Daily Devotionals

2 Timothy 2:1–7

I’ve been thinking these days about what makes a church effective. It’s on my mind more and more as I’ve rounded the turn into my 80th year of life. What I’ve come to realize is that part of what makes a church a winsome place is when believers live transparently with one another.

The Apostle Paul challenged Timothy, his son in the faith, to push past the facade and live his life in touch with reality:

Proverbs 4:18–23

The older I get the more serious I am about study and preparation. From my early days as a student at Dallas Theological Seminary, I was convinced of the importance of rigorous preparation, deep reading, and a solid theological and biblical education. In fact, I’ve sometimes wished I could’ve had more training—spent more years pursuing an even more scholarly set of skills.

Isaiah 59:1–3

I often hear in my head the lyrics to a delightful tune from the blockbuster movie Mary Poppins: “Just a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down.” I recall as a boy having to take doses of sour medicine, which my mother had sweetened with honey, so I wouldn’t gag as I swallowed.

Sometimes, God has us swallow some bitter medicine too. The medicine often includes the tough pill of truth regarding our sin. The sugar is His grace and kindness and the forgiveness He offers upon our return to our senses.

Psalm 139:13–14, 17–18

Habakkuk 2:19–20

1 Corinthians 15:56-58

The Psalms are full of powerful lyrics that give us a clear portrait of the Lord God. Never is He portrayed as a mild-mannered, passive Deity, hoping and waiting for things to happen. Always He is vigorously engaged in an all-out war against injustice and inequity.

Yet for us as humans, we battle the force of inertia. The antidote for that foe of effectiveness? You guessed it. Heart. It helps to have a passion for serving the Lord. Reflect on these words from the Apostle Paul:

1 Thessalonians 4:13–18

Are you living every day (as if it’s your last) for His glory? Do you work diligently at your job and in your home (as if He isn’t coming for another 10 years) for His name’s sake? Do you shake salt and shine the light every chance you get?

Do you remain balanced, cheerful, and winsome, as you anticipate His return? How easy to live complacent lives, almost oblivious to some of the more obvious signs ofGod’s purposes being fulfilled. The Scriptures encourage a more alert and engaging approach.

Psalm 8

I recall a wise seminary professor saying to us students, “Some things about God are best left to mystery.” What great counsel! We live in such a highly practical, seemingly enlightened age, that we feel the need to explain all the mysteries of the universe. Offering logical explanations for things that defy all logic. But the psalmist reminds us of the benefit of wonder and awe when considering the things of God.

Psalm 2:7–12

Unfortunately, we have grown accustomed to shrugging off lapses in moral character, manifested in secret and deceptive lifestyles. We are frequently told that trying to find people who value honesty and model responsibility, who promote fairness, accountability, loyalty, respect for others, and who hold to strong, upright convictions is not at all realistic.

“Such people don’t exist ... we need to stop requiring personal purity,” they are told. Or, as one misguided soul said during a presidential campaign, “We’re voting for a president, not the pope.”

Isaiah 29:17–21

I love the word serendipity! It’s not only fun to say, but it also describes things that occur wondrously and unexpectedly. Who doesn’t need more of that in life?

Though we often think of discipline and hard work as important characteristics to mark our lives as Christians, healthy levels of spontaneity and surprise should also appear in the list of traits.