying so hard! Quit worrying about it! Quit trying
to work it up or even pray it down! Trust the Lord and don’t
worry. He’ll give you all the faith you need!
“Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and
to present you faultless before the presence of His glory
with exceeding joy, to God our Savior” (Jude 24–25), commit
your way, your life, your mind, your thoughts, your time!
“I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He
is able to keep what I have committed to Him” (2 Timothy
1:12). Praise the Lord! Only He can do it!

113
APRIL 23

One way to find the will of

God is to ask for a sign,
a “fleece,” some visible

❧G
indication.

IDEON LAID THE WOOLLY COAT OF

A SHEEP ON THE GROUND AND SAID, “Lord, if the fleece is
wet in the morning and all the ground around it is dry, then
I’ll know that such-and-such is Your will.” But when God
gave Gideon the sign he had asked for, Gideon still wasn’t
sure. So the next evening Gideon said, “Lord, if the fleece is
dry and the ground is wet, I’ll believe it.” So God did that,
too, and Gideon then knew that God was with him. If God
hadn’t given him those signs with the fleece, Gideon might
have lost heart and quit. But when God answered, that
convinced Gideon he was doing the right thing (Judges
6:36–40).
A fleece is like a contract between you and God. You specify
the sign you want, like Gideon did. When God answers a
fleece, then you’ve got to have the faith that the outcome was
really God’s answer. When you make a deal with God, you’d
better stick to it no matter what. It’s just as important for
you to keep your part of the bargain as it is for God to keep
His. It’s a test of faith. So make a wise fleece and stick to it.

114
APRIL 24

❧T
You are Jesus’ proof!

HE APOSTLE PAUL WAS A TRE-

MENDOUS WITNESS FOR JESUS, and almost every time he
was brought before governors or magistrates or kings to
answer the accusations of those who opposed him and his
message, he took the opportunity to try to win them to
Jesus—and he started with his own personal testimony:
“This is what happened to me!” (Acts chapter 26).
People are interested in people. Life stories are more effec-
tive than getting into theological arguments and preach-
ing sermons. When you start telling people your life story,
instantly you have their attention and they quickly become
fascinated. When you tell them your own personal experi-
ence, if you say it with sincerity in the power of the Spirit,
they will believe that you’re telling the truth. Your testimony
is one thing they cannot deny. And the moment they admit
that it has happened to you, then they have to admit that it’s
possible for it to happen to them. Win them to yourself and
your own happiness first, then they will want whatever it is
that makes you that way.
You’re the proof of the pudding. You are the product of the
Gospel and the love of Jesus. So tell others how His miracle-
working power has worked in your own life, as a genuine
living example and proof of what He can do.

115
APRIL 25

“Whatever you spend,”

❧D
God says, “I will repay.”

O YOU REMEMBER WHO ELSE SAID

THAT? The Good Samaritan. It’s from the parable that Jesus
told about the poor traveler who was beaten and robbed by
thieves, and the Good Samaritan who picked him up and
took him to an inn and cared for him, then told the innkeep-
er, “Whatever you spend, I will repay you” (Luke 10:30–37).
The Good Samaritan is like the Lord, and the innkeeper His
steward, like you or me. Whatever you spend in His work of
rescuing lives and saving souls, He will more than repay. In
fact, He has promised that if you obey Him and give, “your
gift will return to you in full and overflowing measure,
pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, and
running over. Whatever measure you use to give—large or
small—will be used to measure what is given back to you”
(Luke 6:38 TLB).
That’s the way God is: As you pour out, He’ll pour in, and
He’ll never let you outgive Him. He gives you back much,
much more than you could ever give. As long as you con-
tinue to overflow on others, God will continue to overflow
His blessings upon you. The more you give, the more He’ll
give you back in every way.

116
APRIL 26

Why did the Devil and man

cook up the ridiculous,
idiotic scheme of evolution?

❧T
—To try to get rid of God!

HE DEVIL KNEW THAT TO PREVENT

PEOPLE FROM BELIEVING IN JESUS, he had to destroy their
faith in the Bible, beginning with the book of Genesis, the
story of Creation. Charles Darwin was the Devil’s dupe to
finally give the world the excuse it needed to not believe in
God.
People often think of evolution when they hear a mention
of God, because that’s the whole purpose of evolution:
to eliminate faith in God and to foster the false doctrine
of devils that the creation created itself. If it could have
happened without God, there doesn’t need to be a God.
Evolution is really a religion of unbelief in God—a religion
that has to be believed by faith because there is no proof.
Margaret Mead (1901–1978), the famous anthropologist,
admitted, “We as honest scientists must confess that science
has yet to discover one single iota [tiny speck] of concrete
evidence to prove evolution.”
Evolution is one of the Devil’s greatest lies and most clever
pieces of teaching, because if he can get people to doubt one
word in the Bible, they’ll soon doubt the whole Bible. Don’t
let it happen to you!

117
APRIL 27

God can make a living

❧A
saint out of little old you!

LOT OF CHRISTIANS EXALT THE

GREAT MEN AND WOMEN OF GOD OF THE PAST to such
heights that they forget those people were just as human as
everyone else. “It’s impossible to be like that today,” they
say. “Ordinary Christians aren’t supposed to even try to be
like that. It’s impossible!”
That’s a lie! The apostle Paul writes in Romans chapter 3,
“There is none righteous, no, not one” (verse 10), and “All
have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (verse 23).
And that includes whom?—Not only you and me, but the
saints and the apostles and everyone else except the Lord
Himself.
Now that changes the picture! That means it is possible to
become more like them. So if you think that you’ll never
amount to anything for the Lord because you’re too bad,
that isn’t so! Regardless of your faults or failings or supposed
limitations or whatever, you too can be greatly used by the
Lord if you want to help further His kingdom and are will-
ing to do things His way.
God can use even you—weak and bad as you are. And when
He does, you’ll give Him all the glory because you will know
that whatever good you accomplish is only due to His work-
ing through you.

118
APRIL 28

❧G
God is our Sun.

OD CREATED THE SUN, THE

MOON, THE STARS, AND THE PLANETS in part to illustrate
His spiritual truths, so we could better understand our
relationship with Him and how necessary He is to our
spiritual solar system.
Life itself wouldn’t be possible without the Sun. Without
the light of the Sun we’d be in total darkness except for
starlight, just as without the Lord we would be in almost
total spiritual darkness. Without the warmth and heat of the
Sun’s rays, we’d also freeze to death, just like without the
Lord we’d be dead cold spiritually. Without the Sun’s rays,
the plants that provide our food wouldn’t grow; likewise, we
would die spiritually of hunger without the Lord and His
Word. Without the Sun’s gravitational pull on Earth, instead
of staying in its well-planned orbit, Earth would go wander-
ing off through space. Just so, without God’s guidance—His
gravitational pull on us in the spirit—we too would cer-
tainly get out of the well-planned orbit of His will and go
wandering off into the darkness of spiritual space.
If the Sun has that much power, think how much power our
spiritual Sun, God, has and how much we need Him!

119
APRIL 29

For God’s sake, know what

you believe and stand up

❧F
for it!

OR LIFE TO HAVE REAL MEANING

AND PURPOSE, we have to believe in something. Then we
have to be ready to stand up for what we believe; we have to
have conviction.
God likes wholehearted, stouthearted men. If He is what you
believe in, have you got the guts to be one of these? If you’re
going to serve God, know what you believe and serve Him
no matter what anyone else says. Be prepared to take a stand
of faith, like Martin Luther (1483–1546) did on the issue of
salvation by grace before the religious council of his day:
“Unless I am convinced by the testimony of Scripture, I can
and will not retract. Here I stand. I can do no other. So help
me God!”
You cannot stop the man of faith. You cannot dissuade him.
You cannot divert him. He’ll go on with or without you or
right over you, if necessary. He is determined to go on by
faith because he has found the truth. He is of one mind, one
heart, one soul, one spirit, one purpose, and will not quit!

120
APRIL 30

“No good thing will God

withhold from those who
walk uprightly”

❧W
(Psalm 84:11).

HAT ARE YOUR HEART’S

DESIRES? If you delight yourself in God and His service, He’s
promised to give you the desires of your heart (Psalm 37:4).
God apparently feels that nothing is too good for His obedi-
ent children. If we please Him, we not only get what we
need, but usually even what we want, above our needs,
“exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think”
(Ephesians 3:20).
He’s willing to give us anything that’s good for us, but He
doesn’t always let us have those things that He knows aren’t
good for us. He tried that on the children of Israel. He let
them have the desires of their hearts a few times when it
wasn’t good for them, but then He had to send leanness to
their souls to try to teach them a lesson (Psalm 106:15).
(Prayer:) Lord, help us to put You first, to delight ourselves
in You and Yours most of all so You can trust us with other
things—everything we need and even things we want—
because they will not come between You and us. If it’s good
for us, let us have it, but if it’s not good for us, please keep it
from us. Amen.

121
MAY 1

Your talents are nothing if

❧Y
you don’t have love.

OU CAN READ THE BIBLE ALL YOU

WANT, but if it doesn’t come to life in you by the Spirit,
what’s it all for? You can quote the Bible word for word, but
if you don’t live it in love, it doesn’t do any good. You can
have all the gifts of the Spirit, but without love it is mean-
ingless. You can be tops in your field, but if you don’t
manifest God’s love to others, then it’s all in vain, because
love is the most important thing (1 Corinthians chapter 13).
Faithfulness is important, to endure as a good soldier and to
work hard (2 Timothy 2:3), but if you don’t have love, you
don’t have anything. If you don’t have love and show love
for others, then in God’s eyes your good works don’t really
count.
What’s the thing that proves we are Jesus’ disciples?—Love!
Jesus said, “By this all will know that you are My disciples,
if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). “This is My
commandment, that you love one another as I have loved
you” (John 15:12). That’s an order! He ordered us, His fol-
lowers, to love one another, so love!

122
MAY 2

Jesus is the ultimate

manifestation of God’s

❧T
love.

HE BIBLE TELLS US, “God is love”

(1 John 4:8). He is the great Spirit of Love who created you
and me, this beautiful world, and the entire universe. Then,
to show us His love and to help us understand Himself, He
sent us His own Son, Jesus Christ, in the form of a man.
God is pictured in Jesus, a man who loved everybody, even
the poorest and the worst of all. He came for love and lived
in love and died for love that we might live and love forever.
His death brings life, forgiveness, and eternal happiness to
those who love Him in return.
God shared His love with the whole world, but He also loves
everyone individually. God loves you so much that He gave
His most priceless possession, the most cherished thing He
had—”His only begotten Son”—so that you could have ever-
lasting life (John 3:16). He loved you enough to send Jesus to
take the punishment for your sins, if you’ll just receive Him
and thank Him for it.
He loves you dearly, more dearly than the spoken word can
tell. You can never understand the love of God. It’s too great;
it passes all understanding (Ephesians 3:19). You just have to
receive it and feel it with your heart.

123
MAY 3

❧D
Jesus is coming soon!

ESPITE ALL THE WARNINGS OF

GOD’S PROPHETS and all of the world events that point to
the Second Coming of Christ, most people today still won’t
believe. They think, Oh, they’ve been saying for centuries that
Jesus is coming back, and He hasn’t come yet. Unwittingly,
they themselves are a fulfillment of an Endtime prophecy:
“Scoffers will come in the last days, saying, ‘Where is the
promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all
things continue as they were from the beginning of cre-
ation’” (2 Peter 3:3–4).
Jesus said that it would be “as in the days before the flood
[when] they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving
in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and
did not know until the flood came and took them all away.”
What did He mean, they “did not know”? Noah had been
telling them for 120 years! What He really meant is that they
wouldn’t believe until it happened. “So also will the coming
of the Son of Man be” (Matthew 24:38–39).
Will you be ready when Jesus comes? If so, you won’t be
taken by surprise and can actually look forward to that great
day with hope and faith.

124
MAY 4

The day is coming when

even the fields and trees
are going to be glad and

❧M
rejoice!

ANY OF THE SOUNDS OF NATURE

ARE IN A MINOR KEY and have a melancholy note to them,
like the sighing of the wind as it blows through the trees.
“The whole creation,” Paul says, “groans and labors with
birth pangs together until now. … Even we ourselves groan
within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the
redemption of our body” (Romans 8:22–23).
But the coming thousand-year reign of Christ will be heaven
on earth, like the Garden of Eden, only better. There will be
worldwide peace, Satan and his forces will be bound, the
Curse will be removed, and we’ll have Paradise regained.
There will be no more of man’s cruelty toward man, no
more of man’s inhumanity to man allowed. At last God will
redeem the earth (Revelation 20:1–4).
The earth will blossom like a rose, and all of God’s creation
will be in perfect peace and beautiful harmony. “You shall
go out with joy, and be led out with peace; the mountains
and the hills shall break forth into singing before you, and
all the trees of the field shall clap their hands” (Isaiah 55:12).
Can you imagine such a thing? So beautiful!

125
MAY 5

Our greatest need is love,

and love is God’s great

❧P
answer.

EOPLE’S HEARTS ARE THE SAME

THE WORLD OVER: Everybody needs love. Most people are
searching for real love, but can’t find it. They know it must
exist, they hunger for it, they need it, but so many of them
can’t find it because they don’t find God. It’s so sad!
But wherever people have problems, God has answers. And
in this case it’s such a simple answer—love! Love is the key,
love is the answer, and Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the
Life (John 14:6). He’s the only way they’ll ever find love, joy,
peace, and heavenly happiness, both here and now and in
the life to come.
(Prayer:) Help us, Jesus, to be faithful to show Your love
to others, to encourage and help them, to heal them and
lift them by giving them the message of Your love that has
the power to solve all their problems and heal their bodies,
minds, and spirits. Thank You for giving us the opportunity
to help others by giving them Your answer, and it’s such a
simple answer, Jesus—just You and Your love!

126
MAY 6

The first place we look for

the will of God is in the

❧G
Word of God.

OD’S WRITTEN WORD IS THE

KNOWN, SURE, ABSOLUTE, REVEALED WILL OF GOD. So
when you aren’t sure what to do or how to go about it, look
in His Word at all He’s said before. If God never tells you
another thing, if you never get a revelation, if you never see
a vision, if you never receive a message from Heaven in
prophecy, if you never have the gift of knowledge, if you
never have wisdom, if you never have discernment, if you
never have the gift of healing, if you never have the gift of
miracles, if you’ll just operate according to the written Word
of God, you’ll accomplish a whole lot.
Jesus said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words
will by no means pass away” (Matthew 24:35). The Bible also
tells us: “Forever, O Lord, Your Word is settled in Heaven”
(Psalm 119:89). When God speaks to you right from His
Book, you know it’s right. There’s no question or any doubt
about it! It never fails!
How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in His excellent Word!
What more can He say than to you He hath said,
To you who for refuge to Jesus have fled!1

1
John Rippon, A Selection of Hymns from
the Best Authors, 1787. 127
MAY 7

“Sown in weakness ...

raised in power”

❧I
(1 Corinthians 15:43).

N HEAVEN, your new body is going

to resemble your present body, only it will be much more
beautiful and wonderful. It will be eternal, thrilling, and
glorious (Philippians 3:21).
When God created the life cycle of butterflies, it was almost
as though He was illustrating resurrection. They hatch from
eggs into little wormlike caterpillars. Then, after a short life
as an earthbound bug, they wrap themselves up in a cocoon
called a chrysalis, almost like a coffin, and it seems they die.
But then spring comes and suddenly the coffin splits open
and out comes a beautiful butterfly. Once it was just a little
crawling insect, the lowliest of all creatures, but all of a
sudden it breaks out of its cocoon in the form of a beautiful
butterfly that flies in the heavens—one of the prettiest of all
creatures!
Like the difference between a grain of wheat and the full-
grown, full-blown stalk and head that comes from that
grain, or the flower that comes from one tiny seed, that’s
how much better your new heavenly body is going to be
(1 Corinthians 15:35–38, 42–58). You’re going to be like the
angels of God (Luke 20:36).

128
MAY 8

It pays to serve Jesus;

it pays every day.
It pays every step of the
way.

❧I
Frank C. Huston (1871–1959).

F YOU LOVE JESUS, delight yourself

in Him, and do your best to love others and help them, He
will do anything for you. He’ll supply all your need
according to His riches in glory (Philippians 4:19). He’ll
even give you the desires of your heart—not only whatever
you need, but your wants as well (Psalm 37:4). Those are His
promises to you, so believe them, claim them, step out by
faith and do your part, and expect the Lord to fulfill them.
Most of the Lord’s blessings and rewards are dependent
upon obedience and worthiness, on doing a good job faith-
fully. The Lord doesn’t reward loafing; He rewards faithful
hard work. But the minute you start obeying and working,
He will start doing His part. He will bless!
Believe His promises, His guarantees, and put your faith into
action. Be a good and faithful servant, and He will reward
you here and now and in Heaven when that time comes.
Go work in My vineyard; oh, work while it’s day!
Your strength I’ll supply, and your wages I’ll pay;
And bless with My best the diligent few
Who finish the labor I’ve given them to do.1

1
Tullius Clinton O’Kane (1830–1912),
paraphrased. 129
MAY 9

Praise your way through!

That’s how you get the

❧E
victory!

VEN THE GREATEST MEN OF GOD,

such as King David, sometimes got discouraged. David was a
great psalmist and he usually sang beautiful praises to the
Lord. But once before he was king, he was sure that King
Saul was going to kill him, and he said, “I shall perish some
day by the hand of Saul” (1 Samuel 27:1). Thank God David
never wrote a psalm saying that! How could you sing that?
Did David ever die at the hand of Saul? No, he never did. So
that was just the Devil trying to discourage him.
If you let the Devil get you down and use your mouth to
speak doubt and discouragement and lies to others, you are
preaching the Devil’s own doctrines. Don’t do it, or you’re
just letting the Enemy in. Take a positive stand against the
attacks of the Devil. Fight him and fight his doubts. The
minute you feel discouraged, start praising the Lord. Go on
the attack! As long as you have praise on your lips, you can’t
complain or speak doubt.
The Devil hates praise. He hates songs that praise the Lord,
and he hates God’s Word most of all, so keep full of it.

130
MAY 10

God gives us the majesty

of personal choice, to go

❧I
His way or our own.

F GOD HAD WANTED ROBOTS, He

could have programmed everybody to love Him. Instead, He
made us with a free will and gave us the majesty of choice,
so we could choose to love Him. This is the age of grace in
which we have to make our own decisions to love and serve
Him. We have to voluntarily choose God and His way, as
revealed to us through His Word.
One of the main reasons we’re here in the first place, from
the Garden of Eden to the present, is to learn how to make
decisions under God’s guidance. All of life is that way. We
must constantly make decisions and choices. If we know and
love and want to please Him and do what’s right, this causes
us to seek Him in prayer and ask Him for the answers. It
makes us dependent on Him as we try to make the right
decisions so we’ll go the right direction.
He put us here to make decisions. He tells us what’s right
and wrong, but then He doesn’t make us do either; He lets
us make the decisions. Are you choosing God’s way?

131
MAY 11

Eternal salvation by grace

means once saved always

❧H
saved.
“
E WHO BELIEVES IN THE SON
HAS EVERLASTING LIFE” (John 3:36). Right now! No ifs,
ands, or buts about it! If you’ve received Jesus, you already
have it. You don’t have to worry if you are going to have it,
if you are going to fall from grace, if you are going to
manage to stay saved, or if you are going to manage to keep
true and then finally be given the reward of salvation for
your faithfulness. Salvation is not a reward. It’s not pay; it’s
not wages. It is a gift that you don’t earn by faithfulness or
by any righteousness or works of your own (Titus 3:5).
None of these can keep you saved any more than they can
save you in the first place. Only Jesus can do it. “The gift of
God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23).
A works salvation is no salvation at all. You cannot be good
enough. No matter how many good deeds you do, they
won’t save you. “For by grace you have been saved through
faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God”
(Ephesians 2:8). It’s impossible to save yourself. You have
eternal life, which is the gift of God, and you cannot lose
it, for He will keep you. You’re the Lord’s forever!

132
MAY 12

It’s wise to “wait on the

Lord.”

❧Y OU’RE NEVER GOING to accomplish

much for God if you try to do things yourself in the energy
of the flesh. This is a problem that most of us seem to have.
We jump to conclusions, make hasty decisions, or simply
push ahead in our own strength, doing what seems natural
or logical, without really praying and making sure that’s
what the Lord wants us to do and how He wants us to go
about it.
You need to learn to stop and pray, “Now, God, what do You
want me to do?” Seek the Lord. Don’t just lean to your own
understanding, even when a course of action seems obvious.
Ask the Lord and make sure (Proverbs 3:5–7).
Remember, God is hardly ever in a hurry. The greatest works
of God take time. It takes God time to make a baby or grow
a flower or even to paint a sunset. So when you haven’t yet
made certain that a thing is God’s will, the best thing to do
is to wait on the Lord until He reveals it to you one way or
the other.
“Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall
strengthen your heart” (Psalm 27:14). “Those that wait upon
the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up
with wings like eagles” (Isaiah 40:31).

133
MAY 13

Always remember,
everyone is hungry for

❧E
praise and appreciation.

VERYBODY NEEDS ENCOURAGE-

MENT. Most people have a certain amount of inferiority
complex and tend to get discouraged, so encouragement is a
very important thing. We all need the encouragement of
others, and yet most of us fail all too often to express
appreciation to those around us. As we will account for
every idle word, so we will for every idle silence (Matthew
12:36–37).
The Lord knows that encouragement is very important. He
appreciates us and commends us, and He promises to reward
us for our good work. It has nothing to do with our salva-
tion—we get salvation as a free gift by His mercy and grace
and love—but He especially commends our service for Him.
He really appreciates our service and our sacrifice and the
things we do for Him beyond the call of duty, and He wants
us to likewise show appreciation to those who give of them-
selves for Him and others.
“Whatever things are of good report, if there be any virtue
and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these
things” (Philippians 4:8). We need to apply that to those
around us, and try to remind ourselves constantly to think
positively about others and to thank and praise them for
their good qualities, just as the Lord does with us.

134
MAY 14

“He has filled the hungry

soul with good things, but
the rich He has sent away

❧J
empty” (Luke 1:53).

ESUS FOUND AND LOVED THE LOST

SHEEP, the hungry ones, the sinners who knew they needed
help and were thankful for it, not the self-righteous ones
who “had no need of a physician” (Matthew 9:12). There is
not much hope for those who are satisfied with their lives
the way they are.
The hardest person in the world to win to the Lord is the
moral man who thinks he is good enough and thinks he
doesn’t need God. Sometimes the guiltiest people are the
most utterly deceived and actually think they are innocent
and righteous. They’re “glad they’re not like the sinner,”
when actually they’re worse because of their self-righteous
pride that goes against God’s spirit of love (Luke 18:11).
But there are others who have hungry hearts and really want
to hear the truth, and when you give it to them they receive
it, believe it, accept it, and follow Jesus. Because they are
willing to confess that they need answers, the Lord has an
opportunity to give them answers. For those who are seek-
ing, hungry, unhappy, and yearning for the spiritual, He has
this promise: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after
righteousness, for they shall be filled” (Matthew 5:6).

135
MAY 15

The Word of God is like a

❧G
beautiful string of pearls!

OD’S WORD IS AN ABSOLUTELY

INEXHAUSTIBLE SOURCE OF WISDOM AND KNOWLEDGE in
which you can constantly find treasures new and old. It will
stand a thousand readings, and he who has gone over it most
frequently is the surest of finding new wonders there. Each
time we delve into the Word, we bring forth priceless truths
by the handful!
But these pearls of knowledge are nothing without the Holy
Spirit. No matter how much you study, it takes the Spirit of
God and the hand of God to string the pearls of His Word
together in proper order, sorted out and made into a wonder-
ful, beautiful string of truths to adorn your mind and heart in
proper order, sequence, size, importance, and beauty. That’s
the difference between knowledge and wisdom. Wisdom is
knowing how to apply what you already know—in this case,
knowing how to rightly use your knowledge of God’s Word.
So don’t neglect the beauties, riches, and treasures of the
Word of God. Ask God for wisdom. “Wisdom is the prin-
cipal thing; therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting,
get understanding” (Proverbs 4:7). It is better than gold
(Proverbs 16:16).

136
MAY 16

❧E
Heaven is here!

VEN NOW, GOD’S INVISIBLE

HEAVENLY KINGDOM IS ALREADY IN EXISTENCE and
operation. It not only surrounds us, but is within us. Jesus
said, “The kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21). If
you have Jesus and are filled with the Holy Spirit, it’s
already entered you. If you live in the continual heaven of
His love, peace, and joy, you’re already in Heaven in spirit.
So if you are looking for the kingdom of God on earth, at
this time you will only find it within your own heart and in
the fellowship of God’s children.
We who have found Jesus and faith in God have found
heaven on earth, the promised land of His kingdom within.
He’s made a heaven of our hearts. But those who don’t know
God and have no faith have nothing but fear, and some have
hell on earth.
Have you got a little bit of Heaven in your heart? If not, take
Jesus into your heart and you’ll have Heaven here and now!
Heaven is here, is here right now.
Heaven is here and I’ll tell you how!
Jesus to know is Heaven below,
Heaven is here, is here and how!1

1
Author unknown. 137
MAY 17

Pray! Jesus has

❧A
the answer!

LL THE ANSWERS TO OUR

QUESTIONS AND PROBLEMS ARE SIMPLE FOR JESUS. In fact,
sometimes this is why He lets us have a problem, so that He
can give us the answer. He likes for us to find out that we
can’t always solve our problems on our own, so we’ll turn to
Him for help. After all, if we could figure it all out and solve
all our own problems, we wouldn’t need Him. He likes to
give us answers to remind us that we’re dependent on Him.
He likes for us to appreciate His help, and to love Him for it.
He even knows what things we have need of before we ask
(Matthew 6:8), but He usually waits for us to ask. Jesus can
solve our problems so easily when we ask Him, but He likes
us to ask Him. Sometimes our own pride and independence
get in the way. We don’t want to ask for help because we
don’t want to admit that we don’t have the solution. So we
try to do it ourselves to the point of frustration, when all we
need to do is ask and receive His answer.
If you’re smart, you’ll be like the man who said, “I may not
know all the answers, but I know the Answer Man!” God’s
got all the answers. He is the answer!

138
MAY 18

“Follow Me,” Jesus says,

“and I will make you

❧W
fishers of men.”

HEN JESUS CALLED TO SOME

FISHERMEN who had just caught the biggest haul of their
lives, “Come follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men,”
immediately they forsook everything else—the fish, their
nets, their boat, their livelihood, and their old life—and
followed Him (Matthew 4:18–20; Luke 5:1–11).
How could they do such a thing? How could they forsake
their very living and their own family and friends without
notice to follow this stranger and become part of His motley
crew? Because He offered them a better life, a better job in
a better place with a better boss, and greater rewards—and
those simple fishermen wandered off with a perfect stranger
and made history that has helped save countless millions of
souls for eternity.
Doesn’t it seem ridiculous now to compare those few fish, a
boat, and a business—all of which soon perished—with the
millions of immortal souls who have been saved for eternity
through the decision of those simple fishermen to put God
first that day, drop everything, and follow Jesus? Now that
we can see the results, it’s easy to know they made the right
choice!

139
MAY 19

God will not take second

place, even to

❧W
His service.

E CAN SOMETIMES GET SO BUSY

SERVING THE LORD THAT WE FORGET TO LOVE HIM. This is
one of the greatest temptations of workers for the Lord, and
one of the greatest dangers. If we neglect our fellowship
with the King of kings because we’re so busy with the affairs
of the kingdom, it can be disastrous to our spiritual life and
communion with the Lord.
No matter how sincere our motives or how faithful we are
to His work, we must put Him first—not the work or even
others. God doesn’t fit second place, and He won’t take it.
“You shall have no other gods before Me. … For I, the Lord
your God, am a jealous God” (Deuteronomy 5:7,9). That is
probably the greatest mistake of sincere Christians: to make
a god of God’s service.
Your service is nothing if you don’t give the King your at-
tention, your love, your time, your communion. He desires
your love and intends for you to love Him first of all and
above all. You cannot do the Master’s work without the
Master’s power and guidance, and to get it you must spend
time with the Master.

140
MAY 20

It’s impossible to make a

❧T
sacrifice for God.

HE GREATEST MANIFESTATION OF
OUR LOVE FOR GOD AND OTHERS is not the mere giving of
our material things, but the sharing of ourselves and our
personal services for others.
When you first begin to give of yourself, it may look like
you’re losing or sacrificing, but in the long run you’re
going to find out you’re really not going to be sacrificing
at all. You’re just going to be investing, and the returns
are going to be far beyond anything you have invested
and will far surpass any sacrifice you could possibly have
made. Dr. David Livingstone (1813–1873), the Scottish
missionary and explorer who pioneered the jungles of
Africa and died there, said, “I never made a sacrifice.” He
gave everything, but he knew that what he was getting
in return was worth much more than everything he could
possibly give. Although he gave his life, he reaped eternal
life and dividends in immortal souls—thousands saved
forever.
So invest your life and your all in the Rock, Christ Jesus,
and invest it in God’s work, and you’ll have eternal divi-
dends that you will never lose, but reap forever. God will
bless you for it!

141
MAY 21

Jesus took upon Himself

the sins of the whole world

❧O
on the cross (1 Peter 2:24).

NLY JESUS WAS PERFECT, and

that’s why He could pay the price of our sins and take our
punishment so that God could forgive us. Jesus fulfilled the
Law and its requirement of death to the sinners. He died in
our place so that we wouldn’t have to die. He voluntarily
gave Himself to be crucified—He loves us that much!
What caused Jesus the greatest agony on the cross was
not our sins, because He knew that we were going to be
forgiven and saved. What broke His heart was thinking that
His Father had turned His back on Him. He went through
an experience that, thank God, we will never have to go
through—not just crucifixion, not just the agony of the
body, but the agony of mind and spirit, feeling that God had
actually deserted Him. “My God, My God,” He cried out,
“why have You forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46). Had God
forsaken Him? Yes, momentarily, that He might die the death
of a sinner, without God.
Jesus loved us enough to give His own life for us and take
the punishment of our sins upon Himself on that cross, so
that we could be forgiven and be saved (Romans 5:8; 1 John
4:10). Such love!

142
MAY 22

The best thing you can

do for others is pray for

❧G
them.

OD HAS HIS REASONS FOR

ALLOWING PROBLEMS IN LIFE, and one of the main reasons is
to teach us to pray. He lets us come to the end of our rope, the
end of our strength and what we think we can do to solve the
problem at hand, so we will realize that He’s the One who has
got to do it and pray for Him to work, by His power.
If there’s something we can do to help the situation and we
ask Him what that is and how to go about it, He will show
us and help us do it. But in the end, the thing that will help
more than anything and without which all our labors are
incomplete, is prayer—to pray for Him to do the work in
the spirit.
He’s the only One who can change hearts and minds. He’s
the only One who can bring people to the point where
they’re willing to change or do whatever’s necessary to make
progress or fix the problem. So the best thing we can do to
help people who are having problems is to pray for them.
We can’t do the miracle that’s needed, but the Lord can. Our
prayers move His hand and make things happen in the spiri-
tual realm that change things in our physical realm.

143
MAY 23

You have the Holy Spirit if

❧H
you ask for it.

OW DO YOU KNOW IF YOU HAVE

BEEN FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT? That’s simple. Jesus
said, “Everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds,
and to him who knocks it will be opened. If you … know
how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will
your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask
Him!” (Luke 11:10,13). Like salvation, you can’t earn it or
deserve it or be worthy of it; it’s a gift, received by faith.
Sometimes people receive the Holy Spirit but they don’t get
any particular evidence and they’re disappointed because it
wasn’t manifested by some supernatural or physical experi-
ence right then and there. But it doesn’t matter how you
feel; when you’ve asked God for the Holy Spirit, you have it.
You know you have it because He promised it. It’s just
like salvation. How do you know you got saved when you
received Jesus as your Savior?—Not because of whatever
you may have felt or experienced at the time, but because
of what He said about it in His Word. Your faith is built on
fact—God’s Word—not on feelings.
Pray and ask Jesus to fill you with His Holy Spirit and He
will. He’s promised to.

144
MAY 24

Start your day off right.

❧Y
Hear from Jesus!

OU OUGHT TO TRY A LITTLE

PRAYER TIME EVERY DAY, early in the morning before
beginning your day’s work, asking Jesus to help you. When
you first wake up, before you do anything, talk to Jesus. Get
your orders from Him for the day, and you’ll be amazed at
how He’ll solve or prevent a lot of your problems before the
day even starts, simply by listening to what He has to say.
But if you go plunging into all your problems and troubles
and your day’s work without stopping to talk to Jesus and
get your directions from Him, you’ll be like a musician who
decided to have his concert first, and then tune his instru-
ment. Begin the day with the Word of God and prayer, and
first of all get in harmony with Him.
Don’t ever think that it’s too hard to pray or that you don’t
have time to pray. The busier your day, the more reason
you have to pray and the longer you ought to pray. If you’ll
spend a little more time praying, you will find that you’ll
spend a lot less time working to get things done later. If
your day is hemmed with prayer, it is less likely to unravel.
It’s that simple!

145
MAY 25

Jesus has all the help you

need to overcome your

❧E
natural weaknesses.

VERYONE HAS WEAKNESSES, and

everyone makes mistakes. That’s just part of life. We
shouldn’t resign ourselves to failure, though, and we
shouldn’t keep making the same mistakes; we should try to
do better. The best thing to do with faults and failures and
mistakes and weak areas is to recognize them, be honest
about them, and then try to overcome them if we can.
The first step is to face the facts. If we can honestly admit
our problems to ourselves, then we can fight them. The
second step—and here is where the Christian is at a distinct
advantage—is to be honest with the Lord about ourselves
and ask for His help. We don’t have to fight to overcome
these things on our own. If we’re willing to bare our souls to
Jesus, He will step in and help us as only He can.
Another wonderful thing about this arrangement is that
Jesus always offers us hope. He doesn’t throw us out when
we make mistakes. If He did, we’d all have been thrown
out a long time ago because we all make so many mistakes.
Instead, He tries to help us learn from our mistakes, tells us
how to do better next time, and encourages us to try again.

146
MAY 26

Only one life, ’twill soon be

past. Only what’s done for

❧E
Christ will last!

VERY CHRISTIAN WAS INTENDED

TO LAY DOWN HIS LIFE AND TAKE UP HIS CROSS and follow
Jesus in order to bear fruit, more Christians like himself
(Luke 9:23– 24; John 15:8). Jesus said, “Unless a grain of
wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if
it dies, it produces much grain” (John 12:24). If we will bury
our lives in the soil of God’s service, if we will “die daily”
for the Lord by giving our lives to help others (1 Corinthi-
ans 15:31), we will bring forth much fruit—more Christians
to preach the Gospel to more of the lost and win them to
Jesus—that He may have much fruit.
What a small price to pay for all the blessings, happiness,
and eternal rewards in Heaven that He has promised you in
return! If you give your all, God will reward you a hundred
times over (Matthew 19:29). You can’t beat that kind of
investment. There’s no other investment in this world that
guarantees that kind of return.
What are you doing and for whom? Will it last forever
for Jesus and others? Don’t waste another day! Spend its
precious time for Him and His, for eternity!

147
MAY 27

If you can’t be a

❧J
missionary, support one.

ESUS SAID THAT WE ARE TO “SEEK

FIRST THE KINGDOM OF GOD” (Matthew 6:33). What is God’s
kingdom? It’s the people who love Him and those He loves.
If people are God’s kingdom, we are supposed to witness
and win more people for His kingdom, or help others win
them.
To help His kingdom is to help His people, and the way He
helps people is often through other people. He likes to use
us as His means in order that we too might be blessed and
have a share in His work and its fruits and receive part of
the rewards. That’s part of His plan.
The multimillionaire R.G. LeTourneau (1888–1969) went
bankrupt early in his career. He asked God what God
wanted him to do, and God told him that He wanted him
to make money for His work. So LeTourneau started off
promising God 10% of his income if He’d pull him out of
debt, and God did. God made him a success, and he made
millions. Toward the end of his life LeTourneau gave 90%
of his income to foreign missions and lived very well on the
other 10%—all because He put God’s kingdom first!
Are you called to raise funds for missions? Will you share
forever in the eternal rewards of souls won as a result of
your giving?

148
MAY 28

“Take, eat; this is My

body, which is broken for

❧T
you” (1 Corinthians 11:24).

HE BREAD USED FOR COMMUNION

REPRESENTS JESUS’ BODY, which was broken for us in a
number of ways—the crown of thorns, the beatings, the
stripes, the injuries and pain He suffered. He didn’t have to
suffer all that for our sins, He only had to shed His blood
and die for our sins. But His body suffered so that through
this, He could also atone for our sicknesses: “By His stripes
we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5). To save our bodies, it took His
body.
The best medicine in the world is the body of Jesus Christ,
which was broken for our healing. When we partake of the
bread, it shows we have faith that His body was broken for
our health, so we can claim His healing by faith when we
partake. If we eat of it by faith, we are healed by faith. It’s
part of His atonement for salvation for the whole man—
body, soul, and spirit.
(Prayer:) Thank You, Jesus, for the communion bread that
represents Your body, which was broken for us and our
physical health. As Your body was broken for our healing,
so let us have faith to partake of it accordingly, in Your name
we ask. Amen.

149
MAY 29

“Dying grace” means

perfect peace, perfect

❧S
rest, no worry, no fear.

OMEONE ONCE ASKED DWIGHT L.

MOODY (1837–1899), “Do you have dying grace?”
“No, I don’t,” he answered. “I’m not dying yet!”
But when the time came, he did. Moody’s last words were:
“I see earth receding; Heaven is approaching. God is calling
me. This is my triumph. This is my coronation day. It is glo-
rious. God is calling and I must go.”
If you know Jesus and have His love in your heart, He will
also give you dying grace when your time to go comes. “As
your days, so shall your strength be” (Deuteronomy 33:25).
He’ll give you peace and faith.
Even the martyrs of the early church didn’t die sadly or sor-
rowfully, but singing and shouting and praising God. God
will never let anything happen to you that is more than you
are able to bear—not even death (1 Corinthians 10:13).
When the moment of death comes, God will give you such
grace and peace and love and confidence and perfect faith
that you will have no fear, only joy and thankfulness for
Heaven and all that lies ahead. One life is past, and a new
one begins. Heaven forever! Happiness for all eternity!

150
MAY 30

Do all you do to the glory

❧W
of love.

HATEVER WE DO IN WORD OR IN
DEED, we’re to do all to the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31).
God is love (1 John 4:8), so we’re to do it all to the glory of
love. There is no law but love in God’s kingdom of love
(Galatians 5:14). God now only judges according to whether
we have love or no love, whether what we do is done in love
or selfishness and lack of love. Whatever is done in God’s love
is right.
The Law of Moses spelled out in detail what people should
or shouldn’t do if they loved God, loved others, and acted
in love. But once we’re saved, once we’ve received and are
ruled by the Spirit of love itself, we don’t need that old law
because we just won’t do those things we shouldn’t, and we
will voluntarily do those things we should. “If you are led by
the Spirit, you are not under the law” (Galatians 5:18). If your
actions, thoughts, words, and deeds are motivated by love
and guided by love, you can’t go wrong.
Love is what counts. God is love, His law is love, and our
faith and practice are love. Isn’t that a wonderful religion?

151
MAY 31

Here’s the secret to

successful witnessing:
Fill your heart with God’s

❧W
love and Word.

E’RE THE VESSELS OF GOD’S

LOVE TO POUR OUT HIS LOVE TO OTHERS. It’s His love, but
He works through us. We’re His channels, tools in His hand.
God says, “Open your mouth and I will fill it” (Psalm 81:10).
But where does He fill it from? He fills it from your heart.
“Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks”
(Matthew 12:34). If you have filled your heart beforehand, if
you’re full of His love and the knowledge of His Word, the
message you want to get across to others, when you open
your mouth He will fill it, right out of your heart. It will just
roll out by inspiration.
God doesn’t expect you to do it. All He expects you to do is
yield to Him and then He will do it through you. When you
turn on a water faucet, the faucet doesn’t do the work. It’s
the power from outside that causes the water to flow effort-
lessly through the faucet. The faucet is just the channel, just
the hole, to let the water flow out. If you’re full of the Spirit,
full of Jesus and His love, full of the Word, then you can ask
God to turn you on and let it roll.

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JUNE 1

Jesus wants us to grow

into the stature of full-

❧W
grown mature Christians.

HEN WE ARE SAVED OR “BORN

AGAIN” (John 3:3–8), at first we’re like babies, spiritually
speaking. Like babies need nourishment and exercise every
day to be healthy and grow, we need spiritual nourishment
and exercise every day. But a lot of Christians stop growing
when they are only a few months or years old. They never
grow up; they never mature. They think they’ve learned all
they need to and so never grow into the kind of Christians
that Jesus wants them to be—mature Christians who are able
to carry a lot of responsibility and make sacrifices when
necessary.
God’s Word says that even Jesus “learned obedience by the
things which He suffered” (Hebrews 5:8), and “Jesus grew
in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men”
(Luke 2:52 NIV). Every day we learn some new obedience,
and although some things get harder, others get easier—like
growing up. That’s what it’s all about!
Spiritual maturity is not entirely a matter of time; it’s mostly
a matter of your connection with Jesus and His Word and
your obedience and humility. A child becomes a true adult
when he learns to act responsibly and think of others, and
it’s the same with Christians. That’s spiritual maturity.

153
JUNE 2

Only we can sing

❧I
salvation’s story.

N SOME WAYS WE’RE MORE

IMPORTANT THAN THE ANGELS. God didn’t send His Son to
die for the angels; He sent Him to die for us.
“Holy, holy,” is what the angels sing,
And I expect to help them make the courts of Heaven ring;
But when I sing redemption’s story, they will fold their
wings,
For angels never felt the joys that our salvation brings.1
The angels wish they could sing the same message, but they
can’t because they were never lost. They can’t know the joy
of salvation; they can only witness it.
This is the message that I bring,
A message angels fain would sing:
“Oh, be ye reconciled,”
Thus saith my Lord and King,
“Oh, be ye reconciled to God.”2
What is the message we bring?—”Get saved. Be reconciled.”
It means make peace with God. There’s only one way you can
make peace with God, and that’s through Jesus (Acts 4:12;
1 Peter 3:18; Revelation 5:9). Salvation is one story that hasn’t
got any end, because it’s eternal. You can’t say, “And that’s the
happy ending,” because that’s just the happy beginning! But
you can say, “And they all lived happily ever after!”

1
Johnson Oatman, Jr. (1856–1922).
2
154 E. Taylor Cassel (1849–1930).
JUNE 3

God leaves a lot up to

us and our concern and

❧Y
prayer.

OU’D BE SURPRISED HOW MUCH

GOD DEPENDS ON OUR PRAYERS. When we’re faced with a
needy situation, He wants us to show concern and pray
specifically about it. If we really believe, every prayer is
heard and answered, but if we don’t pray, it is not done. God
can do anything, but He puts the responsibility of prayer on
us.
The very intensity with which we pray and really mean it or
desire it is reflected in the answer. The objects of our prayers
are not going to receive any more than we send. We have to
visualize the people or situations we’re praying for and pray
for them with that thought on our heart, asking God specifi-
cally for what we want Him to do.
Prayers are answered in proportion to the intensity with
which they originate. Like a beam of light focused on a
mirror, it will bounce back with as much power as it began
with. If we only pray with half a heart, we only get half
an answer. But if we pray with our whole heart, we get a
wholehearted, strong answer.
Are you exercising your prayer power? Heaven will reveal
what good we have done—or could have done—through
prayer!

155
JUNE 4

For goodness sake,

people don’t need to see

❧D
perfection!

ON’T WORRY IF YOU FEEL YOU’RE

A MESS, because we all are. But Jesus is everything! Just
talk about Jesus. Forget about your problems and just talk
about Jesus. Praise Jesus and love Jesus, and you can’t go
wrong. When others see that you’re just like them, when
they see that you also stumble and fall but let Jesus pick you
up again, when they see you give all your trials and
problems to Him and let Him carry you through, this will
encourage their faith.
The fact that you feel like a mess but keep on keeping on for
Jesus is what matters. The fact that you keep giving all your
problems to Jesus and keep trusting Him is a far greater tes-
timony than if you were perfect, because that points others
to Jesus and glorifies Him, not yourself.
So keep loving Jesus. Keep running to His Word. Keep de-
pending on Him every minute of every day, for everything,
at every turn. Keep tuning in to His voice and following
Him. This is what others need to see, and this is what will
inspire them to do the same. They’ll know that if Jesus can
do it for you, He’ll do it for them.

156
JUNE 5

What God has done for

❧A
others, He can do for you!

LL THROUGH THE BIBLE GOD

MIRACULOUSLY EMPOWERED AND PROTECTED HIS CHIL-
DREN, and the same miracles of power and protection that
occurred back in Bible times can happen now. “Jesus Christ
is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). If
Jesus could do those miracles in His day and through the
apostles in theirs, then He can still do them today! God is
still the God of miracles, and what He’s done before He can
do again! In fact, Jesus said, “He who believes in Me, the
works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these
he will do, because I go to My Father” (John 14:12).
Jesus also said, “All power is given unto Me in Heaven and
in earth” (Matthew 28:18 KJV). So if you have Jesus, you’ve
got all that power! God has not only promised all this power,
but He’s promised it for right now if you need it and have
faith to claim and exercise it. Think how much good you can
do in His name!
It is no secret what God can do!
What He’s done for others, He’ll do for you!
With arms wide open, He’ll carry you through!
It is no secret what God can do!1

1
Stuart Hamblin (1908–1989). 157
JUNE 6

❧S
Our spirits are contagious.

OMETIMES JUST A WORD OR A

SMILE CAN MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE—how we look or
sound or seem. If it’s not cheerful and victorious and
uplifting, it’s bound to drag somebody else down with us.
Others will partake of our spirits and be influenced by our
attitudes. This is why it’s so important that we dwell on the
positive, not the negative. Think about the good things
(Philippians 4:8). Be encouraging, loving, and cheerful. Love
begets love. If we are peaceful, trusting, patient, restful, and
full of faith, this is the way others will also react. A little real
love goes a long, long way!
No man is an island. Everybody has influence. One person
walking in love will encourage others to do likewise. If you
show love, others will catch the same spirit. It’s such a con-
tagious thing—the love of Christ in action. It spreads from
heart to heart.
If we live enough with God, like Moses did, a little of God
will rub off on us too and we’ll be happy and our faces will
shine with joy and the Spirit of God (Exodus 34:29–34;
Numbers 6:25–26). That’s the secret! If we shine forth with
enough love, others will reflect it.

158
JUNE 7

“It is God who works in

you both to will and to do
for His good pleasure”

❧T
(Philippians 2:13).

OO MANY CHRISTIANS HAVE BEEN

TAUGHT TWO CONFLICTING DOCTRINES: first, that they can’t
be saintly and perfect, and second, that they can’t be saved
unless they are. Both are the Devil’s own doctrines! It’s no
wonder that a lot of Christians give up trying to be or do
anything for the Lord!
Of course you can’t do it! Of course you can’t save yourself!
Of course you can’t live a perfect Christian life! Of course
you can’t be good or do anything good of yourself! Jesus
Himself said, “Without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).
But the wonderful truth of the matter is that you can do
anything with Jesus’ help. “I can do all things through Christ
who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13). With His help you
can do anything, go anywhere, and be anybody God wants
you to be.
God doesn’t want you to try or pretend to be something
you’re not and couldn’t possibly be. However, He teaches
in His Word that almost anybody can be almost anything if
they have faith and it’s according to His will. Anybody can
be somebody or somebody can be anybody, because with
God nothing is impossible and all things are possible to
those who believe (Luke 1:37; Mark 9:23).

159
JUNE 8

“Let us not be weary in

well doing, for in due
season we shall reap, if
we faint not”

❧S
(Galatians 6:9 KJV).

OMETIMES WE DON’T MIND

BEGINNING A GOOD WORK, but when we see what the final
cost is going to be, we don’t want to complete it. Well begun
is half done, but if we don’t finish the thing, nothing is
done. Jesus said we should count the cost first before we
start any big project—from building a tower to waging
war—to make sure we’ll be able to finish it (Luke 14:28–32).
If we begin a job for the Lord, we need to see it through.
Otherwise it would have been better if we had never started.
We need to remind ourselves that the men and women who
have accomplished the most for God were mostly ordinary
people who stuck to their jobs through thick and thin.
There’s really no limit to what God can do through us, too, if
we’ll just be faithful and stick to it.
(Prayer:) Help us, Lord, to remember that You’re the One
who has begun a good work in us, and what You have start-
ed You have promised to complete (Philippians 1:6). Give us
faith and patience and perseverance to stick to the tasks You
have given us until they’re finished or You have something
else for us. Amen.

160
JUNE 9

It is impossible to have
faith unless you have the

❧T
Word.

HE BIBLE SAYS THAT FAITH COMES

FROM THE WORD OF GOD (Romans 10:17). That’s a basic
spiritual law, as sure as what goes up comes down. So if
you’re weak in faith it’s because you’re weak in the Word.
The cure for doubts is the Word. Faith comes, it grows, by
hearing the Word of God. It’s not a sudden boom. It is some-
thing that is built by faithful study of God’s Word.
Faith isn’t something you work up, muster up, or polish up
by your own efforts and strength. Accepting faith through
His Word is a work of God’s grace. All you have to do is
desire and receive it. Jesus even gives you faith to believe
His Word. Jesus is the “author and finisher of our faith”
(Hebrews 12:2).
Don’t neglect His Word. It is food for your soul and gives
you strength for the daily battles of life. It is His Word
by His Spirit in His love that makes you strong. So read it
prayerfully and ask God to increase your faith, and He will.
He never fails! He’ll always answer the hungry heart.

161
JUNE 10

Everything God has

created is for our pleasure

❧G
and our good.

OD MADE ALL THE BASIC NECESSI-

TIES OF LIFE PLEASURABLE—breathing, eating, sleeping,
exercising, and loving. The Bible says that He created all
things for His pleasure (Revelation 4:11 KJV), but He also
created them for ours. God made life to be enjoyable, and he
equipped us to enjoy it. He created our senses and the
nerves that register pleasure. He gave us the gift of sight so
we could look upon things that are pleasing to the eye, taste
to be able to enjoy delicious food, hearing so we could listen
to the beautiful sounds of nature and beautiful music, touch
so we could feel pleasurable sensations, and smell so we
could enjoy the lovely fragrance of a flower.
God created pleasure for our good, but some people have
been taught that pleasure is sinful, that it’s wrong to enjoy
certain things that bring pleasure. According to the Bible,
that’s simply not so! Pleasure only becomes ungodly when
it’s not as God created it or intended for it to be used—when
it’s perverted, overindulged in, or put before Him and what
He wants for us.
The rule of thumb is simple: Put God first in everything you
do, and then you can enjoy all His goodness in full faith. All
this and Heaven too!

162
JUNE 11

❧T
Let Jesus lead.

O BE SUCCESSFUL FOR THE LORD,

we have to stay close to Him and make sure we’re in His will.
There’s a sure and simple formula for that: “Trust in the
Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own under-
standing; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall
direct your paths” (Proverbs 3:5–6).
We can’t even do things that seem good and reasonable un-
less we’re sure they’re what the Lord wants. If we’re leaning
to our own understanding and forgetting to acknowledge
Him, if we’re not listening to the voice of His Spirit and
letting Him lead and guide us every moment, then we’re
apt to get sidetracked or step into one of the Devil’s traps.
We can’t guard ourselves from everything, but we can stay
so close to Jesus that we are always in the charmed circle of
His blessing and protection. “Your ears shall hear a word
behind you, saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it,’ whenever
you turn to the right hand or whenever you turn to the left”
(Isaiah 30:21).
(Prayer:) Thank You, Jesus, for being our ever-present com-
panion and coworker—the best help that we could ever ask
for! Help us to do our part, to be sensitive to Your voice and
to follow it. Then we can act in full faith and You’ll be able
to bless and use us to the full. Amen.

163
JUNE 12

There’s power in Jesus’

❧S
name!

OME PEOPLE ASK, “Why can’t you

just leave ‘Jesus’ out of it? Why do you have to use that
name? Why can’t you just speak of God’s love and do what
you’re doing in God’s name?”—Because these are God’s
conditions.
Jesus is the One you have to approach God through. He’s our
Mediator and High Priest (1 Timothy 2:5; Hebrews 4:14).
Jesus is the only One who ever rose from the dead and can
give you power to do the same. The Bible says, “Nor is there
salvation in any other, for there is no other name under
heaven given among men by which we must be saved”
(Acts 4:12). We’re to pray in His name, heal in His name, cast
out devils in His name, baptize in His name, and preach in
His name. Without that name, there is no power. Everything
we have is in Jesus’ name. “Whatever you ask the Father in
My name,” Jesus said, “He will give it you” (John 16:23).
Expect miracles, and in Jesus’ name you’ll get them!
Look how much emphasis the early disciples in the book
of Acts put on the name of Jesus. That’s all they preached
and talked about—Jesus! That’s the name they did all those
miracles in, and that’s the name they won the world in.
That’s the only name we’ll win it in too—Jesus!

164
JUNE 13

❧W
Take God at His Word!

E’RE SUPPOSED TO BELIEVE THE

WORD SIMPLY BECAUSE GOD SAID SO! He wants us to have
faith in His Word and not always have to have a sign.
Why does God insist we have to believe in something we
cannot see or feel, purely by faith in His Word, trusting Him
just like a little child has to trust a parent? It’s because the
Lord loves faith! He loves us because we believe Him, just
because He said so. It’s a way of showing our love and our
confidence in Him. “But without faith it is impossible to
please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He
is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek
Him” (Hebrews 11:6).
It’s like a child who has to trust his parents even though he
doesn’t always understand why he must do or not do this or
that. He just has to “do it because Daddy says so.” Because
the child trusts his parents and feels secure in their love, he
takes their word for it. That’s the way we should be with
God. We should say to Him, “Yes sir!” and believe it and do
it simply because He says we should.

165
JUNE 14

Let’s get back to the

❧T
Garden of Eden.

HERE IS ONLY ONE WAY THAT WE

CAN REGAIN THE FREEDOM THAT ADAM AND EVE HAD in
the Garden, and that is to find God and His truth. Those of
us who have received Jesus Christ as our Savior and King
already have Paradise in our hearts. He has forgiven us of
our sins and brought us peace and love and happiness that
we never knew before.
Would you like to live in this Garden of Eden—to enjoy
Paradise, true freedom, and all the wonderful things and
pleasures that God has given us to enjoy, His whole cre-
ation? Well, you can, just by inviting Jesus into your heart.
Take Him as your Savior and you’ll be there! He’ll make
your heart a Garden of God’s love! There it will always be
sunshine and gladness, because you’ll be forgiven for every
wrong you ever committed and made sinless and pure and
perfect in God’s sight.
And once you’ve found the Paradise of God, you’ll want to
lead others there also, that they too might experience its
joys—and you can. You can bring Eden to every heart by
telling others about Jesus and helping them to ask Him in.

166
JUNE 15

❧G
You can pray all the time.

OD’S WORD TELLS US THAT WE

ARE TO “PRAY WITHOUT CEASING” (1 Thessalonians 5:17).
You don’t have to be down on your hands and knees praying
frantically to be heard. Prayer is something you can and
should be doing all the time, no matter what else you’re
doing—like thinking on your feet. You can be anointed and
led by Him in anything you do. If you’re thinking and
praying about what you’re doing and asking God for
wisdom, He will give it to you (James 1:5).
Ask the Lord about everything before you do it. Make sure
that’s what He wants you to do. “In all your ways acknowl-
edge Him, and He shall direct thy paths” (Proverbs 3:6).
Stopping your activity and asking the Lord for His help
shows your reliance on Him and brings a hush to your
spirit. The Lord wants to be recognized, and He wants you
to remember that you need Him.
(Prayer:) Keep us close to You, Lord, and help us to stay in
the center of Your will, obedient and following You moment
by moment. Every moment, keep our hearts right, our minds
right, our motives right, and everything right with You.
Amen.

167
JUNE 16

You can’t take your money

with you when you die—
but you can send it on

❧W
ahead.

HEN IT COMES TO GOD AND HIS

WORK, it’s good business to give. It’s a good investment
because it will earn the highest interest rate possible and
dividends that outstrip anything else you could possibly
invest in—a hundred times over in this life, and in the world
to come, life eternal (Mark 10:30). That’s His promise!
The richest people in God’s kingdom are going to be those
who shared the most with Him and His children. But there
is also the other side of the coin, as illustrated by the tale
about the selfish rich woman who was led to her heavenly
home by an angel. They walked past many beautiful man-
sions where other Christians were living, until they came
to a section of Heaven where the homes were small and
humble.
As the angel led her to a tiny cottage, the woman asked,
“What’s the big idea? I’m used to very fine living!”
“Well,” the angel answered, “our abodes up here are built
from what each person sends on before, and this is all we
could do with what you sent. Others sacrificed and lived
their lives for the Lord and others, so great is their reward.”
Are you investing in God’s service and in His kingdom by
giving to Him?
168
JUNE 17

“The blood of Jesus Christ

His Son cleanses us from

❧G
all sin” (1 John 1:7).

OD SAID THROUGH MOSES THAT

WITHOUT THE SHEDDING OF BLOOD THERE IS NO REMISSION
OF SIN (Leviticus 17:11). That was the Law, and that is why
Jesus died for us.
Jesus died on God’s altar, the cross, believed upon by every
Christian, trusted by every son and daughter of God who
believes in Jesus Christ for their salvation. Jesus was the
ultimate sacrifice for sin. He was the ultimate Lamb of God,
slain for the remission of our sins. He took the punishment
of our sins in His own body on the cross, and that was the
last sacrifice of blood for sin as far as God was concerned.
Our salvation is a gift from God (Ephesians 2:8), but it cost
Jesus dearly. That was the highest price anybody could have
paid for our salvation, and only Jesus could do it. No matter
how much you sacrifice and try to pay for salvation by your
own works, it’s impossible; the price is too high! God did not
spare His own Son, Jesus Christ, but let Him die on the cross
so that He could then freely give us all things (Romans 8:32).

169
JUNE 18

The truly loving are truly

humble, and the truly

❧Y
humble are truly loving.

OU’VE GOT TO ADMIT, a big part of

love is humility. It takes humility to be affectionate and to
receive affection. If you want to fall in love and accept real
love, you have to be humble enough to forsake your pride
and receive it.
This is true even of our relationship with the Lord. When
we first hear that God loves us so much that He sent His only
Son, Jesus, to die in our place, we have to humble ourselves
to receive God’s love. Receiving salvation is a humbling
experience. Those who humble themselves receive not only
forgiveness, but also an infilling of love they could never
have imagined. But those who are too proud miss out on
both, for “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the
humble” (James 4:6).
Humility and love are inseparable. You cannot have real love
and not be humble, and you cannot have genuine humility
without a lot of love. Pride’s fear of failure or refusal also
prevents us from reaching out to and loving others as much
as we should. Not so with humility. Humility has love and
faith without fear (1 John 4:18). Love doesn’t care what
other people think; it just loves in spite of what they think.
So be humble—and love!

170
JUNE 19

❧H
Jesus is the door.

AVE YOU PASSED THROUGH THE

DOOR OF SALVATION, Jesus, into the heavenly world of new
life in Him? You can! It’s wonderful—like passing from dark-
ness into light, from death into life, through God’s love,
mercy, and salvation in Jesus!
Jesus called Himself the door (John 10:7,9). “Behold! I am
the Door you have to get through to get into My Father’s
house. There isn’t any other entrance but by Me!”
Jesus is an open door, not a locked door or even a shut door.
You don’t even have to be able to reach the doorknob. The
door is standing wide open. All you have to do is see the
door, believe it is open for you, walk through it by faith,
and you’re saved! You’ve entered the heavenly sphere of sal-
vation, heaven on earth and Heaven hereafter, the kingdom
of God, just by walking through that open door!
Once you believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God and receive
Him as your Savior, then He knows you and you know Him,
and every time you come to His door it will be standing
wide open and He will say, “Welcome! Come in! I love you!”

171
JUNE 20

What’s the good news?—

❧A
“God is love” (1 John 4:8).

LL YOU NEED IN ORDER TO SHARE

GOD’S LOVE WITH OTHERS is a simple faith in a simple salva-
tion and a simple Gospel for people to simply believe and
receive and be saved—the Good News summed up so simply
in one beautiful verse: “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” (John 3:16).
That’s the best single verse in the Bible to explain the con-
cept of salvation to people from almost any background. If
you can help them understand each part of that verse, that’s
all you really need. “For God so loved the world”—who is
God?—He’s the Spirit of love. Are they part of the world?
“For God so loved you”—put their name in there—”that He
gave His only begotten Son”—who’s that?—Jesus—”that
whoever believes in Him”—do they believe in Jesus?—then
they “will not perish”—they won’t go to Hell—”but have
everlasting life.”
John 3:16 is all the education you need to go out and win
the lost. That’s all the preparation you need to be a mission-
ary. Simply go out where the lost are to be found and give
them His love and the Good News of salvation in Jesus!

172
JUNE 21

The name of the game is

❧S
faith and trust.

OMETIMES GOD LETS OUR FAITH

BE TESTED RIGHT TO THE BRINK in order to prove that it’s
real faith. He can even make it appear as if He is being a
little too hard on us, so we’re tempted to think, “How could
God let that sort of thing happen?” The Devil is always
around to try to make us doubt and even criticize God, like
he did with Job.
We’ve got to be willing to trust God, live or die, sink or
swim, like Job. Despite the loss of everything dear to him,
Job kept trusting God. He finally overcame, and in the end
God gave him back more than he had lost. Job’s is one of the
most glorious testimonies in the whole Bible. In the face of
suffering and defeat and discouragement, his faith carried
him through.
That’s the greatest victory of all—when we seem to be
defeated and still trust God. He must really be pleased with
that kind of faith. “This is the victory that has overcome the
world—our faith” (1 John 5:4). God loves to watch us make
it in spite of all the tests and trials. He loves to watch us run
and win the race, endure the affliction, and fight through to
victory!

173
JUNE 22

Miracles come naturally

❧W
to God.

E USUALLY THINK OF THINGS

THAT ARE BEYOND OUR COMPREHENSION as supernatural or
miraculous, but those things aren’t supernatural to God
because He operates in the spiritual realm where everything
is “natural” to Him. It’s like saying there is nothing impos-
sible with God (Luke 1:37). A lot of things God does are
beyond our power and grasp of things and what we consider
natural, so when they happen we say they are supernatural.
But with God nothing is impossible, so nothing is super-
natural to Him!
God can do things that are contrary to what we consider
His natural laws. When someone gets healed of an incur-
able disease, for example, we call it a miracle because we’re
seeing the evidence or manifestation of some of God’s laws
that link the spiritual and the physical realms—laws that we
know little about. To God, on the other hand, it’s simple! He
knows how to undo whatever damage the disease may have
done and thereby creates what to us is a miracle—a super-
natural act that is beyond our capabilities.
God is always ready, willing, and able to work miracles
on our behalf—miracles of healing, supply, protection, or
whatever else we may need when we ask Him to in faith and
claim the promises from His Word. We can’t work miracles;
we can only pray for Him to do it and marvel at His power
when He does.

174
JUNE 23

❧F
Faith is the title deed.
“
AITH IS THE SUBSTANCE OF THINGS
HOPED FOR, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1
KJV). The word translated as “substance” here is the Greek
word hupostasis. When the New Testament was first
translated into English from Greek, the translators were
puzzled by this word hupostasis. It seemed to be some kind
of business terminology not found in classical Greek
literature, and all they could determine was that it meant
something fairly substantial, so they translated it as
“substance.”
Hundreds of years later, archaeologists uncovered the
charred ruins of an old inn in Palestine. There they found
a small iron chest apparently containing the legal papers
of some Roman noblewoman who had owned real estate
in the area. Most of the papers in the chest had written in
large Greek letters across the top: hupostasis. They were all
title deeds to her properties! Before her apparent visit, this
Roman woman had perhaps never seen her properties, but
she knew they were hers and could prove her ownership
because she had the title deeds.
So what is faith?—It’s the title deed! Had those translators
known what we know now, that verse might instead read,
“Now faith is the title deed to things hoped for.”

175
JUNE 24

God can do anything but

❧T
fail.

HE DIFFICULT GOD DOES IMMEDI-

ATELY; the impossible might take a little longer. So if you
need a miracle, never give up and never take no for an
answer. Nothing is too hard for God (Jeremiah 32:27). He
can do anything if you’ll just give Him a chance.
God can do anything, anything, anything,
God can do anything but fail!
He can save, He can heal,
Just believe and He will,
God can do anything but fail!1
Got any rivers you think are uncrossable?
Got any mountains you can’t tunnel through?
God specializes in things thought impossible
And He can do what no other friend can do!2
(Prayer:) We know, Lord, that You can do whatever we
need done, and we know You will do it if we’ll believe and
trust You. You always make a way if we obey and do it Your
way. If we do all we can do, You’ll do the rest. Even when
it comes to the impossible, You’re an expert at that (Luke
1:37). So help us to do all we can and then trust You for the
impossible. You can do anything but fail, and we’ll never fail
as long as we trust You!

1
Ira Stanphill (1914–1994).
2
176 Oscar C. Eliason.
JUNE 25

Every time you’re tempted

to think negatively about
yourself, thank God for

❧Y
the good instead.

OU’RE A VERY SPECIAL CREATION

OF GOD’S LOVE, so don’t worry about a few blemishes.
Imagine how self-righteous and proud we would be if God
had made us all perfect! Instead, He gave us a few blemish-
es—and we all have them. But God doesn’t want you to look
at the blemishes; He wants you to look at the good.
Every time you’re tempted to think something negative
about yourself, thank God for something He blessed you
with—your good health, your sound mind, or some quality
or talent that others admire in you. There are so many things
you could thank God for!
Think how much worse off you could be—and think
of others who are. Pray for someone who is battling a
long-term illness or coping daily with a debilitating
handicap. Job was delivered from his problems when he
prayed for his friends (Job 42:10).
Take a positive approach and pretty soon the instigator of
your negative thoughts, the old Devil himself or one of his
henchmen, will give up. When your spiritual enemy sees
that your praises and prayers are defeating him every time,
he’ll think twice before tempting you with negative think-
ing—and you can be thankful for that!

177
JUNE 26

Love is more than

righteousness, and mercy

❧L
is greater than justice!

OVE IS THE LAW OF CHRIST TODAY.

“For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: ‘You
shall love your neighbor as yourself’” (Galatians 5:14).
Love is really stricter than the Mosaic Law because it goes fur-
ther than the Law. In the Law there was virtually no forgiving
and it was “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” But
Jesus said that even if our brother offends us seventy times
seven times and is sorry, we should forgive him (Matthew
5:38–39; 18:21–22). Now everything must be done in His love.
We must have more mercy and more love than the Law!
People only obeyed the Law because they had to, and most
people only did as much as they were made to do. But love
goes all the way. Love will do the right thing and go the
distance for someone else. The Spirit of God in us will give
us the power and the strength to love others more than
ourselves.
This is what God has been working on all the time: to per-
suade us to do things through the right, loving motivation,
because we love Him and others and therefore want to do
what’s right.

178
JUNE 27

Fill your heart and mind

❧G
with God’s truth.

OD HAS GIVEN YOU THE BEST

COMPUTER EVER CONSTRUCTED—your own mind—but it’s
up to you how you fill it. It has to be filled with something,
good or bad, and your reflexes are mentally conditioned to
react in a certain way according to what you have learned or
experienced. That’s why you could hardly accomplish
anything more important than to memorize the Word of
God.
God Himself is like the Great Central Computer. You can
plug into Him and by His power, His Spirit, He can give you
all the information, all the wisdom, and all the answers you
need. If you’ll be faithful to read, study, and memorize His
Word, then He can spiel it off by the Spirit when you need
it. He will just pop it up in your little computer when-
ever you make the right connection in your programming
(John 14:26).
Once you’ve downloaded God’s Word into your heart and
mind, you just need to be a yielded instrument. Then God can
sit down at the keyboard and get out of your computer the
information that He wants, because your little memory chips
will have the right data, as much as you’ve programmed them
to contain.

179
JUNE 28

Faith for God to heal is

found in the promises of

❧O
His Word.

FTEN A LACK OF FAITH IS DUE TO

IGNORANCE. If you feel like you don’t have much faith for
God to heal you, it may be because you don’t have a sufficient
background of faith and knowledge of God’s Word. But the
provision is there for you. God has made lots of promises for
our healing throughout the entire Bible, God’s personal Word
to each of us.
You can’t say, “I’m trusting the doctor, but I don’t like to
follow his prescriptions.” You have to follow through and
obey whatever you’re putting your faith in. If it’s God, you’re
going to take the scriptural pills and follow the treatment He
prescribes. You will claim His promises by faith.
“I am the Lord who heals you” (Exodus 15:26).
“Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord
delivers him out of them all” (Psalm 34:19).
“He sent His word and healed them” (Psalm 107:20).
“Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is there any-
thing too hard for Me?” (Jeremiah 32:27).
“To you who fear My name the Sun of Righteousness shall
arise with healing in His wings” (Malachi 4:2).
“Jesus the Christ heals you” (Acts 9:34).

180
JUNE 29

❧G
Turn on and tune in.

OD IS LIKE A BROADCASTING
STATION, broadcasting all the time. Just like the radio waves
that are unseen in the air all around you this very minute,
God’s Spirit is ever present, waiting for you to make contact.
And much the same as a radio, you have been designed by
your Creator to receive those signals. God’s power is always
on. The message is always there. But in order to receive it,
you must turn on and tune in to His frequency.
Compared to the tremendous power and complex opera-
tions of the broadcasting station, you, the receiver, need not
have much power, and only the basic components. Prayer
is the hand of faith that flips the switch and turns on what
little power you have. Then the hand of hope tunes with
expectancy, searching for the frequency upon which God is
broadcasting, and suddenly His great broadcasting station
booms in with tremendous volume and power, and the mes-
sages come through loud and clear.
If you concentrate and wait with faith and patience, without
distraction, you’ll receive some of the most powerful, thrill-
ing, and amazing messages that will stir you to action. The
messages you receive from Him minister faith, joy, hope,
love, and praise. You’ll dance to His tunes, move according
to His signals, and you’ll know you’re fulfilling the purpose
for which you were created.

181
JUNE 30

The divine, supernatural,

miraculous, infinite,
marvelous love of God is

❧G
love enough to forgive!

OD’S MERCY IS ENDLESS, from

everlasting to everlasting. His love and mercy and forgive-
ness and salvation never end. He never stops loving us, no
matter what we do. He never rejects us or withdraws His
love. He always has hope for us no matter how far we’ve
strayed (Psalm 103:3–14).
Even in spite of our sins and shortcomings and misdeeds
and crimes, whatever they may be, the blood of Jesus covers
all our sins, past, present, and future. If we will forsake our
sin and turn to the Lord, our God will abundantly pardon
(Isaiah 55:7). The Bible says, “If we confess our sins, He
is faithful and just to forgive us,” no matter what we have
done (1 John 1:9). The only unpardonable sin is refusing to
believe in Jesus, rejecting Him as your Savior. Most people
suffer for pardonable sins for which they fail to ask forgive-
ness.
We have a God big enough to forgive not only our mistakes
but also our sins. He always has and always does and always
will, forever and ever. Like a river, God’s love and mercy just
keep flowing, no matter what.

182
JULY 1

Don’t be self-conscious;

❧S
be Christ-conscious.

HYNESS IS A COMBINATION OF TWO

THINGS: fear and pride. We are afraid of what people think
about us. A certain amount of this is all right; we should like
to be well thought of. But on the other hand, the Bible says
we’re not to be worried about the opinions of men, nor to
fear what men think or say about us if we’re doing what we
know is right (Proverbs 29:25; John 12:42–43).
Timidity, shyness, and bashfulness are manifestations of a
form of fear, which is the opposite of faith. So to overcome
fear you must have more faith. The cure is faith—strong
faith in God—and this comes through reading His Word and
being filled with His Spirit. If you think about how much He
loves you, you become less self-conscious and more God-
conscious, and this is the cure.
Keep your mind on Jesus. He will keep you in perfect peace,
when your mind is stayed on Him (Isaiah 26:3). Immerse
yourself in the Lord, and He will help you forget yourself.
Throw your whole heart into pleasing Jesus and sharing
Him with others, and He will help you to lose that self-
consciousness.

183
JULY 2

Heaven on earth will one

❧T
day be a literal reality!

HE PLACE WE’RE GOING TO DWELL

WITH GOD AND JESUS FOREVER HEREAFTER is not some
fanciful dreamland way off in outer space, but an even more
amazing dream city that is going to come down from God,
out of space, to earth. God is going to come down and live
with us and we with Him. Think of that! The dwelling place
of God is going to be with men (Revelation 21:2–3).
But first God is going to purge, purify, and renew the
whole earth so that it will be perfect and beautiful, like the
Garden of Eden. Then the heavenly city is going to come
down. Jesus will be restored forever as the King of kings
and His kingdom will finally be established “on earth as
it is in Heaven” (Matthew 6:10). It will be indescribably
beautiful—the most gorgeous sight you’ll ever see, full of
precious stones and jewels and, best of all, full of precious
souls!
Are you going to be able to walk in that city? The Bible says
that only the saved shall walk therein (Revelation 21:24).
You don’t want to miss that, do you?—Then receive Jesus as
your Savior, if you haven’t already!

184
JULY 3

“There is one who

scatters, yet increases
more; and there is one
who withholds more than
is right, but it leads to

❧G
poverty” (Proverbs 11:24).

OD LOVES TO OUTGIVE US. The

more we give, the more He gives us back. But if we’re not
willing to give, God’s apt to take. If you won’t give Him an
offering when you can, He might take a collection that will
far outweigh what you could have given.
It’s like the story of a certain rich man in the Bible who had
a big harvest and many riches, but instead of sharing with
others, he decided to build bigger barns to hold more for
himself (Luke 12:16–21). It wasn’t the big crop that was his
sin; God gave him that. His problem was his selfishness—the
barniness of his own soul, his unwillingness to share his
blessings with others. God told him that he would die that
very night and he couldn’t take anything with him, so he
lost it all. That’s selfishness and its reward. But if you are
willing to give, God will reward and repay and bless you
with much more than you gave. He’s promised that!
Which are you doing?—Withholding or scattering? “What-
ever measure you use to give—large or small—will be used
to measure what is given back to you” (Luke 6:38 TLB).

185
JULY 4

If we can trust God with

our lives, why can’t we

❧F
trust Him with our deaths?

OR THE CHRISTIAN, thinking ahead

about death is not a burden anymore. It’s no longer some-
thing to worry about. It’s a victory, a release, a graduation.
“O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy vic-
tory?” (1 Corinthians 15:55–57). Death has no sting and the
grave is no defeat for the Christian who has salvation and is
promised resurrection. Our death will be a victory over the
grave and sin and the Devil—a glorious victory and a
glorious entry into the heavenlies.
God knows when and how we’re supposed to die, and we’d
better let God make that decision and leave it in His hands.
“For this is God, our God forever and ever; He will be our
guide even to death” (Psalm 48:14). When it comes time
to die, if we are Christians and love the Lord, He’ll give us
dying grace. We trust God for everything else, so why not
trust Him to determine the time, place, and way we die?
God bless and keep you trusting even through death—and
don’t worry, He will. You’ll die like you lived, still trusting!

186
JULY 5

Nothing is ever going to

❧T
stop us but Jesus!

HE FORCES OF EVIL WILL NEVER BE

ABLE TO COMPLETELY DESTROY GOD’S CHILDREN. In spite of
innumerable major persecutions, they have never been
stopped. In spite of all the wrath and atrocities bestial man
will bring against God’s children during the Great
Tribulation—the coming three-and-a-half-year worldwide
reign of terror against people of all faiths by the devilish
dictatorship of the Antichrist and his regime—multitudes of
us Christians will still be here to joyously welcome Christ’s
triumphant re-entry into the earth’s atmosphere (Matthew
24:21, 29–31). He’s the only One who can stop us, and He
will stop us then for a little while to take us home for a
party, the marriage supper of the Lamb in Heaven! Then
we’ll come back here and put a stop to the reign of the
wicked! (Revelation chapter 19).
So praise the Lord, beloved. Don’t feel defeated, don’t get
discouraged, and don’t worry. No matter what the enemies
of Christ do, they can never stop us completely. As Martin
Luther (1483–1546) said, “We will not fear, for God hath
willed His truth to triumph through us!” We can’t fail, be-
cause Jesus is on our side. There will always be some of His
children somewhere in the world as a witness right up to the
very end!

187
JULY 6

Waiting and learning

patience is part of your

❧L
training.

OOK AT ALL THE EXAMPLES IN

THE BIBLE OF PATIENCE, like Job, Moses, and David.

Job lost everything—his family, his fortune, and finally his

health—but he kept on believing and obeying. “Though
He slay me,” he said, “yet will I trust Him” (Job 13:15).
He hung on and would not give up. The patience of Job
has given Christians down through the ages a wonderful
example to follow.
When Moses was in a hurry to deliver the children of Israel,
he killed an Egyptian and had to flee alone for his own life.
But after 40 years of humbly and patiently tending sheep in
the wilderness, with plenty of time to listen to the voice of
God instead of his own impulses, he was finally ready for the
slow, laborious, patient work of the Exodus—slow, but sure!
David spent 17 years working under King Saul, and learned
from Saul’s mistakes. Saul got all upset and tried to do things
in his own strength, and he found he wasn’t strong enough.
David learned he had to let God do everything, and wait for
Him to work.
Learning patience is one of the most frequent lessons God
has for us all, so “let patience have its perfect work, that you
may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing” (James 1:4).

188
JULY 7

God alone can satisfy

your deepest yearning for
total love and complete

❧D
understanding!

O YOU SOMETIMES FEEL LONELY,

EMPTY, DISSATISFIED? Are you longing for love you have
never known before, true love, sincere love, genuine love,
the truly great love of your life, love that will never leave?
The answer is waiting for you if you are willing to receive it!
There is something more than the flesh, there is the spirit—
the real you that lives inside your body—and it will never
be satisfied with the things of this earth. It must have the
things of the spirit; it must have God. Within each heart,
God has created a vacuum that can only be met spiritually.
Only God and His true love can ever fill that aching spiritual
void of your heart, which He created for Himself alone!
If you haven’t already, you can receive God’s love by receiv-
ing the Spirit of His Son, Jesus Christ, into your heart in a
definite, individual decision. He can give you everything
you’ve always longed for, including forgiveness of sins, faith
in God, peace of mind, health of body, and joy and happi-
ness and love and laughter now and forever after. He’ll meet
all your needs and solve all your problems. He’s that won-
derful, and it’s that simple!

189
JULY 8

Do your best, and God will

❧G
do the rest.

OD EXPECTS US TO DO ALL WE
CAN, and then He will do what we can’t. When Jesus went
to raise Lazarus from the dead, He told the people, “Take
away the stone” (John 11:39). He could have made the stone
roll away by itself, or He could have made Lazarus walk
right through the stone, so why did they have to roll it
away? Rolling the stone away from the door of the tomb was
something they could do. They couldn’t raise him from the
dead, but they could roll the stone away.
Jesus said we are to ask, seek, and knock. “For everyone
who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who
knocks it will be opened” (Matthew 7:7–8). But if you don’t
look, you’re not going to find. Maybe nine out of ten doors
you try are locked and you’re only going to find one open,
but you’ve got to do what you can. You can’t just sit there
and say, “God, reveal it to me!” God expects you to put feet
to your prayers, to get out and do a little hoofing and look.
If you’re doing your best to please and obey Him, God will
do almost anything for you—some of the most amazing
things you could possibly imagine!

190
JULY 9

Let’s not be so

❧I
self-righteous.

F YOU’RE GOING TO BE SO SELF-

RIGHTEOUS and holier-than-thou and hypocritical as to
think you’re better than somebody because they have sinned
against you, but oh, no, you’ve never sinned, therefore
you’re not going to forgive them, then you are the biggest
sinner of all! If you have self-righteous feelings of being
better than others and look down on them, like the Pharisee
who said, “God, I thank You that I am not like other men”
(Luke 18:9–14), then that attitude in itself is the worse sin.
In fact, self-righteousness is one of the greatest sins of all.
We should take a kind, loving, sympathetic, and forgiving
attitude toward others and have mercy as we want mercy. We
should treat others in their errors as we want God to treat us
in ours. We must forgive those who’ve wronged us, seek for-
giveness of those we’ve wronged, and then take them back
into our circle of love and fellowship.
May we all be kinder, more humble, more patient, more
loving, more forgiving, and more long-suffering with each
other—and may we sincerely pray, “Forgive us our sins, for we
also forgive everyone who sins against us” (Luke 11:4 NIV).

191
JULY 10

❧T
Beware of compromise.

HE DEVIL WILL DO EVERYTHING

HE CAN TO TEMPT YOU TO FORSAKE GOD’S WAY. If he can’t
get you to stop, he will try to get you to compromise. He
tempts you with half-truths that make you doubt your
convictions or not live up to them fully.
Most people don’t realize that if they hold one little thing
back from God, if they make one little compromise, they
are distancing themselves from God. One little disobedience
leads to another, one little refusal and denial leads to another,
and one bit of selfishness leads to more. You may think,
“Oh, just this one little sin, just this one little thing, it’s not
important,” but that crack in your armor is all the Devil
needs. His gas of deceit begins to seep in and poison your
mind because you disobeyed what you knew God wanted
you to do, and pretty soon you’re totally off the track.
Don’t let that happen to you. Be faithful to the Lord. Be
faithful to the voice of His Spirit when He tells you to do
this or that, or to not do this or that. Be loyal. “Resist the
Devil and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). Don’t give him
an inch, or he’ll take a mile—everything you’ve got. Give no
place to the Devil (Ephesians 4:27).

192
JULY 11

You believe in love as

❧I
much as you love.

F YOU HAVE REAL LOVE, you can’t

face a needy situation without doing something about it. You
can’t just pass by the poor man on the road to Jericho. You
must take action, like the Good Samaritan did
(Luke 10:30– 37). It’s not enough to say, “Oh, I’m so sorry,
how sad!”
There was a time when Jesus was very tired and He tried to
escape the multitude for a little rest, but when He looked on
the multitude, the Bible says He was moved with compassion,
and taught and healed them (Mark 6:31–34; Matthew 14:13–
14). Compassion must be put into action.
You can’t say that you believe in something if you don’t
practice it. We should apply love as God intended for it to be
applied—with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all
our mind (Matthew 22:37–39). That means to be truly con-
cerned. It’s not saying, “I love you,” and then walking off
and forgetting people in need. It’s not saying, “Be warmed
and filled,” but not giving them the things they need when
it’s in your power to help (James 2:16; Proverbs 3:28). Love
without physical application is like faith without works,
which is dead (James 2:26). Show love and compassion by
putting kind deeds to your kind words (1 John 3:18).

193
JULY 12

Lord, help us to be
humble and not hardened

❧S
or bitter.

OMETIMES THE VERY THING WE

DON’T WANT IS WHAT GOD PUTS US THROUGH, because our
unwillingness is due to our pride. He does some things to
humble us, and sometimes later lets us go through similar
things to see if we’re still humble. It’s a real test when this
happens, and it often ends in complaining and holding it
against God. “God doesn’t love me, because He didn’t do
what I wanted Him to do.”
That seed of resentment or bitterness can grow and grow, and
soon it can become a pretty big weed. That’s why His Word
warns us to watch out “lest any root of bitterness springing
up trouble us, and thereby many be defiled” (Hebrews 12:15).
That is a serious warning against bitterness! If we let bitter-
ness take root, it can poison our whole spirits.
Sometimes we feel the only way we can bear the hurt is to
harden our hearts, but that’s not the Lord’s solution. His
Word says, “Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall
sustain you” (Psalm 55:22).
(Prayer:) Lord, help us to learn our lesson—whatever You’re
trying to teach us—and to be better for it, not bitter. Help
us to thank You in spite of our tests and trials, hurts and dis-
appointments. Help us to come through them more humble
and closer to You. Amen.

194
JULY 13

Every calling is great

when greatly pursued for

❧G
God’s glory!

OD CAN INSPIRE YOU IN ANYTHING

YOU DO. No matter what it is, you can do it in the Spirit; He
can make every task glorious. Even if you don’t have the
most talent or experience, God can use you. In fact, that’s
the way God usually works. He chooses people who aren’t
strong or wise or anything great in themselves in order to
show what He can do (1 Corinthians 1:26–29). Although you
may not be the greatest in the eyes of the world, if God has
called you to serve Him in some capacity and you said yes,
you’re the greatest in His eyes; that’s what counts. He can
make you strong when you’re weak, to show it’s His strength
and His miraculous power (2 Corinthians 4:7; 12:9).
But before God is able to do great miracles in your life and
ministry, you need to realize that it is nothing of you, that it
is only a gift from Him. What makes you really great is the
greatness God gives you, the Spirit, the inspiration. It’s God
behind it all—behind and above and underneath and on all
sides. He does all of it through you. When you acknowledge
this to yourself and others, then He’ll be able to show what
great things He can do!

195
JULY 14

First impressions are

usually the right ones, if
you’re truly following the

❧I
Lord.

F YOU LOVE JESUS, are filled with

the Holy Spirit, and are sincerely seeking God’s will, usually
your first reaction is the right one. God speaks first. It can
just be in that “still small voice” (1 Kings 19:12) that you feel
inside of you. Sometimes it’s not even words, but just an
impression. God doesn’t have to communicate in words. He
can just give you a feeling or a picture or an idea.
When you are in tune with the Holy Spirit and doing your
best to stay in His will and obey Him, you have a strong
clear channel with Him and pick up His signals—His
answers and leadings—loud and clear. You’ve got to get not
only in prayer, but you’ve got to get in the Spirit. Point your
antenna in His direction, tune in, and the Lord will tell you
exactly what you’re supposed to do.
When you’re asking the Lord to speak to you about a ques-
tion or problem, you have to have faith. When you ask the
Lord for an answer, expect an answer and take the first thing
that comes. If you really believe and ask the Lord, you won’t
be disappointed. That thing you see or hear with the eyes or
ears of your spirit, that’s the Lord speaking to you. Expect
God to answer!

196
JULY 15

❧L
Breathe deeply!

IKE THE FLAME OF A CANDLE,

your body needs a continual supply of oxygen in order to
stay alive. That is a fact of this natural life that also illus-
trates an important spiritual truth: If you want to keep
burning brightly for the Lord (Matthew 5:16), you need to
have a constant supply of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is
like your spiritual oxygen supply, the very air that you
breathe that keeps you alive spiritually.
The Hebrew word used throughout the Old Testament for
“spirit” is ruwack, which also means “air” or “breath,” and
the Greek word pneuma, translated as “spirit” in the New
Testament, means the same thing. You need to be breathing
that breath of the Spirit constantly or you’ll suffocate and
die spiritually. Like the flame of a candle, your spiritual fire
will go out.
Just eating is not enough to keep you alive; you also have
to have air to burn that food, to give you energy. Just so,
the spiritual food of God’s Word is not enough by itself;
you have to have the oxygen of the Spirit to make it burn to
give you power and energy spiritually. One or the other is
not enough. You have to have both—God’s Word, combined
with the breath of His Spirit!

197
JULY 16

“Behold, a king [Jesus]

will reign in righteousness,
and princes will rule with

❧C
justice” (Isaiah 32:1).

HRIST’S COMING IS LITERALLY

GOING TO BE AN INVASION FROM OUTER SPACE. When He
finally returns to set things right, He is going to take over
“with power and great glory” (Matthew 24:30). Out of Heaven
will come the great hosts of Heaven with Jesus in the lead on a
white horse to destroy the Antichrist and his kingdom in the
great Battle of Armageddon (Revelation 19). Jesus and His
saints—all of His children from down through the ages—will
take over the world by God’s power and make this world live
the way it should have lived (Revelation 20:4).
His Word says we shall then rule and reign with Him over the
nations with a rod of iron (Revelation 2:26–27). The nations will
then be compelled to submit to the laws of God and to recog-
nize His authority. It’s going to be an iron rule over those left
on earth; otherwise many of them would never obey. Only then
shall all wicked and vengeful men of war be stopped at last,
and only then shall the men of peace and the God of peace and
the Prince of Peace rule and reign and bring peace on earth.
Hail the heavenly Prince of Peace!
Hail the Sun of Righteousness!
Light and life to all He brings,
Risen with healing in His wings.1

1
198 Charles Wesley (1707–1788).
JULY 17

The best ability is

❧G
availability.

OD DOESN’T CREATE SAINTS OUT

OF THIN AIR; He creates them out of flesh and blood,
normal people who love Him and let Him use them. Most of
the greatest saints the world has ever known were people
who just did what they thought needed to be done, whether
or not others heard about it or even knew they were around.
They were always there when someone needed them, always
willing to see the need and respond.
If you have real love for God and others, you will be aware
of the needs around you and do whatever needs to be done.
And when God sees that you will do the lowly little tasks
lovingly and faithfully and well, He will know He can trust
you with bigger, more important jobs (Luke 16:10). But He
won’t force you. It all depends on you and your yieldedness,
your willingness to be made willing. Yieldedness requires
humility, which is a manifestation of love—the kind of love
that is willing to go anywhere, anytime, and do anything,
for anybody, and be nobody, to please God and help others.
Are you ready for anything God wants you to do? “I beseech
you therefore, brethren, that ye present your bodies a liv-
ing sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God, which is your
reasonable service” (Romans 12:1 KJV).

199
JULY 18

Love is the most important

❧T
thing in our religion.

HE BIBLE PREACHES LOVE—the

love of God through Jesus Christ, His Son. He also blesses us
with other kinds of love and they are all important, but His
is all-important. This is the cornerstone of the religion we
Christians are supposed to practice: love for God and love for
others. Love is what Jesus Himself taught—the Good News
that God is love (1 John 4:8). True love, real love, unselfish
love, sacrificial love, God’s love, is all the religion we need.
“Love the Lord your God, and love your neighbor as your-
self. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the
Prophets” (Matthew 22:37–40). That’s all the laws of the
whole Bible put together––love! If you have love, you have
everything. If you do everything out of genuine love for
God and others, you are fulfilling all the laws of God.
Herein is our salvation and message: love, true love, the love
of God and fellow man, for it is God’s divine love working in
us that helps us fulfill His great commandment to love one
another. Thank God for such sweet love in the Lord!
Isn’t it wonderful to have love? When you have God you
have love, because God is love (1 John 4:8).

200
JULY 19

“See me, feel me, touch

me, heal me!”—This is the

❧S
heartcry of the world!

O MANY PEOPLE ARE ALWAYS

SEARCHING FOR LOVE BUT SELDOM, IF EVER, FINDING IT.
People everywhere are looking around for some little ray of
hope, some bright spot somewhere, a little love, a little
sympathy, a little mercy, some salvation, someplace where
they can find relief from their loneliness and heartache. We
who have found God and His love have what others have
been searching for all their lives and need desperately.
The greatest thing we can give others is love—to show them
love. If we can prove to them that love exists, then they can
believe that God exists. Even the little things you do can
mean a lot. A little bit of love goes such a long way! The
light of your smile or the kindness of your face can have an
amazing effect on people, including some you think might
be the least likely to be impressed. When people feel your
love and you tell them it’s God’s love, they can’t help but
think, Maybe Somebody up there does love me! It can change
their whole outlook on life!

201
JULY 20

Thank God for Heaven

and for the hope of such

❧W
wonderful things to come!

OULDN’T YOU JUST LOVE TO

ENJOY ALL THE BLESSINGS YOU HAVE RIGHT NOW without
any pain, sickness, death, weariness, or any of the other
difficulties of this present life? We will never get to truly
enjoy life to the full as long as sin and its results are in the
world, but in Heaven there will be none of these (Revelation
21:4). There all of our heart’s desires will be fulfilled.
It’s going to be a sinless new world where everything will
be a joy and a pleasure and perfect, with peace and harmony
and cooperation and love for all. Everything there will be
true––the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth!
Everybody there will be like Jesus—good and honest and
loving and caring and kind. It will be the perfect society,
where everyone will be in perfect fellowship with each other
and the Lord. Isn’t that beautiful?
God’s plan is not going to be defeated. He’s going to bring us
through to final perfection the way He originally intended.
We will have eternal, wonderful happiness, joy, and para-
dise, similar to what we who love the Lord have now, only it
will be far better and it will be forever!

202
JULY 21

We’re always on trial with

God, passing tests all our

❧G
lives.

OD NEVER ALLOWS US TO BE
TEMPTED BEYOND WHAT WE ARE ABLE TO BEAR
(1 Corinthians 10:13), but He does allow the Devil to test
our faith to see if we will flee to Him and His Word and
take a stand of faith.
With every grade, the tests get harder and the choices more
difficult. The more God can trust you to stand the test, the
tougher it’s going to be. But no matter how great your trial
may be, if you have faith to trust in God to bring you out of
that difficulty, you won’t murmur or complain. You’ll rejoice
and praise God and thank Him for the trial because you
know He is able to save you, like He did Job. Job endured
his suffering to prove his faith and love for God, but when
Job gave the right answer: “Though He slay me, yet will
I trust Him,” he passed the test and earned his diploma
(Job 13:15).
God allows tests and sufferings not only so He can see if
we’ve got faith, which He already knows, but also for us and
others to see if we’ve got it. It’s a test and a testimony. And
when you finally pull through, it makes you stronger in the
Lord and brings out the best in you.

203
JULY 22

The only difference

between us and other
sinners is that we’re saved
sinners because we have

❧L
received Christ.

ET’S FACE IT: All of us are sinners.

“All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans
3:23). God is not so angry with the sinner for breaking the
rules, because He knows the sinner is a sinner and can’t be
perfect. So the great condemnation is not that we’re sinful,
which God can forgive and does forgive if we receive His
pardon through Jesus, but “this is the condemnation, that
the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness
rather than light, because their deeds were evil” (John 3:19).
The only unpardonable sin is rejecting Jesus as your Savior—
to have been shown the love of God and resisted it. This is
blasphemy against the Holy Ghost (Mark 3:28–29). He’ll
forgive every sin in the Book except that.
So you either belong to Jesus or you don’t. That’s the only
difference God sees. God sees nothing but the blood of Jesus
Christ and the blood-washed soul.
All glory and praise
To the Lamb Jesus that was slain,
Who hath borne all our sins,
And hath cleansed every stain.1

1
204 William Paton Mackay (1839–1885).
JULY 23

“She has done what she

❧R
could!”

EMEMBER WHAT JESUS SAID about

the dear woman who anointed His head with costly, fragrant
oil before His death? He said, “She has done what she
could” (Mark 14:3–9).
Maybe you feel you can’t do very much, but at least you can
do what you can! If you will be faithful to do your best at
the job God has given you to do for Him, however great or
small it may be, He will greatly reward you one of these days
soon when you stand before Jesus at the “judgment seat of
Christ” (Romans 14:10). You will reap eternal rewards and
everlasting glory, and have a feeling of genuine permanent
accomplishment from your investment in His work. “Well
done, good and faithful servant,” you will hear Him say.
“Because you were faithful over a few things, I will make
you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your Lord”
(Matthew 25:21).
Have you done what you could, or are you going to be sorry
for your sins of omission? Don’t lose your reward or let another
take the crown that God has for you (Revelation 3:11).
I am satisfied with Jesus, but the question comes to me,
As I think of Calvary, “Is my Savior satisfied with me?”1

1
B.B. McKinney (1886–1952). 205
JULY 24

Obedience comes before

❧Y
the anointing.

OU DON’T GET THE ANOINTING TO

OBEY; you get the anointing because you obey. Look how
much the Lord hinges on your doing what He asks, just
because He says so. Even if you don’t know all the whys or
wherefores, you’ve just got to do it. But once you do, it will
usually become clear why He asked it of you, or He will
explain.
Jesus commanded His disciples to wait together in Jerusalem
until they were “endued with power from on high” to carry
the message of God’s love to the world (Luke 24:49; Acts
1:4–5,8). After ten days of obedience, there came that final
tremendous explosion on the Day of Pentecost when they
were all filled with the Holy Ghost. It was such an explo-
sion that thousands gathered to see what in the world was
going on, and three thousand people got saved that day (Acts
chapter 2).
If you’ll believe God’s Word, He will give you the faith to
take that first step of obedience. The moment you obey by
faith, you get the anointing to carry on. The test is to see
whether you’re going to obey or not, but as soon as you do,
God steps in and does His part without fail.

206
JULY 25

Every day can be a

❧E
holiday for Jesus!

VERY DAY CAN BE A HOLIDAY,

because every day can be a holy day if we live them all for
Jesus. Every day can be holy, sacred, cleansed, and set apart
to serve Jesus.
Some esteem one day above another, but we should esteem
all days the same (Romans 14:5). They are all the Lord’s days,
so they are all holy days—not mere holidays, but holy days.
We shouldn’t love God and Jesus any more on one day than
we do every other day of the week. We should love and wor-
ship the Lord just as much every day.
We can have Thanksgiving Day every day. We should be
thankful and treasure every moment of every day and
constantly be praising and thanking the Lord for it. We can
have Christmas every day. If Christmas lives in our hearts
and minds, we can live each day like Christmas day. We
should love Him better every day, grow sweeter every day,
and try to be a greater blessing to others every day. Then
every day will be Christmas and Thanksgiving and Happy
Birthday and New Year all in one!
Jesus saves and keeps me,
And He’s the One I’m living for.
Every day with Jesus,
Is sweeter than the day before!1

1
Robert C. Loveless. 207
JULY 26

“I fear, lest … your minds

may be corrupted from
the simplicity that is in

❧T
Christ” (2 Corinthians 11:3).

HE FIRST TIME THE DEVIL TEMPT-

ED MAN, he tempted him with something that supposedly
would make man wise––knowledge (Genesis 3:1–6). Likewise
today, many books are written with the demonic wisdom of
the Devil himself, cunningly devised to deceive and lead
people astray, to pervert, to warp, and twist them spiritually
to where they don’t know what is true.
“God is not the author of confusion” (1 Corinthians 14:33).
God likes to keep things very simple. That’s why it’s won-
derful to have the Bible as a guide. Then you know what’s
perverted and what’s normal, what’s right and what’s
wrong. “The wisdom of this world is foolishness to God”
(1 Corinthians 3:19). You cannot fill your mind and heart
with worldly wisdom, the foolishness of man, without
it affecting your spirit, just like you can’t wade through
the garbage and the gutter without getting besmirched
(Colossians 2:8).
Why waste time on complicated and confusing theories and
thoughts of man when the Word is right there, so simple and
direct to the point? Stick to the refreshing water of the Word
that feeds your soul, renews your mind, lifts your spirit,
encourages your heart, and purifies your whole being!

208
JULY 27

God sometimes has to

correct us, but He always

❧G
does so in love.

OD IS JUST AND MERCIFUL AND

LOVING. He deals with us, His children, with much love and
long-suffering and patience, but He also deals with us firmly
when He sees that we’re getting off the track. Like a
shepherd with an errant sheep, He sometimes has to let us
feel His shepherd’s rod in order to turn us off the wrong
path. He is a loving God, but He’s also a very good Father
who knows how to correct us when we need it.
Although God’s corrections are sometimes hard to take,
they’re a token of His love—His “intolerable compli-
ments”—and are good for us if we learn our lessons and are
thereby brought into harmony with Him and doing what He
knows is best for us and [Link], don’t forget “the
exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: ‘My son, do
not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be discouraged
when you are rebuked by Him; for whom the Lord loves He
chastens’” (Hebrews 12:5–6). God’s chastenings are proof
that He loves you.

209
JULY 28

Let the light in, and the

❧T
darkness will flee.

HE DEVIL IS THE ACCUSER OF THE

SAINTS (Revelation 12:9–10). He accuses us for what we
haven’t done or could have done or should have done but
didn’t. He picks at all the lacks and shortcomings and
weaknesses and little failures. If you start listening to him,
you’re beaten, because there will always be something more
you could have done or something you wish you hadn’t
done. There will always be something—some neglect, some
oversight, some mistake or fault, some bad habit—that the
Devil can pick on if he wants to, and he sure wants to!
But thank God for Jesus! He’s the antidote! Jesus always
points out the good things. He never loses faith in us and
He never stops loving us, even when we do make mistakes.
So when the Devil descends on you with his dark thoughts
about yourself or others, don’t listen to him. Listen to Jesus
instead. Let the light in! Think positive thoughts. Remind
yourself constantly of the good. When you think positively
about yourself and others, it chases away the doubts and the
fears and nagging little accusations from the Devil. Fill your
mind and heart and mouth with positive things. Chase away
the Devil and all his shades of night by letting the light in.
Count your blessings and put the Devil on the run!

210
JULY 29

What everybody needs is

❧P
love!

EOPLE ARE HUNGRY FOR LOVE—

love they have never known before, true love, sincere love,
genuine love, the truly great love of their life, the love of all
loves from the Lover of all lovers, who alone can satisfy that
deepest yearning of every human soul for total love and
complete understanding.
People’s hearts are the same the world over. Their longings,
loves, hunger for God and His truth, for joy and happiness
and peace of mind are God-created and universal. People
can never be happy with a heavy heart, a troubled mind,
a discouraged spirit, and an unsaved soul. The human soul
can never be completely satisfied with anything but utter
union with the great and loving Spirit that created it. Flesh
can satisfy flesh, but only Spirit can satisfy spirit.
Do you want the key to every heart?—Try love! It never
fails, because God is love and it’s impossible for Him to fail!
Ah, sweet mystery of life, at last I’ve found thee!
Ah, at last I’ve found the reason for it all!
Ah, ’tis love and love alone the whole world yearns for,
And ’tis love that bids us heed Thy call!1

1
Rida Johnson Young (1869–1926), “Ah, Sweet
Mystery of Life,” paraphrased. 211
JULY 30

Every day, Jesus has to

❧B
cleanse us.

ELIEVE IT OR NOT, everybody who

believes in Jesus is a saint. Most people think that to be a
saint they must be made perfectly and permanently holy,
but actually the ancient Greek words hagios and hagiazo,
which are translated as “saint” and “sanctify” in the New
Testament, both mean to be cleansed and separated and set
aside for further use. We may not be perfect or sinless saints,
but we’re cleansed and made holy by His blood. Jesus takes
us, dirty as we are with sin, and He washes away our sins
with His blood and our evil thoughts with His Word
(1 John 1:7; Revelation 7:14; Ephesians 5:26).
Sanctification is not just a one-time thing that takes place
when you receive salvation. It is a constant process.
When Jesus washed His disciples’ feet at the Last Supper
(John 13:4–12), He was illustrating that even after we get
saved and He cleanses us of our sins, if we wade through the
filth of this world as we serve Him, we have to have a little
bit of washing every day. Is there ever a day that passes that
we don’t sin?—Not really. We’re human, so daily He has to
cleanse us—our minds, our thoughts, our bodies, our ac-
tions, our words. If we want Him to continue to use us, we
have to be washed and set aside again and again.

212
JULY 31

If we’re going to grow and

mature spiritually, then we

❧L
need to grow in love.

OVE IS THE MOST IMPORTANT

THING (1 Corinthians chapter 13). That’s really the whole
purpose for living, to love God and others. That means not
only winning the lost wherever they are, but winning our
brothers and sisters in Christ who are right beside us. The
whole purpose for everything is love.
Some of our relationships are directly between the Lord and
us, like praise and prayer and obedience to His Word, but
most of our relationships are on a personal level with others.
And the main lesson we’re supposed to learn from these is
to love one another. If we haven’t learned to work well with
others or how to treat them in love, then we’re missing one
of the major lessons of life.
We’re not going to grow very much or learn very much
unless we learn to interact lovingly with other people, and
that’s not always easy. It takes patience, love, and humility.
Jesus gave the simple key when He instructed us to do unto
others as we would have them do unto us (Matthew 7:12).
It takes a lot to learn how to carry that out, but that’s what
we’re here to learn. Do you want to grow?—Then love!

213
AUGUST 1

Life itself is proof of God,

❧O
because life is a miracle.

NE HUMBLE LITTLE CHICKEN out

in some poor man’s yard is proof of God because it produces
a marvel of His creation every day—an egg, new life from
the hand of God.
God’s marvelous creation is alive, life giving, creative, and
regenerative. It is constantly multiplying and being reborn
and repairing itself. This is true of all forms of plant and
animal life. When God created the world, He ordained it
that each variety and species “whose seed is in itself” would
bring forth more life of the same kind (Genesis 1:12, 21–22).
God’s production system is the most effective there is in
the world. God has a plan for everything, and His plan is
perfect. Nothing is wasted and there is no pollution. Every-
thing that God produces is pure and good. If it weren’t for
sin, there wouldn’t even be any dying (Romans 5:12). There
would be absolutely no waste and no destruction, only God’s
original all-life, no-death, can’t-lose system. That’s the way it
will all be again one day soon for all those who receive God’s
love in Jesus and love Him in return. Isn’t that wonderful?

214
AUGUST 2

May you always be known

❧W
by your love!

HAT WAS JESUS’MESSAGE TO HIS

DISCIPLES AT THE LAST SUPPER, before He was arrested,
beaten, and killed? “By this all will know that you are My
disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). He
talked about love, that love was the most important thing.
The early Christians turned the world upside down with
the love of God that they found in Jesus Christ. Even their
Roman rulers marveled at the love of the Christians and said,
“Behold, how these Christians love one another!” The way
the Christians lived convinced the Romans that their faith
was real, and the Romans wondered, “Who is this Christ and
how does He make you so happy? Even though you have
nothing, you’ve got everything! How can I find this kind of
happiness that I don’t have?”—And within 200 years, when
Christianity was still outlawed, one out of every five people
in the Roman Empire was a professing Christian and the
known world had been saturated with the Gospel of Jesus
Christ!
Just a little love can go a long way—much further than you
could ever dream—so love the Lord and others, and be faith-
ful in your witnessing to others of the love of Jesus Christ!

215
AUGUST 3

“Blessed are the meek,

for they shall inherit the

❧T
earth” (Matthew 5:5).

HE WHOLE WORLD IS GOD’S. In a

sense, the Devil has stolen it away for a little bit, but it will
soon be back fully in the hands of its rightful owner. Then
at last the meek shall inherit the earth. Right now the
ungodly powers of this world reign by their cruel, selfish,
dog-eat-dog philosophy that gives the world to the stron-
gest, but during the coming kingdom of Christ on earth it
will be given to those who really have the right to govern
because of their love and meekness and forgiveness and faith
in God and His Word. Then, under the supreme reign of
Jesus Himself, the pitiful little bands of persecuted Chris-
tians and believers are going to inherit the earth and run it
by love and the power of God (Daniel 7:27).
These weakest and meekest will become the most power-
ful influences on the earth, and will rule the world with
both love and a “rod of iron”—love and loving force, when
necessary, to compel the nations to submit to the laws of
God and to obey His rules of life, love, health, and happi-
ness. Then at last will there be peace on earth toward men of
good will (Revelation 2:26–27; Luke 2:14).

216
AUGUST 4

Our labors are not in vain;

they’re going to last a lot
longer than some of us

❧W
think.

HAT WE’RE DOING NOW IS

IMPORTANT, and it’s not going to be wasted. The prepara-
tion we, God’s saved children, are doing now is all a part of
His plan to prepare us for bigger and better things to come.
There’s going to be a lot that’s the same in the coming world,
especially during the coming thousand-year kingdom of
Christ on earth, known as the Millennium. This may come as
a disappointment, but we won’t be absolutely perfect in the
next world. We’ll be partly human and partly divine, and
we’ll still be using a lot of the knowledge, experience, tal-
ents, languages, and skill that we have gained in this world.
God’s not going to waste all these years of training.
What we’re doing is of eternal value. “Lay up for yourselves
treasures in Heaven” (Matthew 6:20). What treasures? The
Bible tells us that we brought nothing into this world with
us, and we can’t take anything out of it—no material things,
that is (1 Timothy 6:7). We’re going to take our children and
all the souls we win to Jesus, and that’s not all. We’ll also
take the knowledge and experience we gain in this life.
Are you getting ready here and now for there and then? It
won’t be lost, but used forever.

217
AUGUST 5

Never underestimate the

❧G
advantage of a handicap.

OD KNOWS WHAT HE’S DOING. He

has a reason and a purpose for everything. We don’t always
understand, and we don’t have to. All we have to do is let
each thing that He sends our way accomplish His purpose.
“All things work together for good to those who love God”
(Romans 8:28), no matter what they are or how “good” they
seem to us. It may not always seem like it at the time, but
in the long run God often gets His greatest victories out of
seeming defeat. Perhaps that handicap is meant to strength-
en you in other areas, such as faith and love, and to equip
you to impart those strengths to others.
When William Moon (1818–1894) of Brighton, England, was
stricken with blindness, he said, “God gave me the talent of
blindness to use for His glory. Without blindness I should
never have been able to see the needs of the blind.” Then
God enabled him to invent the Moon alphabet for the blind,
by which thousands of blind people were able to read the
Word of God, and many of them were gloriously saved.
So don’t give up! Don’t drown in your sorrows. Make an
advantage out of your handicap. Build a bridge out of your
broken dreams, and set those ships a sail again. That handi-
cap need not be the end. In fact, it may only be the begin-
ning!

218
AUGUST 6

Little things can make us

or break us—they’re that

❧A
important!

LTHOUGH SOME THINGS MAY

SEEM UNIMPORTANT TO US, they may be very important to
God and very important to our happiness and success. Look
at what resulted from one wrong decision in the Garden of
Eden (Genesis 3:1–11), one tiny boat in a worldwide flood
(Genesis chapter 7), and one little deal that brought death to
the Savior (Matthew 26:14–16).
Little mistakes and little lacks can be costly. It’s like the
maxim: For want of a nail, the shoe was lost; for want of a
shoe, the horse was lost; and for want of a horse, the rider
was lost.1 —All because of one tiny nail! “A little leaven
leavens the whole lump” (Galatians 5:9), and it’s the little
foxes that spoil the vines (Song of Solomon 2:15).
Conversely, little things can also lead to great things. One
little stone brought down a giant (1 Samuel chapter 17), one
little manger changed the destiny of mankind (Luke 2:7), and
a little mustard seed of faith can move mountains (Matthew
17:20).
“He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much;
and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much”
(Luke 16:10). Be diligent and faithful in the little things, and
God will use you for greater things.

1
Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790), maxims prefixed to
Poor Richard’s Almanac, 1757. 219
AUGUST 7

Enjoy yourself and enjoy

life—but enjoy the Lord

❧G
most of all!

OD INTENDS FOR YOU TO ENJOY

LIFE. He made all things for you to enjoy, and He created the
very senses with which to enjoy them. Every good and
perfect gift that God has sent down from above, He created
for you, His child, to enjoy (James 1:17).
Enjoy the pleasures that God has given you as much as you
please and as much as you need. Just don’t enjoy them more
than Him. If you have an inordinate desire for too much of
certain things, then it becomes a form of worship, and that’s
a sin. “Do not love the world or the things in the world,” the
Bible cautions us. “If anyone loves the world, the love of the
Father is not in him” (1 John 2:15). Don’t let the blessings of
God take first place in your life, because God will not take
second place. He wants your love above all else. He says,
“You shall have no other gods before Me” (Exodus 20:3).
Be sure that you put God first. Love and worship Him above
all, and thank Him for all of these other things that He has
given you to enjoy. Then you can have all this and Heaven
too!

220
AUGUST 8

When you first decide to

serve God, all hell breaks

❧I
loose!

F THE DEVIL CAN SCARE YOU OUT

BEFORE YOU EVEN BEGIN, you’ll never accomplish what God
wants you to do. So the Devil pulls out all of his big guns
and everything in his bag of dirty tricks to try to keep you
from starting to serve God, because he figures that if he can
keep you from starting, you’ll never serve God.
It’s your witness the Devil fears. He knows he’s going to lose
others from his clutches because of you and your influence
and testimony. Every person you win to Jesus is a threat to
hundreds of others that the Devil has claimed as his, so he’s
out to stop each one as best he can.
In the testing time before the beginning of His ministry,
Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit into the desert where He
fasted for 40 days and afterward was tempted by the Devil.
Imagine, the Devil was allowed to test even Jesus! But Jesus
never yielded under the attack. Instead, He resisted the
Devil with the Word of God. When the Devil saw that Jesus
wasn’t going to give up, that He claimed the Scriptures, then
the Devil quit.
So for God’s sake, the sake of others, and your own sake,
don’t let the Devil bluff you out of what God wants you to
do. “Resist the Devil and he will flee from you” (James 4:7).

221
AUGUST 9

The best way is the love

❧T
way.

HIS IS WHAT GOD’S BEEN WORK-

ING ON ALL THE TIME: to persuade us to do things with the
right motivation, because we love Him and others and
therefore want to do what is right. Following God’s example,
we also should try to persuade others to do the right thing
out of love.
A horse can either love and obey its master, or it can be
stubborn and willful. A horse that is gentled through love
takes a lot more time and patience to train, but it will be a
far better horse and much more obedient than if its will is
broken and it’s forced to obey for fear of punishment.
If you teach that horse to want to obey you and follow your
every instruction because it loves and trusts you, it will be
the best mount you could ever ride. But a horse that’s had to
be broken because it was stubborn will continue to want to
break the rules whenever it gets a chance. The best way is
the gentle way, not the breaking way.
Certainly God has to have a lot of patience and love with us,
so we, in turn, should have patience and love with others.
“Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one
another, just as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32).

222
AUGUST 10

God’s sinning saints give

❧G
hope to you and me.

OD LETS US HAVE A FEW GREAT

SAINTS AS EXAMPLES, but nearly every great man or woman
of God in the Bible was a hero with clay feet and just as
human as we are.
Many consider this proof that the Bible was written by God
and not man, because when man writes history he covers
up all of the mistakes and sins of his heroes, whereas God’s
book, the Bible, tells the whole story, not just the good parts.
God’s Word tells the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but
the truth. God paints the picture just as black as it really is
sometimes to show how bad man can be without knowing
Him or being in His will. We’re to learn from the things that
He taught others in the past. These things didn’t happen for
their sakes only, He says, but were written for our sakes, that
we might learn God’s ways (1 Corinthians 10:11).
God’s Word always portrays its heroes as they really were—
ordinary men and women like you and me. They made big
mistakes just like you and I have, and some committed hor-
rible sins. Yet when they repented, God forgave. That gives
all of us sinners hope!

223
AUGUST 11

“Do you not know that

you are the temple of God
and that the Spirit of God
dwells in you?”

❧W
(1 Corinthians 3:16).

E OURSELVES ARE THE VERY

TEMPLE OF GOD—you and me, His children who live with
Him day by day and worship Him in our own hearts.
God’s true Church has always been the body of believers,
the fellowship of the saints, the assembly of the saints.
The word “church” comes from the ancient Greek word
ekklesia, meaning the called-out ones, or the separated
ones. The church is not the building; it’s the people.
Christian worship in the early days needed no buildings,
no great temples built with hands of men, which could not
contain God anyway (Acts 7:48). They worshiped Him in
homes, in upper rooms, in basements, in the marketplace,
beside the river, and in the forest under the trees—wher-
ever they happened to be. And Christianity soon covered
the earth because the apostles obeyed and went out.
Instead of building buildings, they went out and built the
true Church of Jesus Christ in the hearts of men, a temple
built of “living stones,” as Peter calls us (1 Peter 2:5).
God dwells within the human heart. Buildings cannot con-
tain Him, but your heart contains the Lord Jesus Christ if
you have received Him (Galatians 4:6).

224
AUGUST 12

Conscience is God’s

❧I
presence in man.

T’S AN AMAZING AND WONDERFUL

THING THAT THE WORLD OVER, in nearly every culture and
even in the most remote places, everyone seems to know the
difference between right and wrong. People understand that
certain things are sins, and they have laws against them.
God’s basic moral standards are pretty universal.
The Holy Spirit is faithful and speaks to the hearts of all,
telling them when they’re doing wrong. They know the
difference between good and evil. They may not know their
Master or the whole truth, the Good News of salvation, but
they know the difference between right and wrong. “God’s
laws are written within them; their own conscience accuses
them, or sometimes excuses them” (Romans 2:12 TLB). God
gives everybody some light, and God is going to judge each
one according to how they follow the light he or she is
given.
God created man as a free moral agent. He gives each of us
the majesty of personal choice to choose between good and
evil, between obeying the guiding voice of God and obeying
the voice of Satan. Which will you do?

225
AUGUST 13

You don’t have to be a

millionaire to give what

❧T
you’ve got.

HERE IS NOT ONE OF GOD’S

CHILDREN who cannot afford to give something to His work.
You may think you can’t afford to give, or you may not be
able to give a lot at first, but God blesses everybody that
gives. If you’re not rich, that’s all the more reason to give, so
God can bless you and help you have more.
God’s finances work the opposite from the world’s. The world
says, “When I’ve got my million, then I’ll start giving.” But the
Lord says, “Start giving what you’ve got now, and then I’ll give
you more.” Man says, “Me first. Self-preservation is the first
law of nature.” But God says, “Put Me and Mine first, and I’ll
take care of you afterwards” (Matthew 6:33).
God’s way to plenty is to give sacrificially of what you now
have. “There is one who scatters, yet increases more; and
there is one who withholds more than is right, but it leads
to poverty” (Proverbs 11:24). The faster you give it away
and share it, the more He’ll heap it on and the richer you’ll
become so you can share more. Covetousness hoards itself
poor, but charity gives itself rich.

226
AUGUST 14

It’s better to stay healthy

❧R
than to have to be healed.

EMEMBER, AN OUNCE OF PREVEN-

TION IS WORTH A POUND OF CURE. A fence at the top of the
cliff is better than a hospital at the bottom. The best way to
prevent illness is to obey God’s natural laws: Live right, eat
right, work right, play right, rest right, love right, and
maintain a right relationship with Him.
You cannot violate God’s health rules or abuse your body
and expect to be healthy, because God made you with built-
in self-destruct mechanisms to punish you if you do. It’s not
that God enjoys punishing you or seeing you suffer. To the
contrary, He made His health rules because He loves you
and wants to protect you from harm. The rules are to help
you be happier and get more out of life by making sure you
do what you can to keep yourself healthy and whole. It’s a
case of, “If you know these things, blessed are you if you do
them” (John 13:17 KJV).
God created you, and He knows what is best for you. So
work on the ounce of prevention now, rather than worrying
about the pound of cure later. Take care of God’s creation by
following His commonsense rules, and God will bless you
with good health.

227
AUGUST 15

What a wonderful place to

❧J
meet, at Jesus’ feet.

ESUS SAID THAT WE SHOULD SIT AT

HIS FEET AND LEARN FROM HIM, like Mary in the Scripture
(Luke 10:39–42). Mary hungered for His words of love and
wisdom, gave Jesus her full attention, and received this
commendation and promise: “Mary has chosen that good
part, which will not be taken away from her.”
“Where two or three are gathered together in My name,” Jesus
promises, “I am there in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:20).
Jesus is in our midst every time we’re together in His name, so
we always meet at His feet.
Jesus always rewards those who unite in His love, when we
give our time and attention to Him and His Word. He loves
to give the answers we need when He sees we’re united in
love and prayer and purpose and mind and heart and spirit,
of one mind (1 Corinthians 1:10). This is the marvel of the
Day of Pentecost. Jesus was in the midst of them, and the
Holy Spirit was poured out upon them (Acts chapter 2).
As we read His Word, study it, share it, pray over it, and fol-
low the light of its truth, we are melted together in His love,
blended together in His truth, joined together as one body,
fitly joined together according to His Word.

228
AUGUST 16

❧G
God loves a mystery!

OD HAS FILLED LIFE FULL OF

PUZZLES AND PROBLEMS and mysteries and suspense to
challenge our intellect, our faith, and our trust in Him as we
set out to try to find the answers.
In trying to show us His will, God sometimes sets a mystify-
ing puzzle before us. He sometimes speaks in riddles and
mysteries that are hard to understand in order to get us to
think and pray, but He almost always gives us a starting
clue. Then He leads us on step by step. We never know
what’s going to happen until we take the next step.
He likes to make us seek His answers, because this causes
us to exercise our faith in Him and His Word and His divine
guidance and magnanimity, His parental love. It shows we
trust in Him when we obey Him, even if we don’t know
what’s at the end of the road. We may not see the answer,
we may not know the solution or the place He’s leading to or
what we’re going to find, but we’re trusting God to fulfill His
promises, like Abraham did when he obeyed God and went
out, not even knowing where he was going (Hebrews 11:8).

229
AUGUST 17

“There is joy in the

presence of the angels of
God over one sinner who

❧E
repents” (Luke 15:10).

ACH TIME ANOTHER SOUL IS BORN

INTO THE KINGDOM OF GOD when someone accepts Jesus as
their Savior, it’s similar to the birth of a child. Although a
baby is delivered in pain, afterwards the pain is forgotten in
the delight of a new soul born into this world. The same joy,
only greater, is experienced at the birth of a new spiritual
baby into the kingdom of God. One saved soul makes all
Heaven rejoice, and is certainly sufficient payment for
whatever work or sacrifice or difficulties we may go through
to help bring that about.
All Heaven rejoices and all the angels rejoice more over one
lost “sheep” that’s found, over one soul that’s saved, than
over the ninety-nine—all the rest who are already found and
saved and rescued (Luke 15:7).
If the angels of Heaven rejoice over every soul that’s saved,
they certainly must also rejoice over our service for the Lord
because of what that ultimately leads to—more souls for the
kingdom of God. When your time of reward and recognition
comes, are the angels of Heaven going to jump for joy over
your sacrificial giving of yourself so others could also find
God’s love in Jesus and be won to His eternal kingdom?

230
AUGUST 18

❧M
Keep on believing.

ANY OF US HAVE GONE THROUGH

DRY, DESERT-LIKE EXPERIENCES, wandering about in the
spiritual wastelands of this world, feeling lost and seemingly
separated from God. If you find yourself in such a state,
instead of lamenting that you have somehow missed His will,
keep on believing and praising the Lord. Encourage your faith
with His Word. Repent of any wrongdoing and ask God to
forgive you, so you can have another chance at His highest
will for you. Then, like a bird whose pinion once was broken
but now is healed, you may fly even higher than before.
Don’t ever quit! Don’t ever give up! Don’t be discouraged!
Maybe you missed the first opportunity, but maybe you
haven’t missed the last one.
Keep on believing, Jesus is near,
Keep on believing there is nothing to fear,
Keep on believing, this is the way
Faith in the night as well as the day.1
Ask God for another chance, and He will send along another
golden opportunity to encourage you and carry you along
in the power of His Spirit to the glorious victory of your
heavenly destination. Keep on holding on to His promises,
and whatever you do, keep on going for Jesus!

1
Milward Booth-Hellberg (1868–1953). 231
AUGUST 19

A tree is a vision of

❧D
perfection.

O YOU KNOW WHY A TREE IS

PERFECT?—Because it does nothing but obey God. It grows
just for His glory and according to His will, and produces
exactly what God has ordained it to produce. It’s fruitful
and flowering, strong and beautiful, fulfilling its mission in
life. It never resists, it just yields and bends and nods its
head to the will of God. It smiles all day, and lifts its leafy
arms in praise to the Lord.
“Blessed is the man ... whose delight is in the law of the
Lord. ... He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of
water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf
also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper”
(Psalm 1:1–3).
(Prayer:) Lord, help us to be like sturdy, healthy trees,
planted strong in Your earth, watered by Your Word, and
fertilized with the food of Your very body. You are like the
earth in which we grow and on which we stand. Without
You, we couldn’t exist. Help us to be strong and true, like
the trees, growing only for Your glory, fruitful and perform-
ing the mission for which You’ve ordained us: to bear fruit
and be a blessing to others. Amen.

232
AUGUST 20

“Abide in Me, and I in you”

❧I
(John 15:4).

N THE BEAUTIFUL 15TH CHAPTER

OF JOHN, Jesus says, “I am the Vine, you are the branches.
He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for
without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in
Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they
gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are
burned” (John 15:5–6). If ever you, as a branch, don’t abide
in the Vine, Christ—if you don’t abide in His love, His
Word, and His service—then you will become unfruitful
and withered, and you will be pruned from the tree as a
dead branch. You won’t lose your salvation, but you will be
cast aside as being no longer useful to God and His king-
dom.
Without the flow of God’s Spirit there is no life. You must
be firmly implanted in the Vine where you’re receiving the
spiritual sap and life and nourishment that you need directly
from the Lord Himself. A lot of how you grow is up to you
and how much nourishment you receive, so don’t cut your-
self off from the Vine.
Jesus said, “Without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).
But if you are dwelling in the Vine, as one of the branches,
then you can produce beautiful leaves and beautiful fruit so
that He and the Father may be glorified and have much fruit
(John 15:8).

233
AUGUST 21

“Wait on the Lord”

❧W
(Psalm 27:14).

HAT DOES THAT MEAN, “Wait on

the Lord”? A lot of people take it to mean that they’re
supposed to sit around doing nothing while they wait for
God to do something. They’re waiting for God to do
something for them rather than with them. That’s one form
of waiting on God and there’s a time for that, but it just
might be that God is waiting for them to get busy.
Very often the best way to find God’s will is to get busy
doing what we can and what we know we should do. So
think about it like that. “Wait on the Lord,” like a servant
who waits on his master, or like a waiter or waitress waiting
on a customer, where the customer is king. Don’t just stand
around or sit there; put yourself at His service. Get busy
serving the Lord and He’ll tell you what He’d like for you to
do next.
That’s what we’re supposed to be: servants in the house of
God, tending to His business, caring for His children, and
doing His bidding. He is very grateful for our help, and
admires us for our loyalty and faithful, cheerful service. He
always has plenty for us to do, and is happy to tell us how
He would like it done. How is that for a picture of waiting
on the Lord?

234
AUGUST 22

Jesus is better to us than

❧F
He was to Himself.
“
OXES HAVE HOLES AND BIRDS OF
THE AIR HAVE NESTS, but the Son of Man has nowhere to
lay His head” (Matthew 8:20). Jesus never owned a home,
He never had a wife or children, and it seems the only
material thing He owned on earth was His clothes.
Jesus said that it was enough that a disciple be like his
master (Matthew 10:25), and Paul said, “Having food and
clothing, with these we shall be content” (1 Timothy 6:8).
Yet look at all that Jesus has given us besides that! All the
rest are extras.
Jesus loves us and wants us to be happy and comfortable.
He also knows what we need and what’s good for us. He’s
pretty smart about that because He knows that when He’s
extra good to us we’ll want to show our appreciation by
working harder and doing a better job for Him.
Jesus believes in happy employees. To Him, our happi-
ness is worth more than money. He’s willing to let you
have almost anything you want as long as you put Him
first (Matthew 6:33). Look how Jesus tries to make it easy
for us to be good and serve Him. As long as we delight
ourselves in Him, He gives us the desires of our hearts
(Psalm 37:4).

235
AUGUST 23

He that would win some

❧I
must be winsome.

N ORDER FOR PEOPLE TO COMMUNI-

CATE WELL, they must have some things in common. So in
your witnessing, approach others in a positive way with a
positive attitude. Establish points of contact. Develop a
rapport. Be friendly, loving, understanding, compassionate,
and sympathetic. Find as much common ground as you can.
The apostle Paul said that he became all things to all men in
order to win some (1 Corinthians 9:22).
Fighting false systems and false doctrines can be a temptation
when you know you’re so right and others are so wrong, but
that’s a negative type of witnessing—the kind that doesn’t
show love or win people. The best way to handle points of
disagreement is not by refuting what the other person says,
but by hearing them out and then presenting the truth in
a loving and positive way. “Sanctify the Lord God in your
hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man
that asks you a reason of the hope that is in you with meek-
ness and fear” (1 Peter 3:15 KJV).
Dwell on the positive, not the negative. Instead of preaching
against things, preach Jesus. Then He will draw all men unto
Himself (John 12:32).

236
AUGUST 24

Healing is a sample of

❧P
resurrection.

AIN IS A TOUCH OF HELL; healing is

a touch of Heaven. Healing is a sample of everlasting life,
renewal of the body, and cure of disease. It’s a touch of
resurrection.
When we experience salvation, we get a little sample of
what eternal life and Heaven are going to be like. We have
tasted of the heavenly gift and the powers of the world to
come (Hebrews 6:4–5). Likewise, when we get healed we get
a little sample of what God is going to do for us one of these
days. We don’t have the full resurrection yet, but we can
have a little touch of it once in a while (Romans 8:11). We
already have His healing power manifest in our bodies but it
won’t be complete until we receive our eternal, supernatu-
ral, indestructible bodies on which death no longer has any
power or claim whatsoever.
When Jesus returns for us and we’re transformed as we
receive our new bodies, that will be the best healing of all.
That will be the final healing. Then we won’t have any more
diseases, or sickness, or pain. That’s permanent healing, final
resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:51–57).

237
AUGUST 25

❧I
Life is like a garden.

N THE BEGINNING, Adam was the

first gardener. Even the Garden of Eden, as perfect as it was,
had to have somebody taking care of it, and God gave that
job to Adam. God expected man to tend and, in a sense,
improve on His creation.
Gardening never ends. You’ve constantly got to keep fighting
the weeds, the bugs, the varmints, the pests, the rot, the
fungus, the mold, the blights, and all kinds of the Devil’s
attacks. God’s garden is constantly fighting with the Devil’s
garden. The Devil’s garden is hellish, and the Devil is trying
to transfer it to earth. He’s trying to create hell on earth. His
whole idea is to try to defeat God’s plan by overrunning and
destroying God’s garden, but he’s not going to succeed.
Life is like one big garden and we’ve all got a lot to learn
about it. No gardener knows everything. Only God, the
Creator of the garden, knows everything. Like every
gardener, the rest of us have to study and learn from other
gardeners and from God, the owner and the head of the
estate. There’s plenty to learn and plenty of work to keep us
busy from now to eternity!

238
AUGUST 26

God’s love knows no

❧G
boundaries.

OD’S LOVE IS SO GREAT that it will

descend to any depth to save, go to any length to rescue. He
can love man in his lowest state and save him in his hour of
need from his most pitiful plight. For God there is no
stopping place, no limit to which He will not go to save a
poor lost soul with His infinite love and mercy. He stoops to
the level of our need.
The love of God is greater far
Than tongue or pen can ever tell;
It goes beyond the highest star,
And even to the lowest hell.1
Look at the mercy of Christ: He even went down into the
bowels of the earth in order to preach the Gospel of deliver-
ance to the spirits that were in prison there (Matthew 12:40;
1 Peter 3:18–20).
“Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from
Your presence? If I ascend into Heaven, You are there; if I
make my bed in Hell, behold, You are there. If I take the
wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of
the sea, even there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right
hand shall hold me” (Psalm 139:7–10).

1
Frederick M. Lehman (1868–1953). 239
AUGUST 27

We cannot hold a torch

to light another’s path
without brightening our

❧N
own.

EVER UNDERESTIMATE THE

POWER OF PERSONAL WITNESSING to not only win people to
Jesus, but also to inspire and encourage your own heart and
keep you alive spiritually. “The generous soul will be made
rich, and he who waters will also be watered himself”
(Proverbs 11:25). Witnessing in itself is a form of reward. It
will inspire your own heart as you watch the Lord work. It
will not only be worth it all when you see Jesus, but it will
be worth it all right now when you see the wonderful,
thrilling, and satisfying results of your labors.
Everyone you witness to, you’re wooing in the Spirit—
wooing and loving and sowing the seed of God’s Word in
the Spirit. You can’t win them all, but those you do win are
worth it all! Like the shepherd who rejoiced at finding his
one lost sheep, and the angels of Heaven who rejoice over
one lost sinner who finds forgiveness, others’ happiness be-
comes your happiness and their victories your own.
Seldom can a heart be lonely,
If it seeks a lonelier still—
Self-forgetting, seeking only,
Emptier cups of love to fill.1

1
240 Frances Ridley Havergal (1836–1879).
AUGUST 28

Honest, open-minded
scientists throughout
history have
acknowledged the

❧T
existence of God.

RUE SCIENCE POINTS TO THE FACT

that there had to be something, somebody, some planner,
some designer behind the creation of the universe.
James Clerk Maxwell (1831–1879), the Scottish mathemati-
cian and physicist who did revolutionary work on electro-
magnetic fields and the electromagnetic theory of light,
said, “Science is incompetent to reason upon the creation of
matter itself out of nothing.”
Lord William Thomson Kelvin (1824–1907), another Scottish
mathematician and physicist who devised the absolute scale
of temperature, declared, “We must pause, face to face, with
the mystery and miracle of the creation of living creatures.”
Sir William Herschel (1738–1822), the German-born English
astronomer and discoverer of the planet Uranus, said, “All
human discoveries seem to be made only for the purpose of
confirming more and more strongly the truth contained in
the Bible.”
Today God is giving man more and more evidence of His ex-
istence through the marvels of His creation, and all that we
see teaches us to trust the Creator for all we have not seen!

241
AUGUST 29

Nothing is more important

to your spiritual life and

❧T
health than the Word.

HERE IS A SAYING ABOUT HEALTH:

You are what you eat.” That’s true in the physical sense, but
it’s also true of our spirits. We are spiritually what our minds
and spirits take in. There is plenty to take in these days
through the mass media, advertising, and the Internet, but
most of it is spiritual junk food—or worse yet, spiritual
poison.
That’s why it’s so important to make sure you’re getting the
right spiritual food—the good, wholesome, nourishing,
faith-building, uplifting, encouraging, inspiring, truth of
the Word of God. Jesus said, “The Words that I speak to
you are spirit, and they are life” (John 6:63). The prophet
Jeremiah said, “Your Words were found, and I ate them,
and Your Word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart”
(Jeremiah 15:16). Job said, “I have treasured the Words
of His mouth more than my necessary food” (Job 23:12).
The apostle Peter admonished, “Desire the pure milk of the
Word, that you may grow thereby” (1 Peter 2:2).
Just like you have to eat in order to stay alive and have
physical strength, you have to feed from the Word to stay
alive spiritually and have the spiritual strength to overcome
the problems of life. A balanced diet of God’s Word is essen-
tial if you are to grow and stay healthy spiritually.

242
AUGUST 30

❧H
A baby illustrates faith.

OW DO WE RECEIVE THE SPIRI-

TUAL NOURISHMENT WE NEED FROM GOD?—It’s simple: We
just have to have the faith of a little baby.
When a baby is crying to be fed, he knows his mother
wouldn’t think of refusing him. God put it in that baby to
know that if he calls, she will answer. He expects the answer
and he gets it. Likewise, if we, as children of our heavenly
Father, ask for milk, He’s surely not going to give us a ser-
pent or something else (Luke 11:10–13).
What is it that brings the milk out of the mother’s breast?
When the baby sucks, he creates a vacuum inside his mouth,
which pulls the milk out. Prayer is creating a vacuum, an
empty space inside our hearts, which God fills.
When the baby is very young, his mother has to bring the
nourishment to him and show him where it is. But as he gets
older, he automatically knows where to find the milk and he
can reach out for it himself. Likewise, the more we practice
receiving nourishment from God, the better we know where
to find it. And as long as we keep sucking, we’ll get more,
because God has unlimited capacity to give!

243
AUGUST 31

❧T
Jesus is the Word of God.

HE GOSPEL OF JOHN begins with

one of the most profound statements in the entire Bible: “In
the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with
God. All things were made by Him; and without Him was
not anything made that was made” (John 1:1–3 KJV). That’s
one of the deepest truths in the Bible—that Jesus is the
Word of God, the expression of God, as well as the Son of
God.
What is a word? It’s a means of communication. When God
wanted to communicate His love to the world, what did
He do? You can’t see love and you can’t see God, so He sent
His Word. He said it in Jesus. He showed it in Jesus. He ex-
pressed it in Jesus. He communicated it in Jesus. Jesus was
all of that. He was the expression of God’s love. He was the
meaning of God’s love. He was the communication of God’s
love. He said God’s love. He showed God’s love. He symbol-
ized God’s love. He manifested God’s love. He was and is
God’s own message of love to us!

244
SEPTEMBER 1

Anybody can find love if

❧I
they have love.

F YOU SHOW PEOPLE REAL LOVE,

you won’t have a hard time winning friends. If you’re
sincerely concerned about others and you show them love,
they’ll be concerned about you and show you love. Love
begets love. If you sow love, you’re going to reap love. If you
sow friendship, you’re going to reap friendship (Galatians
6:7). It’s a two-way street.
Love cannot fail. It makes no difference where it is be-
stowed, it always brings in big returns. You can’t give with-
out getting, you can’t show true love and concern without
receiving love in return—and the more you give, the more
you get.
Many others around you are just as lonely and longing for
love as much as you are. They’re probably just waiting for
you to make the first move. Step out and try to make some-
one else happy, and you’ll find a whole new world of love
you’ve only dreamed of.
If you give love, you’ll get love! That’s God’s system; that’s
God’s rule. God will make you happy if you make others
happy. It’s that simple!

245
SEPTEMBER 2

“By your patience possess

❧H
your souls” (Luke 21:19).

URRY IS THE DEVIL’S BUSINESS.

He’s always trying to make people rushed because he knows
that then they’ll be more apt to make mistakes.
We should never rush ahead of the Lord or try to push things
through in our own strength. When the wandering children
of Israel thirsted in the wilderness, God told Moses He would
give them an abundant supply of water out of solid rock if
Moses would just speak to the rock. But Moses was so upset
with all the people’s complaining that he violently smote the
rock twice with his rod. Moses did the right thing but in
the wrong way, and God was so angry that He told Moses,
“Because you did not believe Me”—angry impatience shows
a of lack of faith—”to hallow Me in the eyes of the children of
Israel”—to show more faith and be a better example of God’s
own infinite loving patience with His people—”therefore you
shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given
them” (Numbers 20:1–12).
(Prayer:) Lord, we ask that You teach us patience and
faith, which takes time. Teach us never to get in a hurry or
push too hard, as though we had to do things in our own
strength. Amen.

246
SEPTEMBER 3

The Devil wants to get you

under pressure, but Jesus
wants to be your pressure

❧Y
release valve.

OUR SPIRITUAL ENEMY, the Devil,

will use anything he can to come between you and Jesus,
and one of his favorite tricks is to cause you to feel under
pressure. He tries to accentuate the stress you already feel
by telling you that you’re not accomplishing enough or
doing it well enough, or by getting you to look at what’s left
undone. He knows that if he can get you under pressure,
you are more likely to skip your times with the Lord,
praying, reading the Word, and resting in Him, as well as
your times of physical rest and relaxation, all of which are
important to your overall well-being. Stress also makes you
irritable and harder to work with or even be around. It can
really take the joy out of life!
The key to overcoming this ploy of the Devil is in asking
Jesus to help you learn your limits and live within them.
Pray and ask Jesus to help you know your limits, reassess
your priorities, and organize your time and work, and then
take things one at a time. You’ll be amazed at how involved
the Lord wants to be in your daily planning and work, and
how specific He will be in His instructions to you. Jesus can
relieve the pressure and give you peace of mind in its place.

247
SEPTEMBER 4

Hasn’t everyone been a

❧Y
prodigal son?

OU MAY BE A STRAY SHEEP OR A

PRODIGAL SON, but God still loves you and always has hope
for you, no matter how far you’ve strayed.1
God’s plan for you is not going to fail. You’re His child and
sooner or later you’re going to wake up to that and come
running back to the Father’s house as fast as you can. Salva-
tion will prove much stronger in its pull than the pull of the
mud and the mire of the swine pit on your feet. You’ll run
back home—back to the joy of the Holy Spirit and back to
the food and plenty and warmth and fellowship of the home
hearth.
It’s never too late. Even if you’ve squandered your entire
inheritance, the Father still loves you and will receive you
with open arms. He’ll take you to Himself, to His bosom of
love, and give you a new garment of righteousness, a beauti-
ful new golden ring of reward that you don’t even deserve,
and spread a feast of thanksgiving and celebration that this
His son, though he were dead, is now alive and home again.
Can you hear the Father’s voice calling, “Please come home”?

1
248 See the parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15:11–32.
SEPTEMBER 5

❧I
You can change the world!

F SOMETIMES YOU’RE DISCOURAGED

with the world and the way it is, don’t give up! You can
accomplish some real good in this poor, sad, old world by
helping people find joy and happiness, salvation and Jesus,
and something to live for.
You, personally, can start to change the world by planting
the seeds of God’s love one by one, in heart by heart, day by
day, wherever you may be, and God will cause those seeds
to grow. They may seem only like tiny little buds at first,
just insignificant little green shoots. What is that to the for-
est that’s needed? Well, it’s the beginning of the miracle of
new life.
So why not try it? If you have changed one life by the power
of God’s love, you have changed a part of the world. If one
life can be changed, it shows that it’s possible for more lives
to be changed, and that means the world can be changed—
starting with just one person!
And who knows, you may live to see the day when the
world is changed and was changed, in part, through you—
all because you shared the love of God with others!

249
SEPTEMBER 6

Warning! Please refer to

the Maker’s Manual before

❧A
operating your machine.

NY THINKING PERSON thoroughly

studies the instructions to a valuable piece of equipment
before they attempt to operate it. As a result, they save
themselves a lot of time and trouble and possible permanent
damage to their equipment. But those who are too impatient
to read the instruction booklet first, those who think they
already know it all, and those who think they can figure it
out on their own usually have nothing but trouble.
When God fashioned our bodies, minds, and spirits and
then put them all together to make you, He created an amaz-
ing but delicate piece of “equipment.” You are a marvel of
His design, but you won’t last long or be very useful unless
you take care of your equipment.
That’s why your Manufacturer, God, had some men of His
write a maker’s instruction manual, the Bible, with definite
diagrams and clearly stated specifications for the compli-
cated business of living. You could waste an awful lot of time
and do an awful lot of damage to yourself and others by not
taking time to read the Book first. Don’t take chances. Read
and follow the Book!

250
SEPTEMBER 7

“God will wipe away every

tear from their eyes”

❧T
(Revelation 21:4).

HE BIBLE DOESN’T SAY THERE

AREN’T GOING TO BE ANY TEARS IN HEAVEN. When we get
to Heaven and face God, we will no doubt all have a few
tears to shed for mistakes we made and opportunities we
missed. We’ll have a few tears when we think about all that
we could have done but failed to do—all the unfinished
work we left behind and loved ones that we’ll wish we’d
loved more and been kinder to. We will all have something
to be sorry about and ashamed of then.
But isn’t God wonderfully loving and merciful? He says He’s
going to wipe away all those tears. He’s going to wipe away
all memory of those evil years and then there will be no
more pain, death, sorrow, or tears—only wonderful eternal
happiness, joy, and paradise forever and ever. He’ll make up
for all of our mistakes and lacks somehow.
Just a little more sorrow and a little more crying, just a little
more pain, and then these things of time shall be no more.
We shall forget the sorrows of the past for the glories of the
future.

251
SEPTEMBER 8

We’re gloriously saved,

and wonderfully and

❧W
completely delivered.

E HAVE BEEN SAVED AS BRANCH-

ES PULLED FROM THE FIRE (Zechariah 3:2), and as wayward
lambs snatched from the Enemy’s clutches. We should be
very thankful! We have come from the darkness into Jesus’
glorious light (Matthew 4:16). We who were in darkness
have become enlightened (Ephesians 5:8).
The Lord had to break the chains; we couldn’t deliver our-
selves. He had to purge and purify and cleanse us. We’re all
clean now, no longer under the power of the Devil. He can’t
harm us anymore. We’re the Lord’s possession now, and the
Devil can’t have us. We’re the Lord’s forever. We have been
born again, like a newborn baby, into a whole new world
and have been given a clean heart, a pure mind, and a new
regenerated spirit.
The memory of evil years,
Burned like a flame within my breast.
And though I sought relief in tears,
I found it not; I could not rest.
My yesterday, so dark with shame,
Christ has forgiven! Oh, praise His name!1

1
252 Author unknown.
SEPTEMBER 9

“I desire mercy and not

❧W
sacrifice” (Matthew 9:13).

HEN JESUS SAID HE DESIRED

MERCY AND NOT SACRIFICE, He meant He would rather see
us have love than a dutiful adherence to the law and
performance of duties. He would rather we give love to
somebody than to try to be so righteous and perfect.
The drunks and the harlots and the sinners came to Jesus
for love and mercy, and He treated them tenderly, kindly.
He forgave them and gave them the hope, love, and strength
they needed to change for the better. Those sinners didn’t go
to the harsh, rigid, self-righteous, unyielding, unforgiving,
critical, condemning religious leaders who told them to be
perfect or go to Hell, but they came to Jesus for His love and
mercy, forgiveness, encouragement, and patience.
Love throws a veil over countless sins (1 Peter 4:8). But some
people are so self-righteous they think they never make
mistakes. Remembering what sinners we are and how many
mistakes we’ve made greatly helps to keep us humble and
to avoid that spirit of self-righteous pride that causes us to
criticize and condemn others. When you realize that you
need a lot of forgiveness and mercy, it really helps you to
extend it to others. “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall
obtain mercy” (Matthew 5:7)—so be merciful!

253
SEPTEMBER 10

Peace on earth will soon

❧G
be a reality!

OD’S CHILDREN ARE SUPPOSED TO

BE PEACEMAKERS who try to bring peace to men’s hearts and
minds and spirits and bodies and countries (Matthew 5:9).
We’ll never have total peace on earth, though, till God gets
rid of the evil hearts that make war. But that’s exactly what’s
going to happen, thank God, when Jesus returns soon to
“destroy those that destroy the earth” with their wars,
waste, wickedness, and wanton destruction
(Revelation 11:18).
Then at last shall the men of peace and the God of peace and
the Prince of Peace rule and reign and bring peace on earth
(Luke 2:14)—peace that will never end, under the righteous
reign of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Then at last there will
be no more wars, no more horrible havoc, no more destruc-
tion, no more cruel, senseless, diabolical, murderous loss of
life, no more suffering, no more dead and dying, no more
noise and confusion.
“They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy kingdom”
(Isaiah 11:9). There will be no evil in God’s kingdom on
earth—only a heaven-on-earth rule by Jesus and His children.
There will be love and laughter and peace ever after
Tomorrow—in God’s tomorrow—when the world is free
of wars.1

1
254 Nat Burton, “The White Cliffs of Dover,” paraphrased.
SEPTEMBER 11

God waits for us to be

humbled and pray for

❧T
help.

HE HOLY SPIRIT GENTLY DESCENDS

AND CAN BE EASILY SHOOED AWAY. It doesn’t land where it’s
not wanted. God goes where there are open and receptive
hearts that are hungry for truth. He seeks the lowly, the
humble, and the contrite heart, but He resists the proud. He
gives grace to the humble (1 Peter 5:5). So as long as you’re
calling for help, you can expect God to answer. As long as
you’re seeking, God will show the way. As long as you’re
empty, He will fill you (Luke 1:53).
It works the same way as salvation: It’s not until you rec-
ognize you’re a sinner that you’re desperate enough to seek
salvation. But when you realize that you’re a sinner and
need forgiveness and help, then you ask God to save you
and He answers and comes to your rescue. He says, “And
you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with
all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13). When you cry out desper-
ately to Him with a hungry, empty heart, asking Him to fill
it, He will.
Jesus doesn’t force Himself on anyone. He waits lovingly and
meekly for you. God puts the responsibility on you. So call
on Him for help and He will fulfill His promise to “show you
great and mighty things, which you do not know”
(Jeremiah 33:3).

255
SEPTEMBER 12

Even while the world goes

❧S
to pieces, God’s Word
stands firm!

OMEDAY THE ONLY WORD OF GOD

YOU MAY HAVE IS WHAT YOU KNOW BY HEART. That’s why
it is so important to memorize His Word faithfully, that you
may be kept by the power of God and comforted in difficult
times, now and in the future.
How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in His excellent Word!
What more can He say than to you He hath said,
You, who for refuge to Jesus have fled?
Fear not, I am with thee, O be not dismayed,
For I am thy God and will still give thee aid;
I’ll strengthen thee and help thee, and cause thee to
stand
Upheld by My righteous omnipotent hand.1
That’s an old hymn, and a wonderful one for these Last Days
when you really need to stand on the firm foundation of His
Word. “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the
world” (Matthew 28:20 KJV). He’s with you in His Word,
and His Word is with you, and you can stand firmly on this
as a foundation that cannot fail, for He’s promised to keep
you (Isaiah 41:10; 43:2).

1
John Rippon, A Selection of Hymns from
256 the Best Authors, 1787.
SEPTEMBER 13

Because we love God, He

makes even “bad” things

❧A
work in our favor.
“
LL THINGS WORK TOGETHER FOR
GOOD TO THOSE WHO LOVE GOD” (Romans 8:28). This is His
promise to us, and as we learn to hold fast to this simple
truth, we will see the promised results.
We need to try to look for the good in every situation, no
matter how bad it may first appear. That takes conscious
effort and prayer and doesn’t come overnight, but it will
make all the difference in the world when we are faced with
problems and setbacks. On the other hand, if we fail to
view our disappointments, hurts, tests, illnesses, and other
problems from the perspective that Romans 8:28 gives us,
we will tragically miss many of the valuable lessons that the
Lord is trying to teach us, and we will rob ourselves of the
peace that comes from trusting in this important promise
and principle.
“Trials equal good.” Understanding and believing this
simple equation can make your life richer, more meaningful,
and happier. It makes all the difference in the world whether
you look at problems and challenges just waiting for the
worst to happen, or if you look at them with excitement,
waiting to discover all the good the Lord can bring out of
them.

257
SEPTEMBER 14

God’s love is the reason

❧W
and purpose for all things.

HY DID GOD MAKE THIS WONDER-

FUL WORLD FOR YOU TO ENJOY?—So you’d know that He
loves you. Why did He want you to know He loves you?—
Because He wants you to love Him. God made you to love
because He needed someone to love.
What is the whole duty of man?—Solomon says it in
Ecclesiastes: “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole
matter: Fear God, and keep His commandments: for this is
the whole duty of man” (Ecclesiastes 12:13 KJV). But Jesus
boiled it down to something even simpler: “Love the Lord
your God with all your heart” and “love your neighbor
as yourself” (Matthew 22:37–39). Jesus made it a more
personal loving relationship between Him and you and
others. Instead of “fear God,” He said, “love the Lord.”
Instead of just “keep the commandments,” He said, “love
your neighbor as yourself.” In this is fulfilled “all the Law
and the Prophets” (Matthew 22:40).
You’ll never be able to enjoy life to the full without Him,
because He has created your heart with a vacancy, a hollow-
ness, an emptiness, an aching void that only He can fill. He
saved one spot in your heart, the very core of your life, for
Himself. He created you to love Him. You’re His creation,
you’re His child, and He wants you!

258
SEPTEMBER 15

Every product of genius

must be a product of

❧Y
inspiration.

OU’LL BE AMAZED AT WHAT YOU

AND THE LORD CAN COME UP WITH IF YOU WILL PRAY. The
Bible says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God,
who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will
be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting,
for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed
by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will
receive anything from the Lord” (James 1:5–7). Of course,
we always lack wisdom, so we should always ask the Lord!
You can pray and get answers immediately, but if you lean
on your own understanding and your own wisdom, you’re
apt to make some sad mistakes. If you do things in your own
strength, relying on your own talents, your own knowledge,
or your own supposed wisdom out of pride, it will come
to naught. But if you “in all your ways acknowledge Him,
He shall direct your paths” (Proverbs 3:6) … “and your
thoughts will be established” (Proverbs 16:3).
No matter how small or incapable you are, there’s a very big,
capable God waiting to help you. So ask the Lord. Lean on
the Lord. He’s greater than you’ll ever be, and if He inspires
and guides you, whatever you do will be the greatest.

259
SEPTEMBER 16

“According to your
faith”—not someone
else’s—“be it unto you”

❧W
(Matthew 9:29 KJV).

HEN PETER AND JOHN HEALED

THE LAME BEGGAR AT THE GATE OF THE TEMPLE, Peter
said, “Look at us”—and immediately the man was healed
(Acts 3:1–9). His faith was in their faith, and God honored it.
But God expects more from those of us who are familiar with
the promises in His Word and understand how faith works.
He expects us to make direct, personal contact with Him,
and to demonstrate our faith by claiming those promises
ourselves. He wants us to learn to put our faith in Him
alone, and not to depend on someone else’s faith or prayers
or connection with Him.
There are times, of course, when we should ask others to
pray with us, but that’s different from leaning on their
faith. Sometimes we need to avail ourselves of the extra
power that comes from united prayer (Matthew 18:19), or
to demonstrate our faith by meeting certain conditions He
has set down in His Word, such as asking others to pray for
our healing (James 5:14–16). God doesn’t hear and answer
others’ prayers more than our own, and the power isn’t in
the elders’ hands—”the prayer of faith will save the sick.”
It’s our faith that God rewards with the answer, and He does
that for us because we have demonstrated that faith by put-
ting feet to our prayers.

260
SEPTEMBER 17

We need to understand
the difference between
the conviction of the
Holy Spirit and the

❧N
condemnation of the Devil.

OT EVERYTHING THAT GOES

WRONG IS NECESSARILY YOUR OWN FAULT or a result of
your mistakes and sins, and not all trials are because God is
punishing you. Sometimes these things are attacks of the
Devil, who is trying to defeat you, trying to belittle, trying
to accuse, trying to get you down and discouraged. He tries
to convince you that you’ve made too many mistakes and
failed too many times, so you might as well quit.
But God always has hope for you. Even when He has to cor-
rect you, He does so in love. His dealings are a proof of His
love (Hebrews 12:5–6). He sometimes scolds and applies the
rod, but He always adds love’s healing balm afterwards to
soothe, encourage, comfort, and give you hope of recovery
and redemption. His encouragement after His correction is
like the sun after a storm.
So don’t give up the fight, especially when the Enemy of
your soul is doing his best to discourage you and depress
you. God will forgive you for past errors, and He can still
mightily use you. Simply acknowledge and confess your
sin, accept God’s forgiveness, and get on with living for His
honor and glory.

261
SEPTEMBER 18

Our main job is to help

God make people rich

❧P
spiritually.

ART OF OUR DUTY AS CHRISTIANS

is to show the world a social gospel, as well as a personal
gospel. Jesus Himself nearly always ministered to people’s
physical needs before He ministered to their minds and
hearts and spiritual needs. By His example of kindness, His
example of love and concern for the people, they knew that
He had something real.
You can’t preach the Gospel to a man with a hungry stom-
ach, but the main thing is to preach the Gospel. Visit the
sick and the imprisoned, clothe the naked, and feed the
hungry, but don’t forget to feed their souls most of all.
God’s greatest concern is saving their souls, and then He
will save their bodies. The greatest thing we can give them
is the key to success, the key to good health, the solution
to poverty, and that’s faith in God that leads to salvation. If
they receive Jesus, then they’re God’s children. Then He’s re-
sponsible to take care of them, and He will. God never fails
to care for His own. He’s the key to all their needs.

262
SEPTEMBER 19

Thank God for tears,

which wash our hearts and

❧T
clear our minds.

HE ANCIENT GREEKS CALLED IT

CATHARSIS—an emotional purging or purifying. In Greek
tragic dramas, the audience was made to experience intense
feelings of sorrow, pity and fear, which according to
Aristotle, brought about a purifying of the emotions that
turned people to the true values of life. Sorrow was an
edifying experience.
Thank God that He and His service are not all sorrow and
tragedy, but He does give us a few trials and a few tests and
a few hard things to go through to bring out the sweetness
and the best in us. Like a giant hand squeezing a honey-
comb, God puts the squeeze on us and out comes the honey.
Like a beautiful flower that is pressed and crushed, God
applies the pressure and out comes the perfume. Like the
beautiful music that comes from the throat of a bird—almost
as though in pain, yet it comes forth with song. We learn a
lot through sorrow, and some of the most precious lessons in
life come out of deep dark experiences.

O Joy that seekest me through pain,

I cannot close my heart to thee;
I trace the rainbow through the rain,
And feel the promise not in vain,
That morn shall tearless be.1

1
George Matheson (1842–1906). 263
SEPTEMBER 20

❧W
The world is your parish.

E NEED TO GO BACK TO THE

ORIGINAL PLAN THAT JESUS GAVE HIS FIRST FOLLOWERS,
which they demonstrated in the book of Acts and which He
stated so simply: “Go into all the world and preach the Good
News to everyone, everywhere” (Mark 16:15 TLB). That and
John 3:16 are all we need to know to preach the Gospel.
Jesus alone saves, but He can’t save you alone. He wants to
save the whole world and some day He will, but He needs
you to tell others about His love. He wants you to give His
love and message of salvation to your part of “all the world.”
If you love Jesus and are serious about pleasing Him, you
have a responsibility. He has given you a commission, a job
to do for Him, and you need to do it. “Preach the Word; be
ready in season and out of season” (2 Timothy 4:2). Love and
win souls. Spread the Word. Spread the message. Spread His
love.
All He needs is you. The fields are already “white for har-
vest” (John 4:35), so “pray the Lord of the harvest to send
out laborers into His harvest” (Matthew 9:38)—and the first
one He will send is you.

264
SEPTEMBER 21

“Children are a heritage

❧O
from the Lord” (Psalm 127:3).

NE OF THE MOST PRECIOUS GIFTS

any of us could ever receive is God’s love in the form of a
little child, so sweet and beautiful. They’re all His children,
really, but He entrusts them to our care and wants us to love
and train them. They’re a gift of God but, like flowers in our
garden, we’ve got to take care of them. It’s a case of God’s
gift is also God’s work.
If we “train up a child in the way he should go ... when he
is old he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6). If you will
only teach, train, and lead your children right and set the
right example, they will carry that all through life. “All your
children shall be taught by the Lord, and great shall be the
peace of your children” (Isaiah 54:13).
Another wonderful thing about your children is that you’re
going to have them forever. If you rear them right and do
a good job of God’s work with God’s gift, you will be so
thankful when you get to Heaven and see them rewarded for
their love for Him and all they did for Him and others—and
you will share in their rewards because you helped guide
them there.

265
SEPTEMBER 22

Why doesn’t God put a

stop to all the world’s
atrocities and man’s

❧F
inhumanity to man?

REE CHOICE IS A BASIC PART OF

GOD’S PLAN, from the Garden of Eden to the book of
Revelation. He put us here to make choices between good
and evil, between doing right or doing wrong, between
serving God or ourselves or the Devil.
Free choice also shows what happens if people are allowed
to have their own way and go their own way, without God.
God didn’t stop Adam and Eve when they made the wrong
choice in the Garden of Eden, but He did punish them.
To see the consequences of our choices and our actions,
whether right or wrong, is a great lesson to us and the entire
universe. This is why God is now allowing man, by his own
hand, to bring the earth from the heaven on earth He cre-
ated to a state of virtual hell on earth: to demonstrate what a
horrible mess results when His creations rebel against Him.
So God has His reasons for allowing the world to get into
such a state, and one of the main reasons is to give us a
chance to choose. Are you choosing God’s way, or your own?

266
SEPTEMBER 23

The most uncomfortable

place for a Christian is a

❧T
comfortable place.

HE MINUTE YOU COME TO THE

CONCLUSION that you have gone as far as you want to go and
are satisfied with yourself and what you’ve accomplished,
watch out! The minute you think you’ve arrived, that’s as far
as you’ll get. God’s law of progress is: If you don’t keep on
getting more, you’ll lose what you’ve got. The minute you
think you’ve attained and you sit down to enjoy it, that’s
when you lose it. “Therefore let him who thinks he stands
take heed lest he fall” (1 Corinthians 10:12). When you come
to the point that you just want to stand still, you’re finished.
It is impossible to stand still in the Christian life. You are
either making progress, going ahead, climbing a little further
upward every day, giving more of yourself and accomplishing
more, or you are slipping backward and on your way down.
Are you alive and going, or dead and settling? Don’t settle
down and vegetate and become like the rest of the bumps on
the logs. Rise up and live! Move now with the life of God, or
you’ll be left behind in the death of this world.

267
SEPTEMBER 24

Praise God for His

❧G
faithfulness!

OD LOVES YOU AND IS CONCERNED

ABOUT EVERY LITTLE THING. There’s nothing too small for
God or too hard for Him. He takes a personal interest in you
and wants to help you moment by moment and step by step.
You are His and He loves you and is doing His best for
you. Stay close to Him, and He’ll never let you down.
“If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny
Himself” (2 Timothy 2:13). He cannot break the promises
He has given you in His Word. “He who has begun a good
work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ”
(Philippians 1:6).
(Prayer:) You’ve cast my lines in pleasant places, Lord,
and given me exceeding abundantly above all that I could
ask or think (Psalm 16:6; Ephesians 3:20). Even the little
things You do are evidence of Your great love and faithful-
ness. You’re so good to me. In spite of all my shortcomings,
sins, mistakes, failures, and weaknesses, You have mercy
and take care of me, protect, and supply for me. “Surely
goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life”
(Psalm 23:6). How good You are to me!

268
SEPTEMBER 25

You don’t have to know all

❧I
the answers.

T’S IMPOSSIBLE FOR YOU TO SOLVE

YOUR PROBLEMS ON YOUR OWN. You dare not depend on
your own wisdom or trying to put two and two together.
You must look for the supernatural, miraculous, and
powerful leading and guidance of the Holy Spirit. God is the
One who has got to lead, because only He can!
Look how the prophet Daniel prayed before he received
those mighty revelations of God. In the short book of
Daniel—only twelve chapters—two or three chapters
recount how Daniel cried desperately to God in prayer.
Daniel didn’t have the answers, so he had to ask God. In
chapter 2, for example, how could Daniel have possibly
interpreted King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream when Daniel
didn’t even know what the king had dreamed? God had to
reveal the whole thing!
So when you don’t know what to do, for God’s sake, quit
trying to figure things out yourself. Follow God—not your-
self, not your own ideas! Ask the Lord. Get down on your
prayer bones and get desperate in prayer before God. Ask
Him to give you downright, outright, upright revelations—
Heaven-right, straight from Him—to show you exactly what
to do. Cry out to God and ask God for the solutions you
need, and God will never fail.

269
SEPTEMBER 26

Anywhere with Jesus we

❧J
can safely go.

ESUS PROMISES TO BE WITH US

“EVEN UNTO THE END OF THE WORLD” (Matthew 28:20
KJV). But before you go anywhere, be sure you pray and
find God’s will, because only He knows the best place for
you. Ask Jesus to guide every step, every move, every
direction, and He will never fail. He will do His part faster
than you can do yours. He will always be ten jumps ahead of
you. “When He brings out His own sheep, He goes before
them” (John 10:4). He knows what’s ahead, and He will lead.
All you have to do is follow.
God may give you your choice, but He alone knows what’s
best, so be sure to seek Him and find that out. Then do your
best to follow His leading. Are you ready? Are you able?
God will always provide and make a way for you to do His
will if you’ll obey and do things His way. If Jesus goes with
you, you can go anywhere.
If Jesus goes with me, I’ll go anywhere!
’Tis heaven to me where’er I may be, if He is there!
I count it a privilege here, His cross to bear,
If Jesus goes with me, I’ll go anywhere!1

1
270 Charles Austin Miles (1868–1946).
SEPTEMBER 27

If you witness, you always

❧O
win!

UR NUMBER ONE JOB IS TO

PREACH THE GOSPEL, and our number two job is to try to
win those to whom we preach it. Winning souls is really
God’s job because He’s the only one that can work in
people’s hearts, by the Holy Spirit. But He has to work
though us. We have to be His channels, His instruments. We
have to give people the facts—the truth of God’s Word—
show them God’s love, and bring them to the point of
decision to either receive Jesus or reject Him. That’s our
part.
Of course, we hope to win people to Christ, but that’s really
the work of the Holy Spirit and each one has to make a
personal decision. Even if we don’t win the soul, we win the
favor of God by our obedience in witnessing and have done
our job.
Witnessing is never wasted. You accomplish your purpose
just by showing the love of God and sharing His Word with
others. What they do with it is their responsibility. “Love
never fails” (1 Corinthians 13:8), so if you’re motivated by
God’s love and are loving in your presentation, you just can’t
lose. You’re on God’s side, and He just doesn’t lose! Eventu-
ally He always wins somehow. Being a witness for Him is a
business that cannot fail!

271
SEPTEMBER 28

Play the part that God

❧G
created you to play.

OD TOLD KING SAUL THAT HE

WOULD MAKE HIM ANOTHER MAN (1 Samuel 10:6). God also
made David into another man; He turned him into some-
thing he wasn’t. It’s almost like playing a role, but when God
has given you a role to play and you can put your heart into
it and play it with divine enthusiasm and inspiration, you
become that creation of God.
God has His own plan. God has His own ways. God knows
what He’s doing. So for God’s sake find out what He’s doing
and let Him do it. Find out what He wants you to do and do
that. What you don’t want to do is miss His best, the thing
God most wants you to do, the special place God has for
you in His kingdom. If you’re willing to be what God wants
you to be—not what you are, but what God wants you to
be—then He can mightily use you.
Are you willing, not to present your program to God for His
signature or to be presented with God’s program for your
signature, but are you willing to sign a blank sheet of paper
and let God fill it in, without your even knowing what His
program is going to be?

272
SEPTEMBER 29

❧T
Do you want a crown?

HE HEAVENLY CROWN THE LORD

PROMISES US IS NOT OUR SALVATION. We have eternal life
through His Son, which is the gift of God (John 3:36;
Ephesians 2:8–9). The crown is our reward, given only to
those who run and win the race (2 Timothy 4:7–8).
God’s Word tells us to endure hardness as good soldiers of
Jesus Christ, and to not entangle ourselves in the affairs of
this world, that we may please Him who has called us to be
soldiers (2 Timothy 2:3–4 KJV). If we fail the Lord, we will
lose our reward and another will take the crown that God
intended for us (Revelation 3:11).
So watch and pray that you do not enter into temptation
that might lead you astray from the straight and narrow
way that leads to a crown and great reward. Fight the good
fight of faith (1 Timothy 6:12). Keep the faith, finish the
course, and win the crown. Keep your eyes on the goal and
your hand on the plow (Luke 9:62). “Blessed is the man who
perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test,
he will receive the crown of life” (James 1:12 NIV). When
this life is over, if what you did was right, you’ll shine as the
stars forever (Daniel 12:3).

273
SEPTEMBER 30

May you invest your

talents wisely and reap

❧T
great reward.

HE PEOPLE WHO LOVE GOD THE

MOST, serve Him the most faithfully, and sacrifice the most
for Him are going to get the greatest rewards and the
greatest blessings, here and now and in Heaven hereafter.
The more you use what you have, the more you give, the
more God blesses and gives to you. The more you use what
you’ve got, the more God will increase it. “He who sows
sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bounti-
fully will also reap bountifully” (2 Corinthians 9:6). As in
the story Jesus told of the man who was given one talent,1
the man who was given two talents, and the man who was
given five: The thing that was important was not that one
was given more than the other, but how they each chose to
use what He had given (Matthew 25:14–30). It’s not what
you’ve got that determines the outcome, it’s what you do
with what you’ve got.
So “be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work
of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the
Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:58). You will be rewarded!

1
talent: a quantity of money in Bible times,
274 with approximately the value of one ox.,
OCTOBER 1

Just think how much Jesus

❧G
loves us!

OD GAVE JESUS AN OPPORTUNITY

TO QUIT. Jesus had a choice in the Garden of Gethsemane.
He could have chosen to save Himself, but He chose to go
ahead and suffer and die for you and me so we could be
saved. Think of that! He said, “Father, if it is possible, let
this cup of suffering pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I
will, but as You will” (Matthew 26:39). Jesus could have
taken the easy way out, but He didn’t.
“Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s
life for his friends” (John 15:13). Jesus was that friend. He
took our punishment for us. God “made Him who knew no
sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness
of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21). To make us clean, Jesus
had to get dirty. God’s Word says He “bore our sins in His
own body on the tree [cross]” (1 Peter 2:24).
Jesus even had to let God turn His back on Him. “My God,
My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Mark 15:34). Jesus
suffered not only physically, but also spiritually—the death
of the unsaved sinner—and was three days and three nights
in Hell (Matthew 12:40).
He was willing to go through all that so we could be saved.
Imagine!

275
OCTOBER 2

❧W
Heaven is our home.

E’RE HEADED FOR THE HEAV-

ENLY CITY, NEW JERUSALEM, which will come down from
God out of Heaven and dwell with men. This is the hope of
all ages—that wonderful crystal-golden city where we shall
dwell with God forever. That will be the thunderous climax
of the symphony of God, and is described in the grand finale
of the Bible, the book of Revelation, chapters 21 and 22. Our
eternal home will be a place of such resplendent beauty that
it is completely beyond the imagination of man. “For here
we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come”
(Hebrews 13:14), “whose builder and maker is God”
(Hebrews 11:10).
The most stupendous things that you have never even
dreamed of are already in existence right now, in that won-
derful heavenly city, and our departed friends and loved
ones are already there, enjoying Heaven and all its thrills.
So keep your eyes ahead on the goal, like those in Hebrews
11, the faith chapter. They were willing to go through all
the trials and tribulations and to be strangers and pilgrims
here—people without a city or country—because they
knew they had a heavenly one coming (Hebrews 11:13–16).

276
OCTOBER 3

❧A
“I’ll take the mountain!”
“
ND SEEING THE MULTITUDES,
Jesus went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His
disciples came to Him” (Matthew 5:1). The greatest sermon
ever preached, the Sermon on the Mount, was given to a
handful of men on a mountain.
Mountain peaks are never crowded. Why?—Because getting
there is hard work and dangerous. If you’re going to climb a
mountain, you have to be willing to brave the elements and
really work to get to the top. Only pioneers climb moun-
tains—people who want to go beyond what has already been
accomplished. Pioneers must have vision to see what no
one else can see, faith to believe things no one else believes,
initiative to be the first one to try it, and the courage to see
it through!
Sometimes the challenge God sets before you may seem
insurmountable, but there are no alps to men and women of
faith. So what are you waiting for? Start climbing! It may be
a rugged climb, but the view from the summit is worth it—
every rocky step of it! Look forward and up to the heights
you’re soon to attain and views you’re soon to thrill to if you
keep fighting, climbing, winning, and don’t quit!

277
OCTOBER 4

Your prayers can do

❧A
mighty things.

LTHOUGH GOD CAN DO ANY-

THING, He has limited Himself to work through you and
your prayers.
It’s not how long you pray or how much you pray, it’s
how much you believe. Jesus said that if you have faith as
a grain of mustard seed, you can move a whole mountain
(Matthew 17:20). If you believe, every prayer is heard and
answered. But if you don’t pray or don’t believe, it is not
done. An awful lot depends on you. God said to Israel one
time that bad things were happening because no man stirred
himself to call upon God (Isaiah 64:7).
God leaves a lot up to us and our concern and prayer. If you
only cry with half a heart, you only get half an answer. But if
you cry with your whole heart, you get a wholehearted strong
answer. He says, “You will seek Me and find Me, when you
search for Me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13).
When you determine you’re going to pray more and then
desperately cry out to God—Boom! Boom! Boom!—the Holy
Spirit goes to work and it probably won’t be long before you
begin to see some results. God always answers when we stir
ourselves to call upon Him with a whole heart. So pray!

278
OCTOBER 5

God never stops loving

❧W
you!

HAT IS GOD LIKE? Some people

picture Him as an angry God, some kind of monster with an
all-seeing eye, carrying around a big stick, ready to clobber
them—a cruel tyrant who is trying to frighten them into
Hell. But actually, God is love (1 John 4:8). He is a loving
God who is trying to love everyone into Heaven. He’s so
close, so intimate, so personal, so loving, so kind, so tender,
so gentle, so concerned—and He’s waiting with open arms.
The only reason He follows us around is that He’s hoping
we’ll turn around and meet Him with open arms.
God never rejects us or withdraws His love. He always has
hope for us no matter how far we’ve strayed. So if you feel
far from God, maybe it’s because you haven’t opened your
heart to receive His love and forgiveness. You need not con-
tinue to feel condemned for your mistakes and sins; only be
sorry, ask for God’s forgiveness, and be forgiven (Isaiah 1:18;
1 John 1:9).
If you will even start going God’s way—if you’ll just turn
toward Him and start trying to find your way Home—the
Father will come running toward you and receive you with
open arms of love (Luke 15:18–24).

279
OCTOBER 6

We can enjoy a foretaste

❧T
of Heaven, here and now!

HOSE OF US WHO KNOW AND LOVE

JESUS HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF HEAVEN ALREADY. In spite of
all that’s going on in the world today, we have peace in our
hearts—wonderful peace, glorious peace, sweet peace, a
special touch of God’s love!
We are already experiencing a little bit of Heaven—heavenly
hearts, heavenly homes, heavenly loved ones, and a heavenly
work to do for the Lord in bringing the heaven of His love
to others. We’re already living in the kingdom of God—or
rather, the kingdom of God is living in us. Jesus said,
“Behold, the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21).
But God’s Word also tells us that this is just the earnest of
our salvation—just a little sample (Ephesians 1:14). Well, if
this is only a sample of what’s coming, think what the full
Heaven is going to be like!
You don’t have to wait for Heaven to find out what it’s going
to be like. You can have Heaven in your heart and your life
and your family and your home, right here and right now!
Do you? If not, invite Jesus into your heart by receiving
Him as your Savior.

280
OCTOBER 7

When you get filled with

the Holy Spirit, you have a
much closer relationship

❧Y
with Jesus.

OU NEED THE INFILLING, OR

BAPTISM, OF THE HOLY SPIRIT not only so you’ll have the
boldness and power to share God’s love with others, but also
to help you in your personal communication with Jesus.
Jesus promised His disciples that He would send them a
comforter, the Holy Spirit, to strengthen, empower, lead,
and guide them in their spiritual lives and relationship with
Him (John 14:16–18; 16:7,13–14). As long as Jesus was with
His disciples bodily, they knew that He loved them and they
loved Him. They enjoyed being in His presence and hearing
the comforting sound of His voice, yet they didn’t really
know Him as they were to later in spirit. When the promise
of the Holy Spirit was fulfilled on the Day of Pentecost, the
disciples found out that even though His body was gone
from them, through the Holy Spirit He was with them in
greater power than ever before—and not just with them,
but in them!
Like those first disciples, if you’ve been filled with the Holy
Spirit, you can be closer to Jesus and understand His truth
even better than they did when they were with Him physi-
cally and watched Him perform miracles, because you have
His Spirit within you!

281
OCTOBER 8

There is great power in

❧S
united prayer.

OME PEOPLE ARE SHY ABOUT

PRAYING WITH OTHERS, and sometimes they probably think
about the passage of Scripture where Jesus said, “When you
pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door,
pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your
Father who sees in secret will reward you openly” (Matthew
6:6). Well, there is a time for that, but there is also a time to
pray together.
Sometimes it’s important that you make your request known
not only to God, but also to others. That way, they can join
with you in prayer and manifest their faith and confess their
dependence on the Lord along with you. Never hesitate to
ask for prayer when you need it.
God loves to answer prayer and He has to answer when
He sees we’re united in love and prayer and purpose and
mind and heart and spirit. “If two of you agree on earth
concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for
them by My Father in Heaven. For where two or three are
gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of
them” (Matthew 18:19–20). God’s dynamics of the spirit
really operate amazingly! The Bible says that when God’s
Spirit empowers us, one can chase one thousand, but two
can put ten thousand to flight (Deuteronomy 32:30).

282
OCTOBER 9

❧I
Be like Jesus!

F YOU HAVE RECEIVED JESUS AS

YOUR SAVIOR AND HAVE THE LOVE OF GOD IN YOUR HEART,
you’re going to be like Jesus. And if you want to know what
Jesus is like, read the Gospels.
Jesus went about everywhere doing good (Acts 10:38),
striving to lead God’s children back to true worship of the
Father, His little lambs back into the one and only true fold
of the Great Shepherd and the way of simple truth and love
and peace, the true kingdom of God. Study the Gospels and
see how Jesus did things. Study the master teacher who only
taught and lived love and sharing, who came for love and
lived in love and died for love that we might live and love
forever.
The words of Jesus are the most beautiful, inspired, and
encouraging part of the Bible. He was almost always the
peacemaker. When people didn’t like His message, He didn’t
force it on them. It was all voluntary, all “whoever desires”
(Revelation 22:17). Jesus was patient, loving, kind, sym-
pathetic, and forgiving, always leading and feeding and
encouraging and strengthening His little lambs. He was the
greatest of all examples of love, humility, and mercy. May
Jesus help us to be like Him.

283
OCTOBER 10

New Christians need

prayer, love, the Word,

❧W
Jesus, and fellowship.

HENEVER YOU HELP PEOPLE BE

“BORN AGAIN” by leading them to receive Jesus as their
Savior, they’re your babies. You’re responsible for them, and
you must not forget to pray for them and help meet their
other spiritual needs.
If you neglect them, you’re failing God by begetting poor
little homeless, starving orphans. Though orphans usually
survive, they often have a pretty hard childhood and many
of them become bitter against God because nobody loved
them.
There are five major things new Christians need: First of all,
they need prayer. You need to ask God to help them overcome
past problems and progress spiritually (James 5:16). Next they
need love. In order to understand God’s love, they need to
experience His love through you (Ephesians 3:17– 19). Then
they need to be fed the milk of God’s life-giving Word (1 Peter
2:2). They also need Jesus. Jesus is in them as soon as they’re
saved, but then they have to get into Jesus (Colossians 2:6–7).
And they need fellowship. They need your companionship
as well as your love, encouragement, instruction, and prayers
(1 John 1:7).
“Do you love Me?” Jesus asks. “Then feed My lambs”
(John 21:15).

284
OCTOBER 11

The Devil can’t win for

❧I
losing!

T IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR THE DEVIL TO

DEFEAT YOU UNLESS YOU GIVE IN TO HIM. “Jesus who is in
you is greater than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).
Jesus has already defeated the Devil (1 John 3:8). If you keep
fighting, the Devil cannot win.
The Bible says, “Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you”
(James 4:7). As long as you keep resisting, he’ll keep fleeing,
but if you stop resisting, he’ll use his lies and doubts to try
to persuade you to quit. He’ll try to persuade you that you’re
a hopeless case, so you might as well surrender and leave the
field to him. “It’s no use,” he says.
Don’t listen to him! Get tough and fight back with the “sword
of the Spirit, which is the Word of God” (Ephesians 6:17).
Don’t let the Devil say “boo” and scare you out of doing what
God wants you to do. Stand up and fight, and he will flee
from you!
Put your faith in the Lord and His Word, and you’re bound
to win. Put on the whole armor of God and go on the attack
with the truth of God’s Word (Ephesians 6:10–18). The vic-
tory is already yours. With Jesus on your side, you can’t lose
for winning as long as you keep fighting!

285
OCTOBER 12

Get ready for the greatest

❧I
job in the world!

F THE WHOLE PURPOSE OF OUR

EXISTENCE IS TO GET SAVED, then why doesn’t God take us
home to Heaven the minute we get saved?—Because we have
a job to do, and it’s a big one! There are a lot of other people
who need to know Jesus.
What then is the most important job in the world?—To tell
others about God’s love, to show them the love of Jesus.
We’re here to witness and win souls. His Great Commission
to us is, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to
everyone, everywhere” (Mark 16:15 TLB).
Nothing is more important to God than immortal souls, so
we should never let anything take the place of our concern
for their eternal welfare. The souls that you win to Jesus will
be your brothers and sisters in Heaven, and they’ll be thank-
ful to you for all eternity because you told them about Jesus
and His love.

286
OCTOBER 13

God allows opposition for

❧I
a purpose.

F THERE WEREN’T AN OPPONENT,

AN OPPOSING SIDE, God’s people would never be tried and
tested. So God allows Satan to rise up and lead the opposi-
tion, to try and test His people.
Opposition tests the faith, determination, and loyalty of
those being opposed, to see who’s really got it and who
hasn’t. It also causes those who are undecided about what or
who to believe to reach a point of decision.
It’s part of God’s sifting process to separate the wheat from
the chaff, the good grain from the weeds, the sheep from the
goats (Matthew 13:24–30; 25:31–33). The true sheep know
the voice of the Good Shepherd and follow Him, and they
will not follow a stranger (John 10:4–5). They won’t listen to
or follow the voice of the enemies of truth.
Those who are not willing to suffer and endure opposition
for their faith quit and lose by default, but the genuine
faithful followers call on God, and God always ultimately
defeats the Devil and wins the victory!
“Your patience and faith in all your persecutions and
tribulations that you endure … is manifest evidence of
the righteous judgment of God, that you may be counted
worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you also suffer”
(2 Thessalonians 1:4–5).

287
OCTOBER 14

John 3:16 was Jesus’

❧F
part; 1 John 3:16 is ours.
“
OR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD that
He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in
Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
Jesus made the way for us to be saved when He climbed
Mount Calvary and died alone for the sins of the world.
That was a price that He alone could pay for you and me,
but He did it!
“By this we know love, because Jesus laid down His life
for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the
brethren” (1 John 3:16). If we are saved and truly love Jesus
and others, we’re going to want to take others with us. We
can’t work for our own salvation, but we can work for the
salvation of others. These works are not required for our
salvation, but they will come as works of love for the Lord.
They’re a manifestation of salvation and your love for Jesus
and others. Once we get saved, the most important job each
of us has is to give our lives daily in loving concern and care
for others. Jesus came to love the world, and He calls us to
do likewise in every facet of our lives.

288
OCTOBER 15

“Do this in remembrance

❧C
of Me” (1 Corinthians 11:24).

OMMUNION IS A REENACTMENT of
the ceremony Jesus conducted for His disciples the night
before He was crucified. It’s one of the few ceremonies that
Jesus went through with them, and the only one He asked
His followers to observe until He comes again, in remem-
brance of Him. He intended for it to be a symbol, a simple
illustration that has a number of meanings. It is a remem-
brance, a thanksgiving, a witness, and a demonstration of
unity.
Communion means remembering Him and the sacrifices
He made for us—the breaking of His body for our healing
(Isaiah 53:5) and the shedding of His blood for our salvation
(1 John 1:7). It is a celebration of the salvation of the entire
man.
It is a witness to the unsaved who watch, to remind them
of what Jesus has done for us and wants to do for them. It’s
also a time for believers to unite in spirit, renew fellowship,
confess sins, make things right, thank Jesus for His sacri-
fice, obtain healing, and witness to all His goodness. God
will bless you as you do what He commanded. “For as often
as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the
Lord’s death till He comes” (1 Corinthians 11:26).

289
OCTOBER 16

The Holy Spirit gives us

joy in our labors and glory

❧I
in our tasks.

F YOU HAVE THE DIVINE ANOINTING

OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, it makes every task wonderful.
Anything you do, no matter what it is or how big or small,
you can do it in the Spirit. But if you do it in the energy of
your own flesh or out of duty to the letter of the law only, it
drags you down and leaves you uninspired. “The letter kills,
but the Spirit gives life” (2 Corinthians 3:6).
You’ve gotta have a glory in the thing you do.
Oh, you’ve gotta have that somethin’
That thrills you through and through.
Cooking taters, washing clothes,
Or blowin’ baby’s nose,
You need that certain somethin’
That will carry you through!1
Call it what you like—inspiration, charisma, talent, person-
ality, or the Spirit—you’ve got to have something that brings
you to life and spurs you to action.
Do you have the firepower of God’s Spirit in all you do? You
can!

1
290 Author unknown.
OCTOBER 17

If you’ve been born only

once, you’ll die twice; but
if you’ve been born twice,

❧I
you’ll die only once!

F YOU HAVE BEEN BORN TWICE—

once when you were born physically and again when you
were born of the Spirit by receiving Jesus as your Savior—
you will die only once, physically. But if you have only been
born once, only physically, you’re going to die twice—first
the natural physical death and then spiritually, “the second
death” (Revelation 20:14).
Jesus’ death was far worse than the physical agony that
He suffered when He was crucified. He also suffered the
spiritual agony of the lost sinner, dying for his sins, without
salvation, without God. Only in Jesus’ case He wasn’t dying
for His own sins, He was dying for the sins of the world. He
felt the weight of all the sins of a world full of sinners, and
He did that so we won’t have to go through that horror of
dying a sinner’s lonely death!
Those who reject Christ’s atonement have to suffer for their
own sins, but those who receive Jesus now are completely
forgiven and completely relieved from the punishment of
sin. “For the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin”
(1 John 1:7).

291
OCTOBER 18

Turn your natural

weakness into spiritual

❧Y
strength.

OU MAY SOMETIMES FEEL DUMB

AND INCAPABLE, but that’s not a weakness if it causes you to
depend more on Jesus. That attitude will actually be a
strength to you, because when you’re depending on the
Lord and turning to Him for the answers to everything—
like you should and like He wants you to—then you’ll be
strong in Him. That’s the strength of weakness—knowing
that you need to turn to Jesus for the answers, and faithfully
doing that.
Your first reaction should be to pray and ask the Lord about
everything. That’s the good kind of weakness—the kind
that causes you to not be confident that you know what’s
best, and even when you think you know, you still ask
the Lord about it and humbly follow His lead. That’s good
because then you’re letting the Lord work through you to
perform His will. You’re letting Him have control. You’re
letting Him make the decisions and do things His way, and
that’s when your weakness becomes your strength.
You’ll never go wrong by continually turning to Jesus in
prayer, because the more you ask Him about things, the
more He can work through you. The more you feel incapable
in yourself, the better off you’ll be!

292
OCTOBER 19

If we don’t have Jesus’

righteousness, we have

❧T
nothing.

HOSE WHO ARE SO PROUD of their

own success and their own righteousness that they thank
God they are “not like other men” (Luke 18:11) tend to look
down on others and have no mercy, no compassion, no
sympathy. But in God’s sight, such self-righteous pride is
one of the worst sins of all (Isaiah 64:6).
Some people have to go through a lot before they get
humbled, like King David. David probably had a lot of
pride and needed to be humbled before God could use him
to lead His people, because look at the great things he did
before that. As a boy he fought and killed a lion and a bear
to protect his father’s sheep, and then he killed Goliath, the
giant champion of the attacking Philistines, and all Israel
hailed him as a great hero (1 Samuel 17:34–37,49; 18:6–7).
Apparently David then became proud, lost his fear of God,
and committed some awful sins. Worst of all, he became a
self-righteous sinner because he covered it up and pretended
to be righteous. Finally the judgments of God fell and he
lost everything (2 Samuel 11–12). But a marvelous change
occurred in him after God humbled him.
We haven’t got anybody’s righteousness except Jesus’, and
He’s the only One who can give it to us (Philippians 3:9).

293
OCTOBER 20

Wouldn’t it be wonderful
if people would simply do

❧J
what Jesus said to do?

ESUS GAVE US THE KEY TO HAPPI-

NESS AND HARMONY WHEN HE SAID, “Love your neighbor
as yourself” (Matthew 22:39). So when people don’t treat
others with much love, of course they’re going to have
problems—and they have. In fact, all of the evils in the
world today can be traced back to people’s lack of love for
God and each other. The simple love of God and each other
is still God’s solution, even in such a highly complex and
confused society as ours. If we love God, we can love each
other, follow His rules of life, liberty, and the possession of
happiness, and all will be well and happy in Him.
So ask God to help you love your neighbors with His love.
And remember, “neighbor” doesn’t only mean the one that
lives next door. Your neighbor is anyone He brings across
your path who needs your help.
A little love and understanding and tolerance and sharing
could go such a long way in solving the world’s problems.
In fact, this should be the goal of every Christian: to love
God and our neighbor as ourselves. Love will solve all our
problems too.

294
OCTOBER 21

You’ll never walk alone if

you have Jesus in your
heart and your hand in

❧I
His.

F YOU HAVE JESUS, you always have

company and love. No matter where you are, you are in His
hands and He’ll take care of you. Jesus is the one possession
you’ll never have to give up, never have to leave behind,
never lose. You can give Him away as much as you like but
you’ll always have Him. He’ll always be near (Matthew 28:20;
Hebrews 13:5).
He’s always there. It’s not Jesus that’s not always there; it’s
we who are sometimes not there. We sometimes run off
somewhere else and leave Him way behind. But He never
leaves us behind unless we don’t follow. It’s that simple.
Walk on through the wind,
Walk on through the rain,
Tho’ your dreams be tossed and blown,
Walk on, walk on,
With hope in your heart,
And you’ll never walk alone.1
(Prayer:) Go with us, Lord. That’s the best that we can poss-
ibly desire—that You go with us every step of the way and
that we go with You every step of the way.

1
Oscar Hammerstein II, Carousel (1895–1960). 295
OCTOBER 22

A Christian is not perfect,

❧S
but he is forgiven.

OME PEOPLE SEEM TO THINK THAT

EVERYONE HAS GOT TO BE GOOD OR BAD, black or white,
and there’s no gray. But the fact of the matter is that when it
comes to our righteousness, there’s no such thing as black or
white; we’re all gray. Nobody is all bad, and nobody is
perfectly clean and white except by faith in the blood of
Christ. Only Jesus is perfect and able to help us, which is
why He had to come.
Nobody is ever good enough. We’re all fallible, we all make
mistakes, we all commit sins, and it’s only by the grace of
God that we are saved. It’s only His love and mercy and His
grace and His sacrifice on Calvary that saves us. Nothing
else. Nothing!
Thank God salvation doesn’t depend on how good we’ve
been or even how good we are now. It only depends on our
faith in the mercy and grace of Jesus Christ. In spite of all
our sins and shortcomings, failures, mistakes, and unsaintli-
ness, God still loves and forgives us. “He has not dealt with
us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our
iniquities. … As far as the east is from the west, so far has
He removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:10,12).

296
OCTOBER 23

“Your kingdom come.

Your will be done on
earth as it is in Heaven”

❧E
(Matthew 6:10).

VERY DAY, millions of Christians all

over the world pray, “Your kingdom come. Your will be done
on earth, as it is in Heaven,” but most of them probably
don’t really appreciate the tremendous reality of that part of
the Lord’s Prayer, or how literally it is going to be fulfilled.
Jesus told His disciples, “The kingdom of God is within
you” (Luke 17:21). This is true for all of us who know and
love Jesus; we already have heaven on earth in our hearts.
But during the coming thousand-year reign of Christ on
earth, the Millennium, He’s going to wipe away all this hell
on earth and set up His kingdom of peace and righteousness
and fairness and justice and goodness and mercy and love.
It’s not going to be Heaven, but the next best thing—Christ’s
kingdom on earth. His kingdom won’t only be within us
then, it will be all around us. And “none of them shall teach
his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’
for all shall know Me” (Hebrews 8:11).
For the darkness shall turn to dawning,
And the dawning to noonday bright;
And Christ’s great kingdom shall come on earth,
The kingdom of love and light.1

1
Henry Ernest Nichol (1862–1926). 297
OCTOBER 24

❧F
Faith is ...

AITH IS HEARING THE INAUDIBLE,

seeing the invisible, believing the incredible, and receiving
the impossible. Faith is often completely contrary to natural
expectation and natural reasoning.
Faith is asking for what you need. Faith is creating a vacuum
in your heart for God to fill. Faith is not only believing that
God can, but that God will. Faith is the opposite of doubt
and fear. Faith is not surprised at the answer. Faith expected
it to happen.
Faith is tranquil when it’s very stormy. Faith isn’t bound
by circumstances or conditions. When man says, “Tie up in
port,” faith says, “Launch out into the deep!” Faith is not
passive; it acts out what it believes.
Faith is standing your ground when all others desert. Faith
is burning your bridges so you can’t turn back. Faith is
being willing to pay any price. Faith is doing what God
tells you to do today and believing Him for tomorrow. Faith
is choosing God in spite of all other possibilities. Faith is
standing on God’s Word, not your feelings. Faith is being
willing to die trusting. That’s the kind of faith that works
miracles!
Faith is like a muscle that grows strong and supple with
exercise. Faith is built by faithful study of God’s Word
(Romans 10:17).

298
OCTOBER 25

God’s will allows for

freedom of choice, within

❧G
certain limitations.

OD’S WILL—what God wants us to

do because He knows it will work out best for everyone else
involved—is sort of like a tunnel. It confines us and restricts
us to a certain area of movement and possibility, while still
allowing us to make our own decisions and operate accord-
ing to our own faith. He keeps us within certain bounds, but
where we go in the tunnel, to the left or right, depends a lot
on us and our choices. He gives us leeway as long as we stay
within the bounds He has set. We are allowed to find our
way through the tunnel, but we should be making forward
progress with each step, not going backward.
The tunnel always leads in the right direction. It always has
a goal, and of course there’s always the best, most direct path
within the tunnel. When we yield to God and let His choices
become our choices, when our primary motive is to please
God and do things His way, when we delight ourselves in
Him, then we go His direction and stay in the center of His
will; we stay focused on His guiding light at the end of the
tunnel, and really make progress.

299
OCTOBER 26

“Earth has no sorrow that

Heaven cannot heal.”
Thomas Moore (1779–1852).

❧G OD’S WORD IS ALWAYS A COM-

FORT and the voice of His Spirit is always an encouragement
in the hour of greatest trial. The Bible says, “The sufferings
of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the
glory that shall be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18). When we
think about that, it helps us bear some of the things we have
to go through now.
“Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the
morning” (Psalm 30:5). We need to keep our eyes on Jesus
and the end of life’s road. “For our light affliction, which is
but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding
and eternal weight of glory” (2 Corinthians 4:17).
God’s tomorrow is a beautiful place. We’ll be with Jesus and
all our loved ones, and “there shall be no more death, nor
sorrow, nor crying” (Revelation 21:4). He will wipe away our
tears, and the former things shall be forgotten in the glories
of the ecstasies of the kingdom to come.

300
OCTOBER 27

Sometimes we limit God

❧B
by our little faith.

ECAUSE GOD LOVES US, He tries to

be as good to us as possible. As long as we’re doing our best
to do what’s right and what we’re asking Him for is good for
us, He will give it to us. “No good thing will He withhold
from those who walk uprightly” (Psalm 84:11).
But sometimes, the Bible tells us, we have not because we
ask not (James 4:2). So if you really need something, pray it
in. Just be careful what you ask God to do for you, because
He’ll often take you literally; He will take you exactly at
your word.
The story is told of a man who prayed, “Lord, I need a
car. I’m desperate for a car! Please give me a car—any old
car!”—And that’s exactly what he got, a real clunker! So
the next time he needed a car he prayed for a good one, and
he got it!
God is very definite, so be definite with Him. He’ll give
you what you ask for and what you have the faith for
(Matthew 7:7–8; 9:29). God will give you what you have
faith for, and you should have faith for what you need. If
the need is there, the answer must be there too, so look
around and pray it in.

301
OCTOBER 28

You can’t be God’s fair-

❧M
weather friend.

OST CHRISTIANS CAN HAVE

FAITH IN USUAL SITUATIONS and under normal conditions
for what they expect God to do. But when everything goes
wrong and seems contrary to the Word and the usual, only
those with great faith can say with Job, “Though He slay
me, yet will I trust Him” (Job 13:15). What Job was saying
was, “Even though it seems like God is breaking His own
Word with me, even though God kills me contrary to all His
promises, I’ll still trust Him.”
If you’re only going to be willing to believe and obey God
as long as everything goes right, you won’t be believing
or obeying very much, because a lot of things can seem
to go wrong when you’re serving the Lord. “Many are the
afflictions of the righteous,” the Bible tells us, “but the Lord
delivers him out of them all” (Psalm 34:19).—No matter
how many or what they may be. So keep trusting and
praising and following God, no matter what.
Trust in God, however dark your way,
No matter what hard turns the road may take.
Hold to His hand until the break of day,
When in His likeness we shall then awake!1

1
302 Author unknown.
OCTOBER 29

❧N
God is pictured in His Son.

ONE OF US CAN REALLY GRASP

HOW GREAT GOD OUR FATHER IS. The Bible says that He is
so great even the whole universe cannot contain Him. He’s
so beyond our comprehension that He had to make Someone
who could show us His love, Someone who was within our
realm, Someone we could see, Someone we could feel,
Someone we could experience, Someone who would bring
God down to the level of our comprehension, one Man who
was like Himself, whom He called His Son.
God stooped to send His Son, Jesus Christ, to be an example
of what God Himself is like. Jesus is God’s most outstanding
means of communication with us, communicating to us His
own love by means of His own Son.
Jesus is like the tip of the iceberg, the part we can see.
The greatest part of the iceberg, God, is out of sight. Even
though we can’t see the rest of the iceberg, we can get
an idea of what it is like from the part that shows, the
part that’s in our realm. The Bible says that God is love
(1 John 4:8), and we know that is true because of the loving
part of Him that we can see in Jesus!

303
OCTOBER 30

No matter what else

you’re doing, you can

❧I
always be praying.

N EVERYTHING YOU DO, you ought

to be praying and looking unto Jesus, the author and
finisher of your faith (Hebrews 12:2).
Prayer should be like breathing—just breathing the Holy
Spirit all the time. Stay in constant communication with
Jesus, constantly thinking about Him and asking Him
about whatever it is you’re doing, and you will be anointed
and Spirit-led in everything you do. If you’re praying and
asking God for wisdom, He has promised to give it to you
(James 1:5).
Jesus can save you a lot of trouble and a lot of time if you’ll
pray before you start any job. Ask Him to lead you and help
you, even if your prayer is just a few words. You can pray
in a split second and get the answer back quick, but if you
don’t take the time to pray, and you lean on your own under-
standing and your own wisdom, you’re apt to make a sad
mistake (Proverbs 3:5–7).
So ask Jesus about everything—every undertaking, every
problem, every decision—and make sure you’re doing what
He wants you to do, the way He wants it done.

304
OCTOBER 31

The Word of God is the

❧H
foundation of faith.

OW DO YOU GET FAITH?—It’s a

gift of God and is available to anyone who wants it. The
problem is, most people don’t want it until they need it, and
then they suddenly find they don’t have the faith they need
because they have no background of faith in God’s Word, no
foundation. After all, how can they have faith in something
they know little or nothing about?
As no good building is without a good foundation, there is
no solid basis for faith without the Word; faith in God is built
on His Word. So if you feel like you’re weak in faith, there’s a
simple cure: God’s Word will increase your faith.
Faith comes, it grows, by hearing the Word of God (Romans
10:17). As you faithfully read and study the Word, as you
meditate on it and even memorize it, every word will inspire,
strengthen, and increase your faith. Fill your mind and heart
with positive, encouraging, strengthening, faith-building
thoughts from His Word and you’ll soon be amazed at the
faith you’ll have—true faith, the kind that can stand any test,
the kind that works miracles, the kind that lasts, built on the
solid rock foundation of His truth!

305
NOVEMBER 1

Does your Christianity

reach down into your

❧K
pockets?

ING DAVID ONCE SAID that he

would not give to the Lord that which cost him nothing
(2 Samuel 24:24). It doesn’t really count until it costs you
something to give, until you are sacrificing and can say,
“The love of Christ compels me” (2 Corinthians 5:14).
Remember the widow who gave her last two mites? When
Jesus saw that, He said she had given even more than
the rich who had only cast in a little of their abundance.
Although a mite was the smallest of all coins—only part
of a penny—those two mites were all she had, so the Lord
gave her more credit than He did the rich. She gave even
more than it seemed she should, and Jesus honored her for
it (Mark 12:42–44).
“Give, and it will be given to you” (Luke 6:38). That promise
has never failed. That is a law of God, more sure than the law
of gravity. You can even give everything you’ve got and still
not hurt because God will bless you for it. If your motive is
right, God will bless you for giving by giving you more.

306
NOVEMBER 2

Take one step for Jesus,

and He will come through

❧A
for you.

RE YOU READING THE WORD? Are

you obeying the Word? Are you taking time with Jesus? Are
you praying and praising and listening to Him? Are you
taking time to love Him, most of all? If you’re doing these
things, Jesus will never fail you. He can’t fail you, because
He has promised in His Word that if you will meet those
conditions, He will bless and care for you.
If you will take these small steps, He will take the bigger
steps—the steps that help you overcome obstacles and get
you over the mountains of problems you face. But until you
take those small steps, He can’t take the bigger steps for you.
If you just stand there and expect the Lord to do everything
without demonstrating any faith or obedience, then you’re
not going to get very far. He will do what you can’t do, but
you have to do your part first.
Take one step for Jesus, and He’ll take one for you,
Then take another step for Jesus; He’ll take two for you.
Then take another step for Jesus; He’ll come through for
you.
Then take another step for Jesus; He’ll get you over that
mountain.

307
NOVEMBER 3

❧T
It’s never too late for love.

HE SIMPLE LOVE OF GOD AND

EACH OTHER CAN SOLVE ALL OF OUR PROBLEMS. His love is
the answer to everything: It saves souls, forgives sins,
satisfies hearts, purifies minds, redeems bodies, wins friends,
and makes life worth living. It can survive almost any
difficulty, difference, weakness, shortcoming, failure, fault,
sin, or obstacle. It’s the only truth, the only way, and the
only peace.
Love even has creative power, because God is love and He is
the Creator (1 John 4:8). His love can change wrecks of lives
into wonderful, productive, happy, warm, glowing sons and
daughters of God. It can do anything. Nothing can resist the
power of God’s love. Whatever it touches it changes. It’s so
beautiful! There’s nothing like it. It can heal every disease
and cleanse every stain. It’s all-powerful.
Love knows no hours or days. Love is always, for love is God
and God is always. It’s like a stream, a river that just keeps
flowing no matter what, because of the dew of Heaven,
Jesus.
Ah, love, you’ve found me at last
In my heart is a song!
I dreamed of love in the past
I have waited for you so long!
Oh, love everlasting,
Now all my dreams will come true.1

1
308 Paul Francis Webster (1907–1984).
NOVEMBER 4

Faithfulness in little things

❧N
is a great thing.

EVER BELITTLE ANY TASK THAT

THE LORD HAS GIVEN YOU, because even things that may
seem little are important to Him. You may think that what
you’re doing now isn’t very important, but you just might
be in school for something that’s more important than you
realize. The Lord tests you first with little things, and the
more He finds He can trust you with, the more He gives you.
He knows that if you’ll do little things diligently, faithfully,
and well, then He can trust you with big things. Jesus said,
“He that is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much”
(Luke 16:10).
Little things are big in God’s eyes. God runs the whole world
on small things, and He judges us by small things. The
world and the entire universe and God’s kingdom are made
up of small things. Without the small things, none of the big
things would be here.
(Prayer:) Help us, Lord, to learn how important the little
things are, and help us not to fail in even the least of them.
Your Word says, “It is required in stewards, that a man be
found faithful” (1 Corinthians 4:2)—full of faith and faithful
at their tasks. Help us to be faithful in all things, small and
great.

309
NOVEMBER 5

“Be not weary nor faint in

❧I
your mind” (Hebrews 12:3).

T CAN BE A STRUGGLE TO LIVE. It

takes faith and courage and a lot of fight! The trouble with
some of us is that we stop trying in trying times. Some
people faint in their minds. They give up mentally and they
give up spiritually.
But God says, “Men ought always to pray and not to faint”
(Luke 18:1 KJV), and, “Be not weary in well doing, for in
due season ye shall reap if you faint not” (Galatians 6:9).
The will is powerful! “The spirit of a man will sustain him
… but who can bear a broken spirit?” (Proverbs 18:14).
Strong faith and a strong will have many times overcome
seemingly insurmountable handicaps!
When you’re weak and incapable and insufficient, then God
has a chance to be strong and capable and sufficient in you.
So don’t give up too soon; don’t get rescued prematurely;
don’t quit just before the victory. Anything wonderful can
happen in that little margin of time when you do not give
up, but keep on believing and keep on praying! You’ll never
be sorry you trusted Him. You’ll be glad throughout all eter-
nity that you held on and kept on keeping on for Jesus!

310
NOVEMBER 6

After the darkest night

in world history, we
are going to have the

❧T
brightest dawn!

HE FAST APPROACHING NIGHT IS

GOING TO BE THE NIGHTMARE OF THE GREAT TRIBULATION,
and the day, the coming of Christ.
Things have got to get worse before they can get better, but
in spite of the horrors of the growing darkness of this world,
we know that it’s all going to work out right in the end. The
darkest hour is just before dawn!—And the faster it gets
worse, the sooner it’s going to get better! So keep looking
up!
We have to go through a dark place of trials and tribula-
tions, but then we’re going to come out into the sunshine on
the other side and all these things will be blotted out like
an evil dream! One of these days Jesus is going to stop the
world and we’re going to get off, away from all this worldly
confusion and into the peace and the quiet and the beauty
and the love and the wonder of that wonderland beyond in
heavenly places with Him! Just a little longer, then dawns
His glorious morn!

311
NOVEMBER 7

It’s wonderful to hear from

❧G
Heaven yourself.

OD EXPECTS HIS CHILDREN—those

WHO know Him personally and know His will and His
Word—to make a direct, personal contact, rather than
relying on somebody else’s faith or prayers. That’s why the
most important thing that any Christian can learn—and
each new Christian has to learn it himself—is how to follow
God and hear from Heaven fresh every day.
You can hear from Heaven every day, and you should. Most
of what you receive will probably come from Jesus because
He is our link with the Father, our Mediator (1 Timothy 2:5).
He doesn’t always speak in an audible voice. You may just
hear that “still small voice” inside of you (1 Kings 19:12),
and sometimes He may not even use words. He doesn’t have
to communicate in words; He can just give you an impres-
sion or a picture or an idea.
If you really believe and ask Jesus, you won’t be disap-
pointed, and that which you see or hear with the eyes or
ears of your spirit, that’s the Lord. It will be such a comfort
to you! If you really want to hear Him, He’ll talk to you. You
just have to have faith. Jesus speaks anytime and anywhere,
if you believe!

312
NOVEMBER 8

Are you on the spot? Turn

around and put God on

❧G
the spot!

OD LOVES TO PRECIPITATE A
CRISIS! He sometimes lets things happen to make us pray and
believe Him for the answer. He wants us to take a definite
step of faith by making specific requests and expecting
specific answers. Specific prayer puts both God and us on
the spot, but it is also a sign of our faith, which pleases God.
Some people are afraid to ask God for definite answers to
prayer for fear they won’t get them—and that might be a re-
flection on their spirituality, or even hurt God’s reputation!
“What if He doesn’t answer prayer? What will people think
of our faith and our God?” So they just generalize in order
not to be pinned down, in case they don’t get an answer.
But God loves to be put on the spot because He knows He’ll
never fail. He’ll never fail as long as we meet the conditions,
exercise our faith in prayer, and obey His Word. And when
He answers, it will be a testimony to His Word and His faith-
fulness, as well as to our faith in expecting a specific answer.
So tell Him exactly what you need or want done, and He
won’t fail!

313
NOVEMBER 9

Does your heart break for

❧C
the world?

AN YOU REMEMBER WHEN YOU

WERE LOST AND LONELY without Jesus and there seemed to
be no love, no hope? It ought to break your heart and make
you pray and do everything you can to try to reach others
with the solution to their loneliness and other problems:
Jesus and His love.
You need to hear the heartcry of the world. To love is to
weep with them that weep, to suffer with them that suffer,
and to feel the agony of heart with them whose hearts are
broken. Jesus wept for the multitude. He was weary and yet,
when He looked upon the multitude, He had compassion on
them. He was sorry for them and felt He had to do some-
thing about it; He had to help them (Mark 6:31–34).
(Prayer:) Jesus, make us the blessing You want us to be to
all the lonely, hopeless, helpless hearts that need Your love.
Your salvation brings the joy and the love and the balm that
cleanses and heals every heart. Help us to reach them with
Your precious love and the Good News of happiness and
love that lasts forever. Break our hearts. Melt us. Make us
compassionate. Make us long to help and encourage others,
to point them to You so you can lift and heal them. Amen.

314
NOVEMBER 10

Children are a mission

❧W
field in themselves.

HAT SO MANY PEOPLE FAIL TO

REALIZE is that the world of tomorrow is what the adults of
today make it, according to what they choose to give or not
give the next generation.
“Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them,”
Jesus said, “for of such is the kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew
19:14). Children are the most sincere people in the world.
They’re at the age where they’re beginning to think seriously
about life, and they sincerely want to know and follow the
truth. They’re at an age of malleability, an age of reaching out,
an age of choice, an age of decision. It takes time and patience
and understanding and lots of real love to reach them, but
this age is actually when most people accept Jesus as their
Savior.
“Train up a child in the way he should go,” the Bible
says, “and when he is old he will not depart from it”
(Proverbs 22:6). We need to educate them and inspire them
and encourage them, and most of all we need to point them
to Jesus and build their faith in God’s Word.
Open the door for the children,
Tenderly gather them in,
In from the highways and hedges,
In from the fields of sin.1

1
E.O. Excell (1851–1905) and Mary A. Kidder (1820–1905). 315
NOVEMBER 11

Jesus renounced His

❧T
citizenship in Heaven.

HOUGH JESUS WAS RICH, for our

sakes He became poor, that we through His poverty might
become rich. Jesus not only had to come down and live
amongst us, but He had to be one of us. He had to become a
member of the human community.
He came as a meek and quiet, weak and helpless baby.
He not only adapted Himself to our bodily form, but also
conformed to the human ways of life. He was human. He
got tired. He got hungry. He got weary. He was subject to all
these things, even as we are, yet without sin, that He might
have compassion upon us, know how we feel, know when
we’re footsore and weary, know when we’ve had enough.
God sent Jesus to become a human being in order that He
might better reach us with His Father’s love, communicate
with us on the lowly level of our own human understand-
ing, and have more mercy and patience with us than God
Himself. Think of that!
“He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust”
(Psalm 103:14), having worn that frame Himself, suffering in
it, and dying in it for our sakes. He came down here to our
level that He might take us with Him back up to His. What a
miracle—all for our sakes!

316
NOVEMBER 12

“Christ in you, the hope of

❧C
glory” (Colossians 1:27).

HRISTIAN DENOMINATIONS HAVE

VARIOUS DOCTRINES ABOUT GETTING THE VICTORY. Some
say that everybody’s got a “good” self and a “bad” self, and
the only way to get the victory is to get the good self on top
of the bad self and hold him down. They call it “the
doctrine of suppression.”
Others preach the doctrine of eradication: Yes, you’ve got a
good self and a bad self, and the only way to get the victory
is to have the bad self cut out, and throw it away like a can-
cer. “Now I’m all good!” Self-righteous and holier-than-thou
is what they really are!
The true doctrine of the Holy Spirit is neither one! You
will never get the victory by holding down that bad self or
resisting that temptation or weakness in your own strength.
Neither will you ever get the victory by thinking that you
can have God cut out the bad self once and for all and leave
only the good self. There is no such thing as good self! Even
the apostle Paul said, “I know that in me (that is, in my
flesh) nothing good dwells” (Romans 7:18).
True victory is not found in ourselves, but in Himself—Jesus.
“Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our
Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:57). Only Jesus is good
enough, but He’s good enough for us all!

317
NOVEMBER 13

❧I
Why does God allow wars?
“
F THERE IS AN ALL-POWERFUL GOD
BEHIND THE SCENES,” people often ask, “why would He
allow such horrible wars? Why doesn’t He put a stop to all
that if He’s in control?”
Although God hates war and its bloodthirsty perpetrators
and is soon going to intervene, He hasn’t yet because in so
doing He would have had to put a stop to one of the basic
aspects of His great design: man’s choice.
Man brings all this evil upon himself through his own sins.
He dies by his own hand because of his refusal to receive
the truth, follow God, and obey His Word (James 4:1–3). If
enough people would turn to the Lord, repent, and ask for
His forgiveness, He would lift the curse and there would
be no more wars—but they won’t! So He has to let the wars
come. He has to let man bring all these horrors upon himself,
to show what a mess mankind is without Him.
“Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the
children of God” (Matthew 5:9 KJV). Join the peacemakers
and help bring peace to the hearts, minds, and souls of men
through the Prince of Peace, Jesus, who will soon take over
and set things right!

318
NOVEMBER 14

Thank God for the oil

of His Spirit that makes
everything run smoothly
and quietly, without

❧H
friction.

ARDLY ANYTHING MECHANICAL

in this world can function well without some kind of oil or
lubrication. Where moving parts rub together, they create
friction. Friction creates heat, heat creates fire, and fire
causes parts of the machine to burn up, consume. But oil
that’s poured on parts of a mechanism that are squeaking
makes those parts run quietly and smoothly, without
complaint.
Our spirits, like machinery, need cleaning and oiling. If we
didn’t have the oil of the Holy Spirit, we would get rusty
and break down or overheat from the friction, seize up, and
come to a dead stop. Without proper maintenance and lubri-
cation, there would soon be no useful motion and we’d be fit
only for the junk pile.
But thank God, His Holy Spirit oils everything—our heads,
our hearts, our spirits, our tongues, and even our feet so
we’ll go and preach the Gospel. He pours in the Holy Spirit,
fills us from top to bottom, and covers every part. Instead
of growling and howling, our machine hums with love, joy,
peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness,
temperance, and other good things (Galatians 5:22–23).

319
NOVEMBER 15

“Unless you ... become

as little children, you will
by no means enter the
kingdom of Heaven”

❧I
(Matthew 18:3).

T PAYS TO BE AS A LITTLE CHILD. In

fact, Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do
not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God”
(Mark 10:14). We’re to be like little children—loving, sweet,
simple believers, in childlike faith believing and receiving
all that the Lord has for us.
Children are samples of the citizenry of Heaven, like little
angels dropped from the sky. They’re so fresh from Heaven
that they understand prayer and other spiritual matters bet-
ter than most adults. They talk to God and He talks to them.
It’s that simple. They have no problem at all getting His ear
with their pure, simple, childlike faith. It is given to chil-
dren to be rich in faith. Faith just comes naturally to them.
They have faith to believe anything God says, and with them
nothing is impossible.
The problem with many grown-ups is that they know too
much. They’ve been educated out of their childlike faith. But
there are others of trusting childlike faith who are daily doing
things that doubting intellectuals say can’t be done. So be like
a little child, and anything wonderful can happen!

320
NOVEMBER 16

The world has abandoned

faith in God for the
teaching of evolution, and

❧B
the result is total chaos.

Y ABANDONING GOD, the Bible,

and Christianity and putting nothing in its place except the
animalistic religion of evolution, the world is plunging itself
into total anarchy and total confusion. There cannot be any
kind of order without some moral basis, a code of conduct, a
sense of right and wrong, good and evil.
The logic of evolution is, if you’re just a beast, then live like
one. After all, if there’s no planner, then there’s no plan. If
there’s no ruler, then there are no rules. If there’s no judge,
then there’s no judgment. If there’s no God, then there’s no
right or wrong. If life is only “the survival of the fittest,”
then there are no crimes (Romans 1:28).
To abandon the Ruler, God, they had to throw away all the
rules, and the result is total anarchy. To abandon the One
who gives the orders, they had to abandon order, and the
result is total chaos. To get rid of God, they had to get rid of
the absolutes, the right and the wrong, the meaning and the
reason for things, and the result is total insanity, madness,
that has the world hell-bent for destruction! “They sow the
wind, and reap the whirlwind” (Hosea 8:7).

321
NOVEMBER 17

God will use everything

you’ve got, if you’ll let

❧T
Him.
“
HE GIFTS AND THE CALLING OF
GOD ARE IRREVOCABLE” (Romans 11:29). God doesn’t
change His mind when He passes out the talents. He knows
who to give them to, and since God was preparing you for
His service even before you were saved, He’s undoubtedly
going to use every talent He’s given you sooner or later if
you’ll be patient and faithful.
God needs you and would surely like to use you to help
other people. There’s much work to be done, and God needs
every ounce of talent that you’ve got. You would be wise
to ask God what He wants you to do. Size up the situation:
“This is my calling, but not that. These are my talents, but
not those. This is what God wants me to do—this, but not
that.” Don’t miss the blessings God has in store for you
by missing the job He’s gifted you for. Invest your talents
wisely and well, and you will reap great reward.
(Prayer:) Lord, You know what’s best. Show me Your place
for me, the job and place in Your kingdom for which I’m
best suited, and then give me the faith and courage and
determination to do it.

322
NOVEMBER 18

“Those that seek Me early

shall find Me”

❧Y
(Proverbs 8:17 KJV).

OU OUGHT TO TRY A LITTLE

PRAYER TIME EVERY DAY, early in the morning before
beginning your day’s work, asking Jesus to help you, lead
you, and guide you. When you first wake up, before you do
anything else, talk to Jesus. Get your orders from Him for
the day. You’ll be amazed at how He’ll solve a lot of your
problems before the day even starts, if you will simply listen
to what He has to say.
But if you go plunging into your day’s work without stop-
ping to talk to Jesus and get your directions from Him,
you’ll be like a musician who decided to have his concert
first and then tune his instrument. Begin the day with the
Word of God and prayer, and get in harmony with Him first
of all.
Don’t ever think that it’s too hard to pray or you haven’t got
time to pray. The busier your day, the more reason you have
to pray and the longer you ought to pray. If you’ll just spend
a little more time praying, you will find that you’ll spend a
lot less time working to get things done later. If your day is
hemmed with prayer, it is less likely to unravel. It’s just that
simple!

323
NOVEMBER 19

“He will reward every man

according to his works”

❧W
(Matthew 16:27).

E CAN’T EARN OR WORK FOR

SALVATION; IT’S A GIFT. But we can earn special praise and
special commendation from the Lord and we can work for
rewards. God is no respecter of persons when it comes to
salvation (Acts 10:34), but when it comes to works and
accomplishing something for Him and His kingdom, He is a
great respecter of persons.
Heaven is not going to be a classless society. In Heaven,
there will be all kinds of grades and levels of reward, just
like there will be all kinds of grades and levels of punish-
ment for the unsaved. Each person will shine with a differ-
ent glory, depending on how much they did for the Lord.
Some of the Christian heroes of the faith who were living
saints in giving their lives in love so others could be saved
will be where they deserve to be, at the top, near the Lord’s
court. But some Christians who ignored His call to service
and lived selfishly all their lives will be rewarded poorly.
Are you accomplishing all you can for God? Will He say
to you, “Well done, good and faithful servant; you were
faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many
things. Enter into the joy of your Lord”? (Matthew 25:21).

324
NOVEMBER 20

The safest place in the

world is in the center of

❧N
God’s will.

O MATTER WHERE YOU ARE, or

how you are, or what you are, or what’s against you, God
will keep you safe if you are in the center of His will. It’s a
charmed circle where you live a charmed life. “The name of
the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are
safe” (Proverbs 18:10). “He who dwells in the secret place of
the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the
Almighty” (Psalm 91:1).
Don’t run outside that circle of God’s will and protection, or
God may allow Satan to give you problems. We can suffer
sometimes for our sins of carelessness, prayerlessness, haste,
and disobedience to the Lord. God is bound by His own
rules and laws, and He can’t protect you when you violate
the rules. When you’re out of His will, He may even allow
you to fall prey to the snares of the Devil.
(Prayer:) Help us to stay close to You, Lord, in the center of
Your will. Then we know we have nothing to fear because
we’re also in the center of Your provision and protection and
blessing, and can trust You utterly because we know we’re
being obedient and doing Your will. Amen.

325
NOVEMBER 21

“One’s life does not

consist in the abundance
of the things he

❧L
possesses” (Luke 12:15).

IVING, THE REAL THING, doesn’t

consist of things at all, because things cannot truly satisfy.
They may temporarily satisfy the body, but they can never
satisfy the soul or the spirit of man that cries out to God its
Father for the joy and happiness and eternal fulfillment that
only He can give.
If you think that things will ever satisfy you, look at the un-
saved rich. They’ve got everything, yet something’s missing;
the things of this world will never satisfy their souls. It can
satisfy their bodies, but not their hearts. And when they do
satisfy their flesh, they’re not happy for very long, because
the flesh can never get enough. The more they get, the more
they want, because this world doesn’t satisfy the needs of
the spirit. Only God can do that.
“Life,” Jesus says, “is more than things.” It doesn’t really
matter how few or how many things you have. It’s what’s
inside that really counts—love and joy and true happiness
in your heart, and peace of mind. The greatest of all riches
are yours for the asking. The most valuable thing you can
possibly have is Jesus, and He’s the key to all the rest
(Romans 8:32).

326
NOVEMBER 22

The way to be happy is to

make others happy.

❧ A
LL OF US HAVE BEEN GUILTY OF
GETTING DOWN IN THE DUMPS. It’s a terrible state to be in,
especially because we can never be down in the dumps
alone. We always drag somebody down with us. We can’t
keep our problems and our draggy spirits to ourselves.
Others can just take one look at us and know that we’re in
the dumps. We can’t hide a bad spirit that radiates gloom
and doom any more than we can hide a good spirit that
radiates happiness and light.
When we’re down in the dumps, we want everybody to be
miserable with us; we want everybody to sympathize and
be sad with us. That’s human nature. But it’s godly nature to
try to encourage and cheer up others, even when we need
cheering up ourselves.
Happiness is what you make it. It’s a spiritual law of God,
just as sure as the law of gravity, that we don’t get happy by
trying to make ourselves happy or by trying to get some-
body else to make us happy. We don’t find happiness by
chasing it. We get happiness by trying to give it to other
people. If we go around trying to make others happy, then
happiness will find us. Sooner or later it will catch up with
us, and we’ll find we’re happy too.

327
NOVEMBER 23

God waits for you to

❧Y
command the situation.

OU’RE IN GOD’S HANDS, but in a

way He’s also in yours. If you’re doing your best to obey
Him and be in His will, and desiring those things that please
and glorify Him; if you’re doing the right thing, love Him,
and have faith in His Word, then He’s already promised to
answer prayer (Psalm 37:4; 84:11; Matthew 7:7–8;
John 15:7).
So much of what God does depends on what and how you
pray. He has limited Himself and His operations to your faith
and your requests. “You do not have, because you do not
ask” (James 4:2). He’s just waiting on you to command the
situation.
God’s overall plan has never changed, but in certain details
you can change His mind, otherwise there would never be
any point in praying. If prayer doesn’t change things, why
pray? Prayer moves the hand and heart of God. He enjoys
using us. He enjoys putting the majesty and the power of
His omnipotence in the hands of frail men and women. So
pray!

328
NOVEMBER 24

Who do you trust for your

salvation—yourself or

❧M
God?

ANY PEOPLE ASK, “How can you

say that you have the truth? There are hundreds and hundreds
of religions in the world and all of them think that theirs is
the only right one. Who’s to say which of them is the right
one?” Well, people are wrong about there being hundreds of
religions. Actually there are really only two. Granted, within
these two religions there are many different sects and
differences of opinion, but there are, in fact, only two.
One religion consists of all faiths that believe that they can
earn their own salvation by doing good deeds and keeping
various religious laws and commandments. This comprises
most of the faiths of the world. The other religion consists
of those who know they are incapable of saving themselves
and look to God alone to save them. It all comes down to
one simple question: Do you think you can save yourself by
earning your salvation by being good, or do you realize that
you need a Savior to rescue you from your sins and short-
comings? If you know you need help from above to make it,
then Jesus is for you.
My hope is built on nothing less,
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.
On Christ the solid Rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand.1

1
Edward Mote (1797–1874). 329
NOVEMBER 25

❧J
We owe Jesus everything.

ESUS WAS WILLING TO DIE FOR US

TO SAVE US, and He wants us to be willing to sacrifice to
help Him save others (1 John 3:16). He bought and paid for
us with His own blood. We’re His property; we belong to
Him now. Jesus saved our souls for eternity, so of course we
should do what He asks of us, which is to try to win as
many others as we can.
Jesus didn’t go halfway to the cross for us, or almost all the
way; He went all the way and gave His whole life for us. The
main job He came to do was to die on that cross, and so the
main job we’ve got to do is to bear our cross. He said, “If
anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and
take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires
to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My
sake will save it” (Luke 9:23–24).
We can only find the fullness of faith that we seek in the
path of complete obedience, when we’re really willing to
take up our cross and deny ourselves, yielding our pride and
our will to follow Jesus. Then He will give us the power to
follow as we surrender to Him.

330
NOVEMBER 26

God’s will for you is what

❧B
He made you for.

ELIEVE IT OR NOT, God has a

special and unique calling for you—something that only
you can do. He is the One who designs both the jobs and the
tools to get those jobs done. He knows what kind of tool you
are. He knows which job you’re best suited for and what He
wants to use you for, so you’d better do what He knows you
can do best. Find the job that God has gifted you for, and
then stick to it.
If everybody would only be willing and satisfied to fulfill
their calling and not want any more or any less, God could
greatly use them and make them very happy. But we some-
times make ourselves unhappy by being dissatisfied with
what God has given us to do for Him because we haven’t
learned, as the apostle Paul did, to be content in whatever
state we’re in (Philippians 4:11). We all need to learn to be
satisfied and thankful for the place and ministry God has
given us.
“Make your calling and election sure. For if you do these
things, you will never fall” (2 Peter 1:10 NIV).

331
NOVEMBER 27

God loves us with a

❧I
perfect love.

T’S A DIFFICULT THING, trying to

describe God’s love. Human words and expressions fall
short. It’s remarkable, astonishing! I’d say it’s unbelievable,
but I do believe it because I’ve seen it and experienced it.
God doesn’t love us because of who we are, or because of
our accomplishments. He doesn’t even love us because we
love Him. He just loves us because He loves us! He made us,
He knows everything about us, and yet He loves us so!
If people could just understand the magnitude of the Lord’s
love, how truly unconditional it is, how vast and deep and
wide and unending it is, it would solve so many of their
problems. They would find freedom from so many of their
fears and worries and condemnation. When we are secure
in His love, we know that He is going to cause everything
to work together for our good, because He is in control of
every detail and His hand on our lives is so perfectly loving.
It’s sad when people don’t realize or believe how much God
loves them. They miss that wonderful strength, comfort,
peace, and whole different perspective on life that they
would have if they would only believe His love, accept it by
faith, and love Him in return.

332
NOVEMBER 28

One of Satan’s favorite

❧P
wiles is “wait awhile!”

ROCRASTINATION IS THE DEVIL’S

OWN TOOL to get people to put things off until later. It’s one
of his cleverest weapons. If he sees he can’t stop us, he tries
to delay us. If he can’t discourage us from doing something,
he just gets us to postpone it. “All that is necessary for the
triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.”1
We need to remind ourselves constantly that the most pre-
cious thing we have outside of our souls is our time. Time
wasted is gone forever, and though it is easy to waste, it
can be pretty expensive. Time well spent may cost a lot in
effort and strength and sacrifice and love, but it pays eternal
dividends.
If you put off the job the Lord has given you until every-
thing else is done, it will never get done, because everything
else is never done.
The clock of life is wound but once,
And no man has the power
To tell just where the hands will stop,
At late or early hour.
The present only is our own,
Live, love and toil with a will;
Place no faith in “tomorrow”—
For the clock may then be still.2

1
Edmund Burke (1729–1797).
2
Robert H. Smith (1879–1950). 333
NOVEMBER 29

Why does God allow evil in

❧G
the world?

OD’S WHOLE CREATION IS THE

STRUGGLE BETWEEN GOOD AND EVIL, and He did that for a
reason: to show the difference. If there was no darkness, we
wouldn’t appreciate the light. If we didn’t have the Devil, we
wouldn’t appreciate God and Jesus. There has to be evil in
order to understand good.
In the Garden of Eden, God had to let Adam and Eve eat the
fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil so they
would know the difference. They already had all the good
but may not have understood what good was or how good it
was, because they didn’t have anything to compare it with;
it was all good. They never really appreciated the Garden
until they lost it.
There has to be a little evil and a little bad to help us appre-
ciate the good things. If we didn’t have a few troubles, we
wouldn’t thank God for all the good things. If we didn’t have
problems, we wouldn’t appreciate the solutions He gives
us. God allows the bad things to help us be more thankful
when things are good, and especially to help us appreciate
Him—the good of all goods!

334
NOVEMBER 30

❧W
Be an instant Christian.

E HAVE AN INSTANT SALVATION.

Anyone can receive Jesus right this instant, right this
second, and be instantly saved. And then they can instantly
start to witness and instantly start obeying Jesus. They don’t
have to wait; they can do it right that instant!
“Preach the Word! Be ready in season and out of season”
(2 Timothy 4:2)—but better in season. Try to avoid that out
of season business! Instantly obey, instantly witness, con-
tinue instant in prayer, and instantly serve the Lord every
instant (Romans 12:12 KJV). Be always busy witnessing and
always preaching the Gospel and leading others to Jesus,
always showing Jesus’ love wherever you go, wherever you
are. Love and serve the Lord with all your heart, all your
strength, all your mind, everything you’ve got, right up to
the instant that Jesus returns to whisk you away to Heaven
in an instant, in a twinkling of an eye. Then in an instant,
with one sudden, supernatural, miraculous, mighty wave
of His wand of power––presto! You and all the others who
belong to Jesus will be instantly changed and raised to be
with Him forever (1 Corinthians 15:52).

335
DECEMBER 1

Constant spiritual victory

❧O
means constant battle.

UR PRESENT LIVES FOR THE LORD

are not something about which we can ever say, “I’ve won
the war! Now I can settle down and enjoy life,” because
there are some battles we will have to keep fighting our
whole lives, until our dying day.
It’s a battle every day—especially with our besetting sins
that so easily ensnare us (Hebrews 12:1). Some people seem
to think they can get the victory over a particular weakness
once and for all, and that they’ll never have another battle
with that. In reality, we can expect the Devil to test us the
most on our weak spot, our Achilles heel, our besetting sin,
our greatest temptation. But Jesus always has the victory for
us if we’ll keep going to Him for help. He says, “My grace is
sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weak-
ness” (2 Corinthians 12:9).
It’s thrilling to look back and see our own progress—to look
back down that rugged mountain road we’ve just come over
and to see we’re really getting somewhere—but it’s even
more exciting to look forward and up to heights we’re soon
to attain and views we’re soon to thrill to if we keep fight-
ing, climbing, winning, and don’t quit!

336
DECEMBER 2

“To obey is better than

❧A
sacrifice” (1 Samuel 15:22).

LOT OF PEOPLE TRY TO GO

AHEAD IN THEIR OWN STRENGTH and their own wisdom
and do what they think is God’s will and God’s work, but
we can’t serve God unless we obey God. We can’t just do
what we think is right, no matter how good it might be. Our
best isn’t good enough; it takes God to really do the job
right. Our best, your own human strength or supposed
wisdom, is not sufficient.
Do exactly what the Lord tells you—no more and no less.
King Saul thought he could do better than that, and he lost
his job. He had God’s anointing and blessing as long as he
obeyed and waited on the Lord, but when he started going
his own way and disobeying, he lost it (1 Samuel 15:1–23).
There’s no “little” disobedience to God. Any disobedience
is a big one. Nothing short of right is right. It’s either all or
nothing at all with God. You’re either obedient or disobedi-
ent. God’s Word says, “Whoever therefore breaks one of the
least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be
called least in the kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 5:19).
Wait and obey. That’s one of the most valuable lessons you
can ever learn about serving the Lord!

337
DECEMBER 3

Why should certain

prayers take longer to be

❧G
answered than others?

OD ALWAYS ANSWERS OUR

PRAYERS, but not always right away or in just the way we
expect Him to. Sometimes He says “yes,” sometimes He says
“no,” and sometimes He says “wait.”
When we pray for others, there are a number of factors that
affect the whole process, including our will and our condi-
tion, God and His will, and the condition of those for whom
we are praying. We don’t control the outcome of our prayers
completely, others don’t control it completely, and God has
specifically limited Himself not to control it completely,
which is, of course, one reason why we don’t always get the
answer right away. The trouble may be with us, or it may
not be God’s time to act or move, or the trouble may be at
the other end, with those for whom we are praying. But
when the conditions are ready for the result God knows is
best, He will answer.
When God doesn’t grant our request right away, it tests our
faith and draws us closer to Him, but His delays are not
denials (James 1:3). Never doubt for a moment that God is
going to come through, and He will—He has to. Trust Him,
and thank Him for answering your prayer, even if you don’t
see that answer immediately.

338
DECEMBER 4

❧T
Pride doesn’t pay.

HERE IS NO ASPECT OF GOD’S WORK

WHERE PRIDE PAYS. In fact, the biggest failures in the Bible
were the supposed big shots that thought they could do
things in their own strength or natural wisdom, and fell flat
on their faces. Samuel told Saul, “When you were little in
your own eyes, were you not head of the tribes of Israel? And
did not the Lord anoint you king over Israel?” (1 Samuel
15:17). But when Saul became proud and started depending
on his own wisdom and his own arm of flesh instead of the
Lord, the Lord had to abase him.
“Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before
a fall” (Proverbs 16:18). Success often precedes failure,
because if we let that success go to our heads, we’re setting
ourselves up for humiliation.
(Prayer:) Deliver us, Jesus, from the spirit of pride that
causes us to think that we are something great when we’re
not (Galatians 6:3). If we would only remind ourselves how
nothing we are without You, we’d never entertain the sort
of thoughts that lead to that spirit. Help us not to strive to
be big shots that have too big a shot of our own egos, but
rather to have a good shot of You and the Holy Spirit. Keep
us close to You, Jesus, in that sweet place of humble serenity
and surrender in Your arms. Amen.

339
DECEMBER 5

God will confirm His Word

and your witness with

❧G
wonders!

OD IS STILL THE GOD OF MIRACLES,

and what He’s done before He can do again if you need it and
have faith for it. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today,
and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).
Do you know what the word “miracle” means? It comes
from the Latin word miraculum, “object of wonder,” which
comes from mirari, “to wonder at,” which comes from mirus,
“wonderful.” The purpose of miracles is to attract attention
to the message. God often performs miraculous healings and
other miracles to publicize His message.
When Peter and John met the lame man at the Temple gate,
God picked somebody that everybody in town knew had
been lame since birth. Peter and John prayed in the name
of Jesus for the man to be healed, and he was—and all who
saw or heard of it were filled with wonder. They wondered
what was going on, and Peter was ready to tell them. He
took advantage of the opportunity to preach the Gospel, and
over 5,000 people received Jesus (Acts chapter 3; 4:4).
As long as the love of Christ compels you (2 Corinthians
5:14), as long as that’s your motivation, then God will inspire
you and confirm your witness with signs and wonders and
miracles (Mark 16:17–18,20).

340
DECEMBER 6

“We have this treasure in

earthen vessels, that the
excellence of the power
may be of God and not of

❧B
us” (2 Corinthians 4:7).

EFORE I WAS FILLED WITH THE

HOLY SPIRIT, I was so very shy and timid that I could hardly
do anything. But when I was 19 years old, I prayed very
earnestly and asked God to fill me with His Holy Spirit.
Immediately I had new boldness—a sort of fearlessness, a
God-given courage. It no longer mattered to me what others
thought about me, as long as I knew I was right and doing
the right things and saying the right things. As long as I
knew I was in the will of God and doing what He wanted me
to do, then the Spirit of God gave me this boldness. I didn’t
care about myself anymore. I just didn’t matter! I was no
longer self-conscious; I was Christ-conscious.
When the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit on the
Day of Pentecost, they boldly preached to the people (Acts
chapter 2). Peter had been so afraid when Jesus was under
arrest that he denied Him three times. But right after being
filled with the Holy Spirit, Peter preached fearlessly to the
multitudes. Peter’s transformation showed that whatever got
accomplished wasn’t due to any greatness of his own, but
because the power of Christ was in him.

341
DECEMBER 7

“When the enemy comes

in like a flood, the Spirit
of the Lord will lift up a
standard against him”

❧S
(Isaiah 59:19).

OMETIMES LIVING FOR THE LORD

IS A REAL FIGHT, but the Devil can’t prevail against you if
you resist him with the Word of God. The Bible is God’s
standard, like a banner or flag that we can wave in front of
the Devil’s sharp pointed nose to make him flee (James 4:7).
He can’t take the Word.
When the Devil tempts you, what’s the first thing you
should do?—Ask the Lord for a Scripture to answer the
Devil’s lie. That’s what Jesus did. He just quoted the Scrip-
tures. Of course, the Devil also tried quoting Scripture to
Jesus, but he twisted them and took them out of context. So
Jesus just fired Scriptures back at him the way they should
have been applied: “It is written” (Luke 4:1–13). And the
Devil fled!
The best way to stop an attack is to counterattack. The
best defense is an offense. Wage a militant warfare against
the Devil. Pray. Memorize and quote God’s promises to the
Devil, as well as to yourself, to bolster your faith. Put the
Devil out of action with the Word. Bury him in a flood of
the truth!

342
DECEMBER 8

When we see God’s

glorious creation, we know
everything is under His

❧T
perfect control.

HE HEAVENLY SPHERES THAT GOD

MADE OPERATE WITH PERFECT PRECISION, like the wheels of
a great clock. They have moved in their courses, virtually
unchanged in direction or speed, for thousands of years since
God first created them. There’s not a thing out of time or out
of sync or off its bearings in any way, and all of that is going
to endure as long as His throne, which is forever (Psalm
89:36–37).
Think of what marvelous control systems God must be using
to control the universe and everything in it, material and
spiritual. It all operates within certain limitations set by
God and is controlled by His Spirit and marvelous spiritual
controls that guide and influence the Earth and the Sun and
the Moon, the other planets of our solar system, the other
stars of the Milky Way galaxy and their planetary systems,
and the entire universe.
So why should we worry when God’s creation keeps right
on going? It just faithfully goes about doing what God cre-
ated it to do, never questioning, never worrying, and never
faltering, knowing that God is in complete control.

343
DECEMBER 9

You have to follow God to

❧G
find out what to do.

OD HAS ALREADY TOLD US THE

BASICS OF WHAT HE WANTS US TO DO: love Him and love
our neighbor as ourselves (Matthew 22:37–39), and “preach
the Good News to everyone, everywhere” (Mark 16:15 TLB).
But if you don’t know where to start or how to do it, just get
started right where you are and He will lead you. If you
obey what you know God wants you to do, then He will
show you what to do next; and when you obey that, He’ll
give you a little more. Step by step as you follow Him, He
will show you more and more. But if you don’t go, He can’t
show. If you don’t obey, He can’t make a way.
Follow God as though everything depends on Him, which it
does! Do what the Holy Spirit leads you to and you’ll stay on
the right track, know where you’re going, and get there.
He leadeth me. O blessed thought!
O words with heavenly comfort fraught!
Whatever I do, wherever I be,
’Tis God’s hand that leadeth me!1
(Prayer:) Lord, please help us to follow closely, moment by
moment. Help us to obey the leadings of Your Holy Spirit in
every step we make, because if we do that, we’ll never go
wrong. Amen.

1
344 Joseph H. Gilmore (1834–1918).
DECEMBER 10

❧S
Hold on!

OMETIMES WE QUESTION GOD

about why He puts us through the trials and breakings He
does. Well, there are some things that God can’t reveal to us
in advance because we’re not yet ready. He’s got to let us go
through them without our knowing why or what the future
holds, to see if we’ll turn to Him and depend on Him, to see
how loyal and faithful we are, to see how spiritually strong
we are, to see if we will be willing to do whatever He asks. If
He told us the end from the beginning, that would be too
easy—like giving you the answers to a test in advance. That
wouldn’t be a test.
Although it hurts Him to see us suffer, He loves to watch us
make it in spite of all the tests and trials. He loves to watch
us run and win the race, endure the affliction, and fight
through to victory.
If you can stand and pass the test, God will probably use
you for something greater than you’ve done before. In fact,
that’s one of His main reasons for allowing the tests and
trials in the first place: to prepare you for the special job He
has for you. So don’t settle for anything less than His best.
It’s just around the corner and worth it (Revelation 3:11).
Hold on!

345
DECEMBER 11

Everything must be judged

from the standpoint of

❧W
love.

HEN JESUS CAME, He put an end

to all the religious laws of the Old Testament by giving one
law that fulfills them all—love for God and fellow man:
“‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with
all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and
great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall
love your neighbor as yourself’” (Matthew 22:37–39). Jesus’
law of love is all encompassing and goes above and beyond
all of the other laws put together.
God’s only law is now love. As long as something is done in
love—unselfish, sacrificial love, God’s love—then it is lawful
in God’s eyes. We are not judged by how well we keep the
endless, legalistic commandments of the old Mosaic Law
(Galatians 2:16); we are now judged only by how much love
we have and how much we let love guide our actions.
The rule we must go by now in every case is this: Is it done
in love? If you know you’re acting in God’s love, then you
can go ahead by faith, according to God’s Word.

346
DECEMBER 12

The easy way is to believe

the truth, God’s Word; then
you don’t have to learn

❧G
the hard way.

OD GIVES US THE OPPORTUNITY

TO LEARN THE EASY WAY by obeying what we’re told, even
if we don’t always know why. But if we insist on learning
the hard way, God is a good Father and in His love and
wisdom He will let us learn by our mistakes.
God allowed Adam and Eve to go ahead and disobey so they
would learn by bitter experience what they wouldn’t learn
the easy way, by being told, by the Word. When they went
ahead and ate the fruit of the forbidden tree, God had to
apply the rod—and we’ve been suffering for it ever since
(Genesis chapter 3; Romans 5:12). But through Adam and
Eve’s bitter experience, all their descendants, including us,
have learned the rewards of obedience and the consequences
of disobedience.
“All things work together for good to those who love God”
(Romans 8:28). Even our mistakes are profitable as long as
we learn from them. We don’t very easily forget the lessons
we learn that way, but how much easier and better to follow
the path of obedience to the truth of God’s Word!

347
DECEMBER 13

A crown of life is even

❧J
more than a reward.

ESUS HAS PROMISED, “Be faithful

until death, and I will give you the crown of life”
(Revelation 2:10). He’s not talking about your salvation
there. Salvation is a gift of God (Romans 6:23). You don’t
work for it or earn it at all, but your crown is your reward
and even more. It’s not only a reward but also recognition
before all of a job well done. Once we receive Jesus, we’re
saved whether we endure to the end or not, but we’ll be
given special rewards and special honor if we are a special
blessing while here (Daniel 12:3; 2 Timothy 4:7–8; James
1:12).
Of course, you’re going to fall down before Jesus and
cast your crown before His throne like the 24 elders in
Revelation 4:10. Every time you start praising the Lord
you’re going to forget all about that crown and it’s going
to tumble off right at His feet, but you’d better pick it up
again and put it on and wear it proudly, because that’s
why He gave it to you. That’s what’s going to show what
you have done for Him, and He wants the world to see
it—your badge of faithfulness, a crown of life!

348
DECEMBER 14

❧G
Keep the Gospel simple.

OD’S MERCY DOESN’T HANG ON

THEOLOGICAL TECHNICALITIES. Jesus said, “Unless you are
converted and become as little children, you will by no
means enter the kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 18:3). You’ve
got to be a baby, and babies don’t waste their time arguing
over theoretical theological doctrinal shibboleths.
If, as Daniel Webster1 once argued, the Bible was intended
for the instruction and conversion of the whole world, why
should God cover its true meaning in such mystery and doubt
that none but theologians and philosophers can discover it?
It’s the Devil who is the author of confusion (1 Corinthians
14:33). He tries to make salvation seem so complicated or so
difficult that people can’t understand it.
Don’t be led away from the simplicity of the Good News
of God’s love in Jesus (2 Corinthians 11:3). Not everyone
can understand strong doctrine or complicated theological
interpretations, but everyone understands love. So stay on
the main line and stick to the most important points: Jesus
and His love and His salvation. Let’s not argue over doctrine;
let’s get souls saved.

1
Daniel Webster (1782–1852), U.S. lawyer, politician,
and orator. 349
DECEMBER 15

Work together, unite

together, stick together,

❧W
win together!

E ARE MEANT TO BE THE LOYAL

ARMY OF THE LORD, the true King and rightful Heir of
Heaven and earth. We’re fighting against a usurper, an
impostor king, the Devil. Our goal and commission is to
rescue the masses from the morasses of satanic power and
the grip of the Devil on their souls, and to help restore the
kingdom to the King of kings, Jesus Christ.
We must work together hand in hand in the service of the
Lord, against the common enemy. The Devil’s own tactic
all through the ages has been to divide and conquer. If he
can get God’s own people fighting amongst themselves, it
eventually weakens them to the point that they’re unable to
fight the real enemy, and down they go. So let’s not allow the
Devil to divide and conquer us, but rather, let’s conquer him
and his forces.
Things shall grow worse and worse until the end comes,
so we’ll need to work more and more together in greater
strength and unity to overcome the Devil (2 Timothy 3:13;
Ephesians 4:3). For God’s sake, let’s plead with God to help
us be melted together in the white-hot love of His Spirit,
fighting together against the foe!

350
DECEMBER 16

Jesus came to try to make

it as easy for us as He

❧J
could.

ESUS TRIED TO MAKE THE CHRIS-

TIAN LIFE SO EASY THAT ANYBODY COULD LIVE IT. He
walked those dusty roads and talked to the simple fishermen
and the tax collectors and the drunks and harlots to show
them that God loved them all and that they could all love
God, they could all be Christians, they could all love each
other and serve each other and serve the world with the
Gospel.
God changed His whole system when it was proven that
we couldn’t keep His laws. He made a way of escape, a way
of mercy, a way of forgiveness and grace: salvation. Now
nobody has any excuse for blaming their problems on God,
because He has made a way out, a way to get the victory, a
way to overcome our sins and faults and shortcomings and
problems and weaknesses, whatever they may be. Jesus is
the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6). He paid the
price, made the way, and gave us the truth, and He alone can
help us to live the kind of life we ought to live.
He never asks of any of us a standard that is beyond our in-
dividual reach. Whatever He asks, we can do with His help
and by His grace, and through His power and His love we
can attain it (Philippians 4:13).

351
DECEMBER 17

“This is the condemnation,

that the light has come
into the world, and men
loved darkness rather

❧W
than light” (John 3:19).

HY WOULD ANYONE CHOOSE

DARKNESS?—Because darkness seems easier. The light is
blinding and burns out all the darkness. A lot of people are
not willing to let the light destroy their old ways.
When people reject the truth, God allows them to believe a
lie, because after they reject the truth there’s nothing left to
believe but a lie. When they reject God, there’s no god left
for them but Satan. It’s like Adam and Eve in the Garden:
When they believed Satan’s lies over what God had told
them, they ate the forbidden fruit of the tree of the knowl-
edge of good and evil (Genesis chapter 3). Their greatest
sin was not eating the fruit, but rejecting God’s truth and
believing the Devil’s lie instead. Those who want to believe
the Devil’s lies will do so, but the Holy Spirit will show the
Lord’s children what’s true and what isn’t.
Thank God for His Word, which has brought us out of
the darkness of this world into His glorious light and the
freedom of the true Gospel of Jesus Christ. “For you were
once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as
children of light” (Ephesians 5:8).

352
DECEMBER 18

Don’t let the Devil

sidetrack you into
anything less than God’s

❧D
best.

ID YOU KNOW THAT THE DEVIL

SOMETIMES TEMPTS US TO DO GOOD THINGS? Not all
opportunities are of God. Some of them can be tricks of the
Devil—decoys, blind alleys, red herrings, sidetracks, and
downright disasters put there by the Devil to try to distract
you. If he can’t stop you, he’ll try to keep you from doing
the best thing; he’ll try to sidetrack you into wasting your
time on something that he makes you think is good, and
sometimes it is. He tries to distract your attention from the
things you should be most concerned about so that you
become busy with a little here and a little there until the
opportunity to do the most important thing is gone.
How do you tell the difference between the voice of God
and the voice of the Devil? Well, if the voice tells you to do
something bad, you know it’s the Devil. If it tells you to do
something good, you can be pretty sure it is God. It could be
a trick of the Devil, though, so always ask God for a confir-
mation. If the first voice was the Devil, God will tell you to
do something that will prove better in the end.

353
DECEMBER 19

Let Jesus be your “first

love,” and always keep
Him in that place

❧F
(Revelation 2:4).

OR CHRIST TO BE VALUED AT ALL,

He must be valued above all. You must seek first the King
and His kingdom, and to seek first means foremost and
above all—before everything else, above everything else,
beyond everything else, and more than anything else. The
first place must belong to Him.
What Jesus values most from us is our time. To neglect your
fellowship with the King of kings because you’re so busy
with the affairs of the kingdom can be disastrous to your
spiritual life and communion with the Lord. “You shall have
no other gods before Me” (Exodus 20:3)—not even His ser-
vice or lost souls. So it behooves you to give Jesus time, and
you should give Him some time every single day.
If you’ll just put Jesus first and delight yourself in Him most
of all, then He can trust you with other things, because they
will not come between you and Him. They will not super-
sede nor distract, but they will augment your service to
Him and “all these things shall be added to you” in His time
(Psalm 37:4; Matthew 6:33).

354
DECEMBER 20

Desperate prayer means

crying out to God with a

❧A
whole heart.

LL OF OUR LITTLE PRAYERS ARE

WELL AND GOOD. God hears them and knows they’re
sincere, and He answers accordingly. But there should also
be times when we are not satisfied with the usual run of
things, when we really get desperate with God in prayer and
seek Him for a needed change, pouring out our hearts to
Him.
God never fails. He always answers when we stir ourselves
to call upon Him with a whole heart. He says, “You will
seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your
heart” (Jeremiah 29:13). Wholehearted means getting in
the Spirit, really focusing on the object of your prayer, and
praying with a whole soul.
Desperate prayer is good for your own spiritual condition.
It’s good to know that you have really poured out your heart
to the Lord. When do you really pray? When do you really
get in the Spirit? When was the last time you really poured
out your heart in prayer, beseeching God for some particu-
larly serious situation or interceding for someone else? You
should!

355
DECEMBER 21

Don’t let the Devil get you

❧D
down.

ISCOURAGEMENT IS ONE OF THE

DEVIL’S FAVORITE WEAPONS. He tries to get us looking at
our own mistakes, sins, weaknesses, and failures. The Devil,
the accuser of the saints, picks on all the little things, all our
tiny faults. If he can’t discourage us any other way, he tries
to belittle us and belittle what we’re doing. He whispers the
lies that are the most easily believed, either about us or
about other people.
But the Bible doesn’t say to look at yourself or others. It
doesn’t say to look at all the problems and troubles either. It
says, “Look to Jesus” (Hebrews 12:2).
What does it mean to be discouraged?—It means to not be
encouraged, to be without courage, or when courage is at a
low ebb. Discouragement is really a loss of faith.
“Faith comes by hearing the Word of God” (Romans 10:17),
so when you get discouraged, the quickest remedy is to
start praying and reading the Word and quoting Scriptures
and telling the Devil he’s a liar. That’s how your faith will
grow, and as it does, the doubts will flee and you’ll be on
the road to victory again. So when things look darkest, don’t
look down, look up! Start praising the Lord and you’ll often
praise your way right out of the pit into which the Devil is
trying to cast you!

356
DECEMBER 22

The Word is our guide,

our standard whereby we
measure all things, even
the Words that God gives

❧S
us today.

OME PEOPLE THINK THAT THE

LAST TIME GOD EVER SPOKE was to Saint John on the Isle of
Patmos, when John received the book of Revelation, the
final book of the Bible, and that God hasn’t spoken since.
But aren’t you glad that God still speaks to His children
today? Once you’re a growing, maturing Christian, you can
get the guidance and instructions you need for your present
circumstances directly from the Lord Himself.
But how do you know that what you hear is really the voice
of God? How do you test your inspiration? Scripture is the
yardstick; it’s the final authority by which you can measure
anything that’s said. The Lord may give you new details or
clarification, like filling in the gaps, but true revelations will
never contradict the basic principles of the Bible.
Revelations usually come like a quick flash, but then you
have to see if there is a scriptural precedent where such
a thing could have happened before. Look for a similar
situation in the Word. Measure it with the yardstick of the
Scriptures. Weigh it in the balances. Check it out with the
Department of Weights and Measures, the Bible.

357
DECEMBER 23

“We who have believed do

enter that rest”

❧I
(Hebrews 4:3).

F YOU KNOW THAT GOD LOVES YOU

and is going to look after you no matter what happens, you
can have perfect peace and rest in the Lord, knowing He’s
going to take care of everything (Isaiah 26:3). But if you’re
confused and worrying and fretting and fuming, you’re not
trusting. You don’t yet have the faith you ought to have.
The secret of calm and peace, rest and patience, faith and
love is resting in the Lord. Trusting is a picture of complete
rest and peace of mind, heart, and spirit. Put Him first each
day by taking time to bask in His spiritual sunshine, rest in
His arms, drink deeply of His Word, and inhale of His Spirit.
Then even when you may be busy and your body in motion,
your attitude and spirit will remain restful and calm.
There is a place of quiet rest,
Near to the heart of God.
A place where sin cannot molest,
Near to the heart of God.
O Jesus, blessed Redeemer,
Sent from the heart of God,
Hold us who wait before Thee
Near to the heart of God!1

1
358 Cleland Boyd McAfee (1866–1944).
DECEMBER 24

Tonight we commemorate

❧A
Your birth, Jesus.

PRAYER FOR CHRISTMAS EVE:

Thank You, Jesus, for this time to celebrate Your birth. Every
day is like Christmas for us because You’re so good to us every
day, but this time is extra special because You pour out Your
love in extra measure. We feel Your love from loved ones,
acquaintances, and even strangers. There’s just something
about Your birthday that turns people’s hearts and minds to
peace and love and goodwill. It brings out the best in everyone
because it brings You out, and You’re the best!
We thank You most of all for the greatest gift ever—Yourself.
Thank You for coming to earth and living like one of us so
we could understand Your Father’s love, and then for dying
for us so we could experience His mercy and forgiveness.
Thank You for all that went into giving us salvation and
eternal life. You did all that for our sakes! Help us to return
Your love by helping to keep the spirit of Christmas alive
throughout the coming year as we share You and Your love
with those You bring our way. Amen.
O Holy Child of Bethlehem,
Descend to us we pray.
Cast out our sin and enter in,
Be born in us today.1

1
Phillips Brooks (1835–1893), “O Little Town of Bethlehem.” 359
DECEMBER 25

Jesus came for love and

lived in love and died for
love that we might live

❧J
and love forever!

ESUS DIDN’T JUST COME TO EARTH

AND LIVE AMONG US; He had to temporarily renounce His
citizenship in Heaven to become one of us (Philippians 2:6–7).
He came as a meek and quiet, weak and helpless baby, and
conformed Himself to our human ways of life. He was human.
He got tired, He got hungry, He got weary. He was subject to
all these things, even as we are, that He might better reach us
with His Father’s love and communicate with us on the lowly
level of our own human understanding (Hebrews 4:15).
In the end, He suffered for us at terrific price, because of
His love. He was spat upon, cursed, condemned as a crimi-
nal, and despised in death. But as He hung on the cross in
disgrace and agony, dying for the sins of the very ones who
were crucifying Him, He was showing love to the whole
world. “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down
one’s life for his friends” (John 15:13). Jesus is the friend
who loved us enough to lay down His life that we might be
saved—and it all started with a tiny babe in a manger!
Out of the ivory palaces,
Into this world of woe,
Only His great eternal love
Made my Savior go.1
1
360 Henry Barraclough (1891–1983).
DECEMBER 26

With God’s help you can

do anything, go anywhere,
and be anybody He wants

❧G
you to be!

OD DOESN’T WANT YOU TO TRY OR

PRETEND TO BE SOMETHING YOU’RE NOT and couldn’t
possibly be. However, He teaches in His Word that almost
anybody can be almost anything if they have faith and it’s
according to His will.
Too many Christians have been taught two conflicting doc-
trines: first, that they can’t be saintly and perfect; second,
that unless they are, they can’t be saved. Both are the Devil’s
own doctrines! It’s no wonder that a lot of Christians give up
trying to be or do anything for the Lord! But the wonderful
truth of the matter is that you can do anything with Jesus’
help. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens
me” (Philippians 4:13).
So whenever the Devil lies to you and tries to convince
you that you’re nothing and nobody and could never do
anything for the Lord, slap him in the face with Scriptures.
“It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and
the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in
the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me”
(Galatians 2:20). Where sin and human faults and failings
abound, God’s grace does more abound (Romans 5:20). That’s
what it’s all about!

361
DECEMBER 27

“His banner over me is

love” (Song of Solomon 2:4

❧T
NIV).

HE BIBLE TELLS US THAT “GOD IS

LOVE” (1 John 4:8), so we know that the converse is also
true—that love is God. Jesus said the greatest commandment
is to love (Matthew 22:36–40). To love God and our neigh-
bors as ourselves should be what we teach and preach—our
message, our life, our goal, our everything.
Love is an emotion, something that causes us to move into
action to do something good. Then we can move others into
motion by the loving power of God’s Holy Spirit.
So step out by faith and talk to others today about God’s
love, and try to make them happy. There are wonders of
love that you yourself can enjoy along with some other
lonely soul if you will only try. If you give love, you’ll get
love. It multiplies and grows like the bread and the fish or
the cruse of oil and the barrel of meal (Matthew 14:15–21;
1 Kings 17:11–16; 2 Kings 4:2–6). The more you give, the
more you get, and you give and give and give, and you get
and get and get!
Love wasn’t put in your heart to stay.
Love isn’t love till you give it away!1

1
362 Author unknown.
DECEMBER 28

Love, the Lord, the

real values in life—how
worthless everything else

❧O
is!

NLY JESUS CAN REALLY SATISFY

YOUR HEART. He is the answer. But as long as you’re still
looking for the things of this world to satisfy and make you
happy, you won’t find the truth (1 John 2:15–17).
God’s Word warns us “not to be haughty, nor to trust in un-
certain riches” (1 Timothy 6:17). Don’t be like the rich man
in the Bible who wanted to build bigger barns to hoard his
goods rather than share them with others (Luke 12:15–21).
His own soul became barney and materialistic, and he was
deluded by “the deceitfulness of riches” (Matthew 13:22). If
God blesses you with money, don’t trust in money or love it
(1 Timothy 6:10), but trust “in the living God, who gives us
richly all things to enjoy” (1 Timothy 6:17).
You can have your earthly treasure,
Your silver and your gold,
But the Spirit, it’s the Spirit,
That can never yet be sold!
(Prayer:) May we desire, love, and hunger for Your Spirit,
love, and simplicity—the realities, Lord, not the things of
this world that are soon to pass away. “For the things which
are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are
eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:18).

363
DECEMBER 29

❧G
God engineers everything.

OD HAS THE WHOLE WORLD TO

THINK ABOUT, yet somehow He manages to keep everything
under perfect control and ultimately going the direction He
wants it to go. Everything is planned; everything is ordered
in “decency and in order” (1 Corinthians 14:40), and
nothing can happen without His will. Whatever happens is
what ought to happen or what God allows to happen for a
reason. Everything is in His hands and nothing happens
without His will, especially to His children whom He loves
and to whom He wants to be good.
God engineers every situation and has a good purpose for
everything—even our troubles. “We know that all things
work together for good to those who love God” (Romans
8:28). So the next time you find yourself in a situation that
doesn’t look so good to you, take another look. It may not
be immediately apparent, but sooner or later God will turn
your “bad” to good!
(Prayer:) Thank You for always working everything out for
our good, because we love You and You love us, and because
You promised to. Help us to see Your hand in everything,
and help us to hold tight to Your hand through everything,
knowing that You know best and want only the best for us.
Amen.

364
DECEMBER 30

❧T
We’re in a hurry!

IME IS SHORT AND GETTING

SHORTER ALL THE TIME. The end is not far away, so we’d
better get as much done as we can, and get it done fast!
The main thing that we’re short of is time. If we could see
things as God does, we’d no doubt decide that a lot of the
things we place such importance on now can wait till we
get to Heaven. We’ll have all eternity to enjoy those things,
but right now we are living in time and we’ve got very
little of it left.
We should thank the Lord for each day He gives us the
opportunity to serve Him and help spread the Gospel.
Every day is precious. We’d better make hay while the
sun shines. We’d better put our best into what is best
and make it count. The hour is late and we have to do
the works of Him who sent us while it is day, because the
night is coming when no one can work—at least not like
we can now (John 9:4). It’s late and the days are evil, so
we’ve got to redeem the time (Ephesians 5:16). We need to
make every day count and really try to finish the job He
has given us to do.

365
DECEMBER 31

Goodbye, past!

❧A
Hello, future!

S THE YEAR COMES TO A CLOSE,

before the New Year comes in, it’s good to sit down and ask
yourself, “What have I accomplished this past year? Have I
done my best for Jesus, when He has done so much for me?”
Has it truly been His year, lived for Him, by His power, His
strength, and His guidance? Was it spent doing His will?
Did it bear the fruits of His Spirit and the fruits of His
Word? Has it been a year that you’re thankful for because
you’re sure Jesus is pleased with it?
It’s also a good time to count your blessings. What are you
most thankful for during the past year? What prayer or
hope do you have for the New Year? What promise from His
Word do you claim for the New Year?
(Prayer:) Help us, Lord, as we start this New Year, to look
forward with faith. Give us strength to do what You want.
Lead and guide us, and keep us in Your will. Help it to be a
year that we live to the fullest for You. Amen.
Another year is dawning, dear Father, let it be
In working or in waiting, another year with Thee.1

1
366 Frances Ridley Havergal (1836–1879).
 About the Author
David Brandt Berg (1919–1994) and his back-to-
the-basics approach to Christianity started a worldwide
missionary movement.
Berg’s parents were both Christian pastors and
evangelists, and his early years were spent traveling
with them in evangelistic work. In 1941 he nearly died
of pneumonia, shortly after joining the U.S. Army. After
determining to rededicate his life to Christian service, he
experienced a miraculous healing.
For most of the next 27 years he worked as a pastor
and in various evangelistic endeavors until, in 1968, he
received God’s call to take the Gospel to the hippies of
southern California. There he and his then teenaged children
began a ministry to the youth that grew and eventually
became known as The Family International. Today, members
of The Family International engage in missionary and
humanitarian work in over 100 countries worldwide.
Berg called on his followers to devote their full time to
spreading the message of Christ’s love and salvation as far
and wide as possible, unfettered by convention or tradition,
and to teach others to do the same.
Berg also decried the de-Christianization and decay
in values of Western society. He viewed the trend toward
a New World Order as setting the stage for the rise of the
Antichrist, a godless world dictator whom the Bible predicts
will rule the world in the last days before Christ’s return.
Berg’s lively, down-to-earth, and often unconventional
approach to heavenly matters makes his writings an
important and unique contribution to Christian literature.

367
 INDEX
Backsliding
192 Beware of compromise.
248 Everyone has been a prodigal son.
267 The most uncomfortable place for a Christian
279 God never stops loving you!

Chastisement
209 God always corrects us in love.
261 The difference between conviction and condemnation

Children and Parents

104 The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world.
265 “Children are a heritage from the Lord.”
315 Children are a mission field.
320 “Unless you become as little children ...”

Choice / Decisions
131 God gives us the majesty of choice.
133 It’s wise to “wait on the Lord.”
225 Conscience is God’s presence in man.
299 God’s will allows for choice, within limits.
(See also God’s Plan; Will of God)

Comfort and Hope

1 We’re in the best of hands.
58 Let the Lord do the worrying!
176 God can do anything but fail.
202 Thank God for Heaven.
218 The advantage of a handicap
223 God’s sinning saints give us hope.
261 The difference between conviction and condemnation
263 Thank God for tears.
295 You’ll never walk alone if you have Jesus.
300 Earth has no sorrow that Heaven cannot heal.
(See also God’s Care and Protection; Testings and Trials)

Communion
149 “Take, eat; this is My body ...”
289 “Do this in remembrance of Me.”
369
Conviction / Compromise
52 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’
sake.”
120 Know what you believe and stand up for it.
192 Beware of compromise.
277 “I’ll take the mountain!”
287 God allows opposition for a purpose.

Creation / Evolution
14 Only fools say, “There is no God.”
16 God’s creation is His love manifested.
48 The universe is proof of God.
117 The purpose of evolution is to get rid of God.
214 Life is proof of God.
241 Honest scientists acknowledge God.
321 Teaching evolution results in chaos.
343 God’s creation says He’s in control.

Death / Afterlife
101 Deceased loved ones won’t be gone forever.
150 “Dying grace” means no fear of death.
186 Trust God regarding death.

Devil’s Devices
32 Don’t fear the Devil.
192 Beware of compromise.
221 When you decide to serve God, the Devil fights.
247 Jesus wants to be your pressure release valve.
261 The difference between conviction and condemnation
333 One of Satan’s wiles is “wait awhile!”
353 Don’t let the Devil sidetrack you.
356 Don’t let the Devil get you down.

Disasters (see God’s Plan)

Discipleship
111 “We are fools for Christ’s sake.”
112 Every Christian’s duty is to love others into Heaven.
139 “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
147 Only what’s done for Christ will last.
221 When you decide to serve God, the Devil fights.
330 We owe Jesus everything.
370
335 Be an instant Christian.
(See also Service)

Discouragement
46 To drive away the Devil, praise the Lord.
177 Thank God for the good.
261 The difference between conviction and condemnation
356 Don’t let the Devil get you down.
(See also Testings and Trials; Comfort and Hope)

Doubts and Worry (see Faith and Trust; Fear)

Endtime
22 You can know your future!
124 Jesus is coming soon!
187 Nothing can stop us but Jesus.
311 The darkest night and brightest dawn
(See also Jesus’ Return and the Millennium)

Faith and Trust

1 We’re in the best of hands.
3 God’s Word will never pass away.
9 Faith and obedience come first, then God answers prayer.
15 God’s delays are not denials.
20 Faith is doing what God tells you to do today.
26 One of the greatest healing factors is faith.
34 Put faith into action.
43 Don’t worry, God will supply.
55 “I will not doubt ...”
58 Let the Lord do the worrying!
73 To be “faithful unto death,” just be faithful today.
76 God works, and that’s all you need to know!
78 “We walk by faith, not by sight.”
79 Prayer changes things.
87 Trust in darkness ... triumph at dawn.
130 Praise your way to victory.
157 What God has done for others, He can do for you.
161 Faith is impossible without the Word.
165 Take God at His Word.
173 The name of the game is faith and trust.
175 Faith is the title deed.
176 God can do anything but fail.
371
180 Faith for healing is found in God’s Word.
229 God loves a mystery!
243 A baby illustrates faith.
260 “According to your faith be it unto you.”
270 Anywhere with Jesus we can safely go.
298 Faith is ...
301 Little faith limits God.
302 You can’t be God’s fair-weather friend.
305 The Word of God is the foundation of faith.
310 “Be not weary nor faint in your mind.”
313 Put God on the spot.
328 God says, “Command Me!”
338 Why do some prayers take longer to be answered?
(See also Patience; Rest in the Lord)

Faithfulness
27 Winners never quit.
51 If you don’t get the credit here, you’ll get it in Heaven.
73 To be “faithful unto death,” just be faithful today.
113 Only the Lord can keep you faithful.
129 It pays to serve Jesus.
160 Don’t be weary in well doing.
199 The best ability is availability.
205 “She has done what she could.”
217 Our labors are not in vain.
219 Little things make us or break us.
238 Life is like a garden.
273 Do you want a crown?
274 Invest your talents wisely.
290 The Holy Spirit gives us joy in our labors.
309 Faithfulness in little things is a great thing.
324 We will be rewarded according to our works.
(See also Time, Redeeming the)

Fear, Freedom from

32 Don’t fear the Devil.
58 Let the Lord do the worrying!
(See also Faith and Trust)

Fellowship (see Unity)

372
Forgiveness and Mercy
66 God offers us a pardon.
97 Isn’t it wonderful to know Jesus?
182 God’s love is love enough to forgive.
191 Let’s not be so self-righteous.
204 The only difference between us and other sinners
212 Every day, Jesus has to cleanse us.
253 “I desire mercy and not sacrifice.”
279 God never stops loving you!
296 A Christian is not perfect, but he is forgiven.
351 Jesus came to make it easy for us.
(See also Love; Love One Another)

Giving
36 To truly give is to give cheerfully.
116 Whatever you spend, God will repay.
141 It’s impossible to sacrifice for God.
148 If you can’t be a missionary, support one.
168 You can’t take money with you when you die ...
185 “There is one who scatters, yet increases more ...”
226 Give what you’ve got.
306 Does your Christianity reach into your pockets?
(See also God’s Supply; Selfishness / Unselfishness)

God
7 You don’t have to understand God to love Him.
8 Put God to the test. Prove He exists!
14 Only fools say, “There is no God.”
48 The universe is proof of God.
76 God works, and that’s all you need to know!
83 “God is a Spirit.”
119 God is our Sun.
303 God is pictured in His Son.

God, Dependence on
5 The Word of God is like a map.
18 All you have to do is follow Jesus.
88 Ask God to give you revelations to show you what to do.
98 When God gets you out of the way…
119 God is our Sun.
163 Let Jesus lead.
233 “Abide in Me, and I in you.”
373
259 Every product of genius …
292 Turn your weakness into spiritual strength.
317 “Christ in you, the hope of glory.”
344 You have to follow God to find out what to do.
(See also Hearing from Heaven; Righteousness / Self-
Righteousness; Strength and Power)

God, Seek First

30 Deliver us, Jesus, from the spirit of “busyness.”
53 Your most important job is listening to the King.
106 Desire to please the Lord, and He will let you do as you
please.
121 “No good thing will God withhold ...”
140 God won’t take second place to His service.
220 Enjoy life, but enjoy the Lord most.
233 “Abide in Me, and I in you.”
323 “Those that seek Me early shall find Me.”
354 Let Jesus be your “first love.”
363 The real values in life

God’s Care and Protection

40 Nothing happens without God’s permission.
59 God wants you to be happy!
68 Find peace through the Prince of Peace.
174 Miracles come naturally to God.
235 Jesus is better to us than He was to Himself.
257 God makes even “bad” things work in our favor.
268 Praise God for His faithfulness!
295 You’ll never walk alone if you have Jesus.
325 The safest place in the world
364 God engineers everything.
(See also Comfort and Hope; God’s Love; God’s Supply)

God’s Love
4 God can give real meaning to life.
7 You don’t have to understand God to love Him.
16 God’s creation is His love manifested.
59 God wants you to be happy!
123 Jesus is the ultimate manifestation of God’s love.
189 Only God can satisfy our deepest needs.
211 What everybody needs is love!
239 God’s love knows no boundaries.
374
258 God’s love is the reason for it all.
268 Praise God for His faithfulness!
279 God never stops loving you!
308 It’s never too late for love.
332 God loves us with a perfect love.
(See also God’s Care and Protection)

God’s Plan
91 There are some things that God cannot do.
102 The Devil keeps us in line.
258 God’s love is the reason for it all.
266 Why doesn’t God stop atrocities?
318 Why does God allow wars?
334 Why does God allow evil?
343 God’s creation says He’s in control.
364 God engineers everything.
(See also Choice / Decisions; Will of God)

God’s Supply
43 Don’t worry, God will supply.
121 “No good thing will God withhold ...”
129 It pays to serve Jesus.
185 “There is one who scatters, yet increases more ...”
235 Jesus is better to us than He was to Himself.
301 Little faith limits God.
(See also God’s Care and Protection)

God’s Way vs. Man’s Way (see Righteousness / Self-

Righteousness)

Good Example
17 Let others see Jesus in you.
44 “Every Bible should be bound in shoe leather.”
115 You are Jesus’ proof.
156 People don’t need to see perfection.
158 Our spirits are contagious.
215 May you always be known by your love.
283 Be like Jesus.

Grace vs. Law

41 John 3:36 ends all our worries.
54 God’s idea of perfection is love.
375
 72 Grace plus faith plus nothing––that’s salvation!
132 Salvation by grace means once saved always saved.
151 Do all to the glory of love.
169 The blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin.
200 Love is the most important thing in our religion.
296 A Christian is not perfect, but he is forgiven.
329 Who do you trust for salvation?
351 Jesus came to make it easy for us.
(See also Forgiveness and Mercy; Salvation; Sin and
Repentance)

Happiness and Joy

4 God can give real meaning to life.
59 God wants you to be happy!
81 Winter’s over, spring is here!
137 Heaven is here!
162 Everything God created is for our pleasure and good.
166 Let’s get back to the Garden of Eden.
220 Enjoy life, but enjoy the Lord most.
280 We can enjoy a foretaste of Heaven.

Haste (see Patience)

Healing and Health

10 The greatest doctor in the universe
25 “Many are the afflictions of the righteous.”
26 One of the greatest healing factors is faith.
84 Ask for prayer.
96 “By His stripes we are healed.”
149 “Take, eat; this is My body ...”
180 Faith for healing is found in God’s Word.
227 Better to stay healthy than to have to be healed.
237 Healing is a sample of resurrection.
(See also Faith and Trust)

Hearing from Heaven

53 Your most important job is listening to the King.
70 God can give you solutions that make the mountains melt
away.
74 Ask God what He wants to teach you.
88 Ask God to give you revelations to show you what to do.
93 Prayer is most of all letting God speak.
376
138 Pray! Jesus has answers!
145 Start your day right. Hear from Jesus.
181 Turn on and tune in.
196 First impressions are right if you’re following the Lord.
269 You don’t have to know all the answers.
312 Hear from Heaven.
323 “Those that seek Me early shall find Me.”
357 The Word is our standard to measure all things.
(See also God, Dependence on; Revelations)

Heaven
128 “Sown in weakness ... raised in power.”
137 Heaven is here!
184 Heaven on earth will be a literal reality!
202 Thank God for Heaven.
251 “God will wipe away every tear.”
276 Heaven is our home.
300 Earth has no sorrow that Heaven cannot heal.
(See also Rewards)

Holidays and Special Days

1 New Year’s Day
92 Easter: Jesus has left the cross!
207 Every day can be a holiday for Jesus!
359 Christmas Eve: We commemorate Jesus’ birth.
360 Christmas: Jesus came for love.
366 New Year’s Eve: Goodbye, past! Hello, future!

Holy Spirit
19 The baptism of the Holy Spirit is a baptism of love.
56 It is no longer I who burn, but Christ.
77 Be filled with the Spirit of God’s love.
144 You have the Holy Spirit if you ask.
197 Breathe deeply!
281 The Holy Spirit brings us closer to Jesus.
290 The Holy Spirit gives us joy in our labors.
319 The Holy Spirit lubricates.
341 “We have this treasure in earthen vessels…”

Humility / Pride
47 Don’t praise man, praise God.
170 The truly loving are truly humble.
377
194 Be humble, not hard and bitter.
255 God waits for us to pray for help.
339 Pride doesn’t pay.
(See also Righteousness / Self-Righteousness)

Inspiration and Enthusiasm

195 Every calling is great if pursued for God’s glory.
259 Genius is a product of inspiration ...
290 The Holy Spirit gives us joy in our labors.

Jesus
92 Jesus has left the cross!
108 Jesus learned obedience through the things He suffered.
123 Jesus is the ultimate manifestation of God’s love.
142 Jesus took the sins of the world on the cross.
164 There is power in Jesus’ name.
169 The blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin.
171 Jesus is the door.
244 Jesus is the Word of God.
275 Think how much Jesus loves us!
283 Be like Jesus.
303 God is pictured in His Son.
316 Jesus renounced His citizenship in Heaven.
351 Jesus came to make it easy for us.
360 Jesus came for love.
(See also Communion)

Jesus’ Return and the Millennium

23 “Neither shall they learn war anymore.”
124 Jesus is coming soon!
125 In the Millennium, the earth will rejoice.
198 Jesus will reign in righteousness.
216 The meek shall inherit the earth.
217 Our labors are not in vain.
254 Peace on earth will soon be a reality.
297 “Your kingdom come. Your will be done.”

Little People and Little Things

6 Feel like nothing?—God can use you!
195 Every calling is great if pursued for God’s glory.
199 The best ability is availability.
219 Little things make us or break us.
378
309 Faithfulness in little things is a great thing.
(See also Humility / Pride)

Love
45 Love is ...
122 Talents are nothing without love.
126 Love is God’s answer to our greatest need.
151 Do all to the glory of love.
178 Love is more than righteousness.
193 You believe in love as much as you love.
200 Love is the most important thing in our religion.
211 What everybody needs is love!
213 To mature spiritually, we must grow in love.
215 May you always be known by your love.
294 Wouldn’t it be wonderful ... ?
308 It’s never too late for love.
346 Judge from the standpoint of love.
362 “His banner over me is love”

Love for the Lost

44 “Every Bible should be bound in shoe leather.”
126 Love is God’s answer to our greatest need.
201 The world cries out for love.
286 The greatest job in the world
314 Does your heart break for the world?

Love One Another

122 Talents are nothing without love.
170 The truly loving are truly humble.
193 You believe in love as much as you love.
200 Love is the most important thing in our religion.
215 May you always be known by your love.
283 Be like Jesus.
294 Wouldn’t it be wonderful ... ?
362 “His banner over me is love”
(See also Relations with Others)

Marriage
62 “It isn’t good for man to be alone ...”

Miracles
2 The best is yet to come!
379
 8 Put God to the test. Prove He exists!
79 Prayer changes things.
157 What God has done for others, He can do for you.
174 Miracles come naturally to God.

Missionaries
109 Lose your life for others and you will save it.
112 Every Christian’s duty is to love others into Heaven.
141 It’s impossible to sacrifice for God.
148 If you can’t be a missionary, support one.
262 Our job is to make people rich spiritually.
264 The world is your parish.
315 Children are a mission field.
335 Be an instant Christian.
(See also Discipleship; Love for the Lost; Witnessing)

Music
103 “Sing to the Lord a new song!”

Obedience to God
9 Faith and obedience come first, then God answers prayer.
18 All you have to do is follow Jesus!
108 Jesus learned obedience through the things He suffered.
206 Obedience comes before the anointing.
250 Refer to your Maker’s Manual.
270 Anywhere with Jesus we can safely go.
307 Take one step for Jesus…
325 The safest place in the world
337 “To obey is better than sacrifice.”
347 The easy way is to believe God’s Word.
(See also Yieldedness)

Old Age
28 Nothing compares with a life filled with love.

Patience
63 Wait for God to work.
133 It’s wise to “wait on the Lord.”
188 Learning patience is part of our training.
246 “By your patience possess your souls.”
(See also Faith and Trust)

380
Peace/War
23 “Neither shall they learn war anymore.”
68 Find peace through the Prince of Peace.
216 The meek shall inherit the earth.
254 Peace on earth will soon be a reality.
318 Why does God allow wars?

Persecution
52 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’
sake.”
187 Nothing can stop us but Jesus.
287 God allows opposition for a purpose.

Pleasure and Enjoyment (see Happiness and Joy)

Positiveness
134 Everyone is hungry for appreciation.
158 Our spirits are contagious.
210 Let the light in, and the darkness will flee.
236 To win some, be winsome.
(See also Praise)

Praise
46 To drive away the Devil, praise the Lord.
89 Praise down the blessings of God.
130 Praise your way to victory.
177 Thank God for the good.
(See also Positiveness)

Prayer
15 God’s delays are not denials.
35 Be a faithful operator—pray.
53 Your most important job is listening to the King.
63 Wait for God to work.
70 God can give you solutions that make the mountains melt
away.
71 The Devil flees ...
74 Ask God what He wants to teach you.
79 Prayer changes things.
84 Ask for prayer.
88 Ask God to give you revelations to show you what to do.
93 Prayer is most of all letting God speak.
381
 99 We need the encouragement and prayers of others.
138 Pray! Jesus has answers!
143 Prayer is the best you can do for others.
145 Start your day right. Hear from Jesus.
155 Jesus leaves a lot to our concern and prayer.
167 You can pray all the time.
181 Turn on and tune in.
196 First impressions are right if you’re following the Lord.
255 God waits for us to pray for help.
260 “According to your faith be it unto you.”
278 Prayer can do mighty things.
282 There is power in united prayer.
301 Little faith limits God.
304 No matter what else you’re doing, you can pray.
312 Hear from Heaven.
313 Put God on the spot.
323 “Those that seek Me early shall find Me.”
328 God says, “Command Me!”
338 Why do some prayers take longer to be answered?
355 Desperate prayers are wholehearted.

Reading and Viewing

50 Live in the Word.
67 Read a marvelous book, the Bible.
208 Don’t be led away from the simplicity of the Gospel.
(See also Word of God)

Relations with Others

90 Stay close to Jesus and others in the faith.
134 Everyone is hungry for appreciation.
158 Our spirits are contagious.
191 Let’s not be so self-righteous.
213 To mature spiritually, we must grow in love.
222 The best way is the love way.
236 To win some, be winsome.
245 Anybody can find love if they have love.
319 The Holy Spirit lubricates.
(See also Love One Another)

Rest in the Lord

30 Deliver us, Jesus, from the spirit of “busyness.”
57 The secret of peace is resting in the Lord.
382
247 Jesus wants to be your pressure release valve.
358 “We who have believed do enter that rest.”
(See also Faith and Trust)

Revelations, Divine
88 Ask God to give you revelations to show you what to do.
95 Let the voice of God’s Word speak directly to you.
127 The first place to look for God’s will is in His Word.
357 The Word is our standard to measure all things.
(See also Hearing from Heaven)

Rewards
51 If you don’t get the credit here, you’ll get it in Heaven.
80 Give a life you cannot keep for a love you will never lose.
116 Whatever you spend, God will repay.
168 You can’t take money with you when you die ...
185 “There is one who scatters, yet increases more ...”
205 “She has done what she could.”
273 Do you want a crown?
274 Invest your talents wisely.
324 We will be rewarded according to our works.
348 A crown of life is even more than a reward.
(See also Heaven)

Righteousness / Self-Righteousness
12 Salvation is only by grace, never by works.
54 God’s idea of perfection is love.
94 Anything good about us is only Jesus.
111 “We are fools for Christ’s sake.”
178 Love is more than righteousness.
191 Let’s not be so self-righteous.
223 God’s sinning saints give us hope.
253 “I desire mercy and not sacrifice.”
293 Without Jesus’ righteousness, we have nothing.
296 A Christian is not perfect, but he is forgiven.
329 Who do you trust for salvation?
(See also Humility / Pride)

Salvation
8 Put God to the test. Prove He exists!
12 Salvation is only by grace, never by works.
31 Christ stands at the heart’s door.
383
 38 We’re citizens of Heaven by faith.
41 John 3:36 ends all our worries.
66 God offers us a pardon.
72 Grace plus faith plus nothing––that’s salvation!
97 Isn’t it wonderful to know Jesus?
132 Salvation by grace means once saved always saved.
137 Heaven is here!
142 Jesus took the sins of the world on the cross.
166 Let’s get back to the Garden of Eden.
169 The blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin.
171 Jesus is the door.
224 “You are the temple of God.”
230 “Joy in the presence of the angels”
252 Gloriously saved!
255 God waits for us to pray for help.
291 If you’ve been born twice, you’ll die only once.
(See also God’s Love; Grace vs. Law)

Selfishness / Unselfishness
240 We cannot light another’s path without brightening our
own.
245 Anybody can find love if they have love.
(See also Giving)

Service
33 Don’t trade the best for something merely good.
49 “Lovest thou Me? … Feed My sheep.”
80 Give a life you cannot keep for a love you will never lose.
109 Lose your life for others and you will save it.
122 Talents are nothing without love.
129 It pays to serve Jesus.
140 God won’t take second place to His service.
141 It’s impossible to sacrifice for God.
147 Only what’s done for Christ will last.
195 Every calling is great if pursued for God’s glory.
199 The best ability is availability.
205 “She has done what she could.”
217 Our labors are not in vain.
234 “Wait on the Lord.”
267 The most uncomfortable place for a Christian
272 Play the part God created you to play.
277 “I’ll take the mountain!”
384
286 The greatest job in the world
288 1 John 3:16 is our part.
322 God will use everything you’ve got.
330 We owe Jesus everything.
331 God’s will for you is what He made you for.
333 One of Satan’s wiles is “wait awhile!”
335 Be an instant Christian.
365 We’re in a hurry!
(See also Discipleship; Witnessing)

Simplicity
42 It’s wise to be simple.
32 “Unless you become as little children ...”
349 Keep the Gospel simple.

Sin and Repentance

100 “Bear fruits worthy of repentance.”
182 God’s love is love enough to forgive.
204 The only difference between us and other sinners
212 Every day, Jesus has to cleanse us.
225 Conscience is God’s presence in man.
334 Why does God allow evil?
(See also Grace vs. Law; Salvation)

Spiritual Growth and Maturity

74 Ask God what He wants to teach you.
108 Jesus learned obedience through the things He suffered.
146 Jesus can help overcome natural weaknesses.
153 Grow into a mature Christian.
159 “It is God who works in you…”
213 To mature spiritually, we must grow in love.
284 What new Christians need
317 “Christ in you, the hope of glory.”
336 Constant spiritual victory means constant battle.
347 The easy way is to believe God’s Word.

Spiritual Hunger
37 Don’t starve your soul.
50 Live in the Word.
135 God fills hungry souls with good things.
243 A baby illustrates faith.
(See also Word of God)
385
Spiritual Warfare
13 You can’t keep the birds from flying over your head ...
27 Winners never quit.
32 Don’t fear the Devil.
39 “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood ...”
46 To drive away the Devil, praise the Lord.
55 “I will not doubt ...”
71 The Devil flees…
107 We have authority over the Devil.
110 Give no place to the Devil.
130 Praise your way to victory.
210 Let the light in, and the darkness will flee.
285 The Devil can’t win for losing!
336 Constant spiritual victory means constant battle.
342 “When the enemy comes in like a flood ...”
356 Don’t let the Devil get you down.
(See also Conviction / Compromise; Devil’s Devices)

Strength and Power

18 All you have to do is follow Jesus!
21 The most powerful truth on earth
30 Deliver us, Jesus, from the spirit of “busyness.”
56 It is no longer I who burn, but Christ.
61 Learn to live in Jesus’ strength.
64 Learn the power of surrender to God.
71 The Devil flees ...
76 God works, and that’s all you need to know!
82 The secret of victory is the Word.
94 Anything good about us is only Jesus.
111 “We are fools for Christ’s sake.”
133 It’s wise to “wait on the Lord.”
157 What God has done for others, He can do for you.
206 Obedience comes before the anointing.
256 While the world goes to pieces, God’s Word stands.
281 The Holy Spirit brings us closer to Jesus.
310 “Be not weary nor faint in your mind.”
326 Life doesn’t consist of things.
337 “To obey is better than sacrifice.”
340 God will confirm His Word with wonders.
341 “We have this treasure in earthen vessels…”
361 With God’s help, you can do anything.
(See also God, Dependence on)
386
Success and Failure
29 To succeed, yield to God’s will.
146 Jesus can help overcome natural weaknesses.
223 God’s sinning saints give us hope.
231 Keep on believing.
233 “Abide in Me, and I in you.”
347 The easy way is to believe God’s Word.
356 Don’t let the Devil get you down.

Take Action
9 Faith and obedience come first, then God answers prayer.
34 Put faith into action.
190 Do your best, and God will do the rest.
193 You believe in love as much as you love.
206 Obedience comes before the anointing.
249 You can change the world!
333 One of Satan’s wiles is “wait awhile!”
335 Be an instant Christian.
353 Don’t let the Devil sidetrack you.
(See also Time, Redeeming the)

Testings and Trials

3 God’s Word will never pass away.
25 “Many are the afflictions of the righteous.”
40 Nothing happens without God’s permission.
55 “I will not doubt ...”
75 Why God allows the Devil to test us.
82 The secret of victory is the Word.
87 Trust in darkness ... triumph at dawn.
99 We need the encouragement and prayers of others.
100 “Bear fruits worthy of repentance.”
108 Jesus learned obedience through the things He suffered.
130 Praise your way to victory.
173 The name of the game is faith and trust.
188 Learning patience is part of our training.
194 Be humble, not hard and bitter.
203 We’re passing tests all our lives.
221 When you decide to serve God, the Devil fights.
231 Keep on believing.
251 “God will wipe away every tear.”
302 You can’t be God’s fair-weather friend.
310 “Be not weary nor faint in your mind.”
387
334 Why does God allow evil?
336 Constant spiritual victory means constant battle.
342 “When the enemy comes in like a flood ...”
345 Hold on!
356 Don’t let the Devil get you down.
(See also Comfort and Hope; Discouragement; Faith
and Trust)

Thankfulness (see Praise; Positiveness)

Time, Redeeming the

147 Only what’s done for Christ will last.
333 One of Satan’s wiles is “wait awhile!”
365 We’re in a hurry!
(See also Take Action)

Unbelief
8 Put God to the test. Prove He exists!
14 Only fools say, “There is no God.”
204 The only difference between us and other sinners
352 “This is the condemnation ... men loved darkness”

Unity
90 Stay close to Jesus and others in the faith.
228 Meet at Jesus’ feet.
282 There is power in united prayer.
350 Unite and win together.

Vision and Goals

80 Give a life you cannot keep for a love you will never lose.
160 Don’t be weary in well doing.
276 Heaven is our home.
277 “I’ll take the mountain!”

War (see Peace / War)

Wealth and Materialism

37 Don’t starve your soul.
326 Life doesn’t consist of things.
363 The real values in life
(See also Giving)

388
Will of God
11 The best way to find God’s will
18 All you have to do is follow Jesus!
29 To succeed, yield to God’s will.
33 Don’t trade the best for something merely good.
63 Wait for God to work.
88 Ask God to give you revelations to show you what to do.
95 Let the voice of God’s Word speak directly to you.
105 God can open doors that no man can close.
106 Desire to please the Lord, and He will let you do as you
please.
114 “Fleeces” can help us find the will of God.
127 The first place to look for God’s will is in His Word.
131 God gives us the majesty of choice.
133 It’s wise to “wait on the Lord.”
163 Let Jesus lead.
196 First impressions are right if you’re following the Lord.
229 God loves a mystery!
234 “Wait on the Lord.”
270 Anywhere with Jesus we can safely go.
272 Play the part God created you to play.
299 God’s will allows for choice, within limits.
331 God’s will for you is what He made you for.
353 Don’t let the Devil sidetrack you.

Wisdom
42 It’s wise to be simple!
136 God’s Word is like a string of pearls.
208 Don’t be led away from the simplicity of the Gospel.

Witnessing
2 The best is yet to come!
17 Let others see Jesus in you.
24 “First apostles.”
60 Teach others to teach others.
69 Life is in the seed, not the sower.
112 Every Christian’s duty is to love others into Heaven.
115 You are Jesus’ proof.
116 Whatever you spend, God will repay.
152 For successful witnessing, fill your heart first.
154 Only we can sing salvation’s story.
156 People don’t need to see perfection.
389
172 Good news—God is love.
215 May you always be known by your love.
230 “Joy in the presence of the angels”
236 To win some, be winsome.
240 We cannot light another’s path without brightening our own.
249 You can change the world!
262 Our job is to make people rich spiritually.
264 The world is your parish.
271 If you witness, you win!
284 What new Christians need
314 Does your heart break for the world?
315 Children are a mission field.
340 God will confirm His Word with wonders.
344 You have to follow God to find out what to do.
349 Keep the Gospel simple.
362 “His banner over me is love”
(See also Good Example, Love for the Lost; Service)

Word of God
3 God’s Word will never pass away.
5 The Word of God is like a map.
21 The most powerful truth on earth
22 You can know your future!
37 Don’t starve your soul.
50 Live in the Word.
65 Fulfilled prophecy proves the Bible is inspired.
67 Read a marvelous book, the Bible.
82 The secret of victory is the Word.
95 Let the voice of God’s Word speak directly to you.
127 The first place to look for God’s will is in His Word.
136 God’s Word is like a string of pearls.
161 Faith is impossible without the Word.
165 Take God at His Word.
179 Fill your heart and mind with God’s truth.
180 Faith for healing is found in God’s Word.
244 Jesus is the Word of God.
250 Refer to your Maker’s Manual.
256 While the world goes to pieces, God’s Word stands.
305 The Word of God is the foundation of faith.
342 “When the enemy comes in like a flood ...”
357 The Word is our standard to measure all things.
(See also Reading and Viewing)
390
Yieldedness
11 The best way to find God’s will
64 Learn the power of surrender to God.
86 “He who rules his spirit [is better] than he who takes a
city.”
98 When God gets you out of the way, He has a chance.
118 God can make a living saint out of you.
199 The best ability is availability.
232 A tree is a vision of perfection.
272 Play the part God created you to play.
(See also Obedience)

391