Devotions

Believing Christians practice a whole catalog of sins, but one of them — unbelief — gives birth of all others. Not the unbelief of agnostics and atheists, but the troubling doubts of those who call themselves by his name! Those who are his children, who say, “I am of Jesus” and yet hold doubt in their hearts. This deeply grieves our Father.

God takes the sin of unbelief very seriously. In fact, Jude warned the church with these words: “I want to remind you, though you once knew this, that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe” (Jude 5).

Jude is reminding them of God’s attitude toward unbelief. God may no longer destroy his people physically as he did in the Old Testament but his judgments on our unbelief today are spiritual and just as severe. 

Unbelief is just as destructive today as it ever was. We may not turn into a pillar of salt or get swallowed up by the earth, as happened in Old Testament days, but we are swallowed by troubles, stress and family problems. Fire does not come down and consume us but our spiritual life is destroyed.

But be encouraged! There is a definite cure for unbelief and it is found in the Word of God. One key verse is found in 1 Peter 5:7: “[Cast] all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.” This is God’s personal word to you today. Another uplifting scripture is, “Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved” (Psalm 55:22).

God invites us, “Don’t carry that burden one hour more. Put it all on me! I care about everything that is happening to you and I’m big enough to take it all for you.” Give your troubles and concerns to him and be fully convinced that he cares!

Every year during the busy holidays, Christians remind themselves of the real significance of Christmas: the coming of Jesus! Our hearts are filled with gratitude that God the Father sent a Savior to redeem us. We enjoy many blessings: seeing colorful presents around the tree in the living room; singing carols and hymns; thanking God for his goodness. Some of us even enjoy watching “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” with Linus quoting from Luke 2 at the end.

We are to be grateful with all our hearts for the blessings we enjoy at Christmas. We know that all good things come from the Father. Yet it is good if we remind ourselves why Jesus came: because we are at war — at war with the powers of darkness, with demonic spirits, with the devil himself. The devil comes into our lives to try to steal, to kill, and to destroy — all in an attempt to derail us from God’s good purposes. With Christ’s birth, God established a beachhead in order to fight the enemy in a new way — in effect, a D-Day landing against the entrenched forces of hell.

Many believers do not want to acknowledge this war in their lives but it is a biblical fact that the enemy of our souls is always on the move against God’s people. Therefore, if our focus during the holidays in only on blessings — even good things like giving and receiving — we miss the fuller impact of Jesus’ sacrifice on our behalf. And we miss out on the deeper, ultimate blessing that Christmas reveals is ours.

God the Father made sure his beloved Son was delivered. All the miraculous victories enjoyed in the name of Jesus for centuries lay there in the humble manger, in the tiny form of a babe.

As we celebrate Christmas, may we be thankful for all of God’s blessings, especially the victory we have because of the birth of the Christ-child.  

Time and again the Gospels portray Jesus as a man of deep and unwavering compassion. After the death of John the Baptist, Jesus withdrew alone on a boat to mourn the loss. He knew John was in heaven, but He hurt for those who were left behind.

When Jesus returned to shore, He saw a crowd of five thousand people gathered to see Him. Matthew records that “He had compassion on them.” So He took five loaves of bread and two fish and miraculously provided food for them all (Matthew 14:14-21). His heart went out to these people who had come to be with Him, and He couldn’t stand to see them hungry. He not only provided food, but He also healed the ones who were sick.

When Jesus saw two blind men on the road to Jericho, He “had compassion and touched their eyes. And immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed Him” (Matthew 20:34). His compassion for these men outweighed any other task before Him at the moment.

On the road between Samaria and Galilee, while going into a small village, Jesus noticed ten men who had leprosy and He healed them (see Luke 17:12-14). The lepers instinctively kept their distance, even from Jesus. Society had shunned them and they were rejected by the world. But Jesus saw them and had compassion on them. He saw them as people in need of a Savior.

How do we respond to the lepers of our day — the outcasts of society? What does our culture do with the poor, the addicts, the alcoholics, the sinners? Does the Body of Christ see them as people in need of help, lost and searching?

We must never forget what Jesus has done for us and for those around us. Without His saving grace we would be just as lost and hopeless as those lepers were. Without Jesus we are nothing and without compassion we have no place in God’s kingdom.

Nicky Cruz, internationally known evangelist and prolific author, turned to Jesus Christ from a life of violence and crime after meeting David Wilkerson in New York City in 1958. The story of his dramatic conversion was told first in The Cross and the Switchblade by David Wilkerson and then later in his own best-selling book Run, Baby, Run.

Centuries before Jesus was born, the prophet Isaiah prophesied that God would send a deliverer to mankind who would liberate mankind, and Jesus himself stood in a Jewish synagogue one Sabbath and reminded the world of this prophecy when he read:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed. . . . Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4:18, 21).

Jesus was proclaiming to the whole world, “My mission on earth is to liberate every bruised life.” Liberate means “to set free from all bondage; to do away with all that oppresses.” If you believe the truth of Christ’s words, then you know he is saying to you, “I am sent to liberate your life, to release your life from all oppression and bondage. I come to set your spirit free.”

Paul preached about “the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Romans 8:21) and urged the Galatians, “Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made [you] free” (Galatians 5:1). 

Christ came to call every believer to live in liberty. If we believe it, why do we go on living the same old miserable way? Is it because we think a life totally free of fear and guilt is just too incredible? Life without a heavy burden of condemnation or depression? Life in the presence of a loving, gentle Savior who care about all our needs?

Does it all sound too good to be true? Well, believe it! Because that is exactly the kind of life Christ wants every one of his children to enjoy. Not just a few of his children, but all of them! This life is freely offered to all who simply trust him for it. 

Suppose one of your children was injured and crying out for your help. As his parent, would you immediately rush to his aid or would you stop to analyze the quality of his trust in you? You would run to his side without hesitation, of course, motivated by love and concern.

What kind of earthly father would leave a child bleeding and hurt simply because the child didn’t voice some kind of faith in him? And the same can be said of our heavenly Father. He will never leave one of his children to suffer alone or shut his ear to their cry simply because their faith in him may be weak.

“If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself” (2 Timothy 2:13).

My faith, your faith, all faith must rest on the kindness and concern of our heavenly Father; we are commanded to glory in his love and everlasting kindness.

“But let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight” (Jeremiah 9:24).

God loves his children so much that he hears before they call. That is why David prayed, “Hear my voice according to Your lovingkindness; O Lord, revive me according to Your justice” (Psalm 119:149).

So many Christians have difficulty grasping the great love of God for them. He loves you and comes to your rescue even when your faith is weak, when you don’t deserve any answer from him — all because of his tenderness and compassion.

“The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy” (Psalm 103:8).

Great peace will flood your life when you become convinced that God deeply loves you. He will rescue you and intervene in every situation of your life. Weak faith or not, nothing can hinder his pure love for you!