“Then Jesus said to his disciples,

‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.’” Matthew 16:24 – 25

Are you content with your relationship with God? Do you desire a dynamic, deeper, more intimate relationship with Him? If your answer is yes, your decision will certainly cost you.

For years, my relationship with God felt satisfyingly comfortable, yet inwardly, I sensed a static, stagnant, apathetic stupor. My dilemma compelled me to urgently pray for a hungry heart of spiritual discontent — a discontent that only subsides with a wholly surrendered heart and life.

In today’s verse, Jesus unapologetically outlines authentic discipleship: deny self, take up your cross, and follow Jesus. He purposely reiterates His declaration by clarifying that His disciple must lose his life to ultimately find life. In today’s narcissistic world, from birth, we are indoctrinated to value self-worth, self-gain, and self-acclaim. Jesus’ prerequisite for discipleship is unashamedly counter-cultural. At first glance, Jesus’ declaration and expectation seems impossible to accomplish, but for believers courageous enough to confront the grand illusion of a static faith experience, daily self-denial is the non-negotiable cost of deeper intimacy with God.

Are you willing to daily and bravely never be content with your spiritual status quo and to surrender your life for greater discipleship intimacy? If your answer is yes, then your decision commences with audacious ambition, courageous confession, soul submission, and relentless resolve – continuing everyday of your ransomed but rewarding life. Renowned brave-heart missionary, Jim Elliot, concluded, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.”

Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for redeeming my life with your blood. Empower me to become a brave-heart disciple — a disciple never content with a static, stagnant faith experience.  Create a constant spiritual discontent in my heart that can only subside by daily and wholly surrendering my life to your will. Amen.

By Allan Mitchell
Used by permission

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“This is how God showed his love among us: he sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” 1 John 4:9-10

If I asked you to define love, what would you say? Some people may say that love is a strong feeling of affection toward another person. Other people may say that love is caring for another person. Alternatively, some people may say that love is difficult to define.

In today’s ever-changing perplexed world, accurately defining love is challenging, especially when we try to comprehend the mystery and magnitude of God’s love for every human being.

Scripturally, God frequently defines his love as a verb — an unrequited action toward humanity individually and collectively. He emphasizes that he reveals His love for us by sending his Son into the world to reconcile us to himself (John 3:16). John clearly and unambiguously asserts that, despite our lack of love for God, he, reflecting the essence of his character, demonstrated unrequited love for us by sending Jesus as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

The mystery, miracle, and majesty of God’s love is unfathomable to a world that prefers to define love through the unreliable chameleon influence of cultural trends and acceptance.

Ultimately, God’s love is undefinable, unfathomable, unshakable, and unmatchable. Renowned evangelist, the late Billy Graham, once stated, “He knows exactly what we are and loves us anyway.”

Do we fully realize and reflect the influence of God’s love in our lives? Love is the divine essence of God’s character and we should daily seek to fully realize his unrequited love and reflect it to those around us.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank you that your often unrequited and always unmerited love, in sending Jesus, saves me. Equip me with understanding and discernment to comprehend the depth of your love, and empower me to reciprocate and reflect your love to those within my sphere of influence. Amen.

By Allan Mitchell
Used by Permission

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“Therefore we do not lose heart…for our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”  2 Corinthians 4:16a-18

During a difficult season in my life, affliction, anxiety, and doubt clouded my perspective. Overwhelmed by my current reality, my mind contradicted my heart. I slowly began to only see life through an earthly perspective — forgetting that my current circumstances were momentary and would pass. I focused on them instead of choosing to see that the sun still shines behind life’s dark clouds, despite my murky perspective.

In 2 Corinthians 4, Paul implores us to embrace a faith perspective. Christ followers are not exempt from adversity. Regardless of how we perceive life or how overwhelming our troubles appear, Paul assures us they are momentary when seen through an eternal perspective, which he defines as assessing our circumstances through our spiritual eyes and not our physical eyes. When we do that, ultimately, our distresses “are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.”

Do you struggle to embrace a healthy perspective amidst life’s adversity? Often, perspective is a heart matter. God knows your situation. Do not lose heart. Jesus reiterates,

“In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world”  John 16:33

Jesus, who experienced every manner of adversity and persecution yet overcame the world, will empower you to walk by faith and not by sight — to embrace an eternal persevering perspective regardless of life’s adversity so you can be

“…more than conquerors through him who loved us”  Romans 8:37

Dear Heavenly Father, thank you that you promised to be with me in times of trouble. Holy Spirit, help me to fix my eyes on Jesus. Help me to discern life’s adversity with an eternal perspective. Strengthen my resolve to daily immerse myself in your presence and word that I may be able to overcome any circumstance along life’s way. Amen.

By Allan Mitchell
Used by Permission

Learn more about knowing Jesus at: http://thoughtsaboutgod.com/four-laws/

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“You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.’” Matthew 13:7-9

How would you describe your worship experience? In today’s modern church context, many believers describe worship as a contemporary musical liturgy that precedes the traditional Sunday sermon. For many congregants, including me, modern and traditional worship songs captivate and arouse our souls — evoking an emotional euphoria that manifests as a physical and verbal expression of exultation. This experience is common, but is authentic worship more than just our emotional response to creative compositions that glorify God?

In Matthew 15, Jesus reminds us that true worship is more than just lip service. He reprimands the Pharisees and teachers of the law, calling them hypocrites because their pretentious posturing prioritized tradition over the non-negotiable truth of God’s word. To emphasize their error, Jesus quotes Isaiah 29:13 — clearly and unapologetically exposing their hypocrisy. Jesus’ observation reiterates that authentic worship transcends emotional expression and the superficial veneer of outward worship. Sincere worship is a matter of a heart obedient to God’s will and word — reflecting submission, sacrifice, and service.

Are you just going through the motions when you worship the Lord? Are you honoring God with your lips and not your heart? Worship without obedience is vanity. Worship is for God’s pleasure. Let us humbly and reverently come before Him and embrace the true heart of worship.

Dear Heavenly Father, Lord I don’t want to go through the motions when I come before you in worship. May my faith walk, inwardly and outwardly, reflect a sincere heart obedient to your will and word. May I always offer you sweet worship that honors and glorifies your name. Amen.

By Allan Mitchell
Used by Permission

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“’Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?’ . . . Jesus replied, ‘If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.’…. ‘All these I have kept,’ the young man said. ‘What do I still lack?’ Jesus answered, ‘If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.’”Matthew 19:16-22

Have you ever been asked to relinquish something you treasured dearly? As a youngster, immigrating to Canada, I had the unavoidable task of choosing what personal possessions to leave behind. Our family’s belongings had to fit a small shipping. Reluctantly and agonizingly, I confronted the crucible of choice — selecting, surrendering, and submitting to this unsolicited predicament.

In Matthew 19, Jesus encounters a man inquiring about eternal life. On the surface, the man’s reply indicates that he has met the criteria for righteousness, but Jesus discerns that the man’s possessions are an obstacle preventing him from fully following Him. So Jesus asks him to surrender the obstacle.

Jesus doesn’t plea bargain for the man’s heart because He knows that “… where [his] treasure is, there [his] heart will be also.” In a life-changing moment, the man confronts the crucible of choice — assessing the value of his possessions. Regrettably, he concludes that his possessions are non-negotiable and he rejects Jesus’ proposal.

Are you willing to relinquish anything preventing you from experiencing deeper intimacy with Jesus? Ideally, as Christ followers, we should surrender anything that hinders relational intimacy with God. Daily, every believer must confront the crucible of choice, and re-evaluate his or her treasures. Jesus knows surrender and submission are heart conditions and decisions. They are the unavoidable and non-negotiable cost of fully following Jesus.

Lord, create in me a transparent heart. Help me to reevaluate my heart’s treasures — discerning if there is anything in my life that hinders relational intimacy with you. Empower me with the resolve to choose wisely when I confront choice and to daily surrender my heart to your word and will. Amen.

By Allan Mitchell
Used by Permission

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“Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time, ‘Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.’ Jonah 3:1-2

“Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time, ‘Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.’

Is your heart always sensitive to God’s prompting?

I would prefer to answer yes; however, as I contemplate my own response, I recognize that the only truthful answer is emphatically, “no.” Regrettably, many times my heart is enticed by my own selfish cost, comfort, and convenience. Consequently, I endure the calamity of choice — the unavoidable cause and effect of my own disobedience — choosing my will over God’s will.

Can God use a reluctant heart? Absolutely! God’s call is greater than my tendency to disobey.

Interestingly, Jonah’s book begins with God commissioning Jonah to be his representative among the Ninevites. Jonah, refusing to embrace God’s call, encounters the persuasive calamity of his own self-centered choice. Despite Jonah’s obvious reluctance, God never revokes Jonah’s mission mantle; rather, through Jonah’s crisis of circumstance and ensuing prayer, God reiterates Jonah’s call. Ultimately, Jonah’s obedience influences repentance among the Ninevites.

What can we learn from Jonah’s initial response to God’s call? Primarily, when God asks us to embrace his call, we cannot emulate Jonah’s flight, fear, or foot-dragging reaction without consequence. As present-day Gospel custodians, individually and collectively, we cannot allow personal interests and priorities to influence our reluctant response. God calls every Christ-follower to be his hands, feet, and voice. May his enduring grace inspire us to influence our sphere of influence and especially those he calls to become his own.

Dear Heavenly Father, create in me a faithful heart that is sensitive to your prompting. Empower and equip me to be your hands, feet, and voice among those I encounter in my life journey. Amen.

By Allan Mitchell
Used by Permission

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“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”  Proverbs 3:5-6

If someone asked me, “Do you trust in the Lord?” my natural response would be an emphatic, “Yes!”

However, if someone rephrased the question and asked me, “Do you trust the Lord with all your heart?” My response would be less enthusiastic and even less definitive, because during many seasons of uncertainty and adversity, I have questioned God’s sovereignty by foolishly favoring my own understanding.

The advice in this proverb reflects divine insight and wisdom. Trust is an unavoidable rite-of-passage for believers seeking counsel and a deeper, more intimate relationship with the Lord. Relational intimacy without trust is unattainable.

Throughout His life, Jesus, in obedience to the Father, modeled unwavering trust. For Him, trust meant submitting to the Father’s council and will despite circumstance or consequence. Jesus compelled His followers to embrace that same trust — a trust that emphatically resolves to submit to the Father’s will despite personal perception or doubt.

Trusting the Lord with all your heart is a lifelong call and challenge. Remember, trust is not a feeling; trust is an action. Trust is the foundation and heart of authentic, intimate relationship.

How then, as believers, do we respond to the apparent crucible of trust? For me, trust is audaciously choosing to follow Jesus on a long and winding road — around fog-filled curves, through unmarked crossroads, and over clouded peaks and valleys. Unwavering trust is a journey worthy of inconvenience. In hindsight, when we reflect on our apparent arduous journey, we witness a perfectly straight path disappearing into life’s horizon.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for loving me despite my weaknesses and inadequacies. Help me to overcome my fears. May Your Holy Spirit teach me to trust You in every circumstance — with all my heart. In Jesus precious name, amen.

By Allan Mitchell
Used by permission

www.thelife.com/dailydevotions

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“ … Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have…” 1 Peter 3:15

One of my most dreaded childhood experiences was when my teacher would ask me a question. Although I often knew the answer, the question paralyzed me because I was unprepared for the scrutiny. In today’s increasingly secular world, many believers experience a similar paralysis when confronted with an intrusive or challenging question about their faith.

Why are so many believers unprepared for the world’s inquiries and inquisitions? Statistics suggest it’s the thriving epidemic of biblical illiteracy. In Matthew 16:15-16, Jesus asks Peter,

“Who do you say I am?” Peter responds: “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” In Acts 17:3, Paul reiterates: “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Messiah,” Both men boldly proclaim truth, but their concise answers are the result of divine revelation and intentional, disciplined study of Scripture. They had adequately prepared themselves to proclaim the sovereignty and divinity of the Messiah.

Are you prepared to answer spontaneous inquiries about your faith? Christian apologist, Ravi Zacharias observes: “Everyone — pantheist, atheist, skeptic, polytheist — has to answer these questions: ‘Where did I come from? What is life’s meaning? How do I define right from wrong and what happens to me when I die?’ Those are the fulcrum points of our existence.”

In a world desperately seeking answers, believers don’t require a seminary degree to effectively proclaim Christ. They need only willingly prepare their hearts and minds through regularly studying God’s Word so they can effectively proclaim Jesus as the answer the world needs.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for the privilege of knowing You. May Your Holy Spirit help me to prepare my heart and mind to be Your faithful witness. Empower and equip me with Your Word and grant me favor to effectively proclaim Jesus. Amen.

By Allan Mitchell
Used by permission

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“For the Lord gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding;  He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk uprightly; He guards the paths of justice, And preserves the way of His saints.” Proverbs 2:6-8, NKJV

Do you ever reflect on the wrong decisions you’ve made? I do. In retrospect, I re-evaluate my personal decision-making process. Then, I annoyingly retort, “If only I had sought the Lord more before deciding.”

Regrettably, when assessing life’s decisions through a rearview mirror – hindsight is twenty/twenty. How can we overcome the ritual and remorse of unwise decisions and obtain the foresight to make wiser choices?

In today’s complex, tumultuous, and multicultural social environment, many people defer to conventional wisdom for direction and decision-making. However, in Proverbs, Solomon assures us that the Lord is the all-sufficient, accessible source of sound wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. Jesus, the personification of wisdom, reiterates that man is to live by every word that “proceeds out of the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). Paul warns that “the wisdom of this world is foolishness” (1 Corinthians 1:9). Solomon says that God stores wisdom for the upright. James, perhaps alluding to Solomon’s timely insight, reminds us to ask God for His stored up wisdom (James 1:5). God will provide generously – without reproach.

Do you aspire to make wiser choices? Regrettably, many believers defer to conventional wisdom. In today’s perplexed world, God’s wisdom conflicts with worldly wisdom. Therefore, believers cannot allow conventional wisdom to influence their decisions. We need God’s counter-cultural common sense. When you solicit sound wisdom for a dilemma, consider the source. Ask God for wisdom and He will shield you from error, clothe you with knowledge and understanding, and preserve your integrity as one of His Saint.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You that You have sound wisdom stored up for me. Help me to consider You as the primary source of council for life’s decisions. Clothe me with knowledge and understanding and protect me from the wisdom of the world, amen.

By Allan Mitchell

Used by permission
www.thelife.com/dailydevotions

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“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.” Matthew 7:24-25

In today’s consumer crazed culture, Christian communicators and commentators saturate the marketplace with various media to meet believers’ appetite for spiritual insight and clarity. Many of these well-intentioned offerings complement and supplement Scripture; however, many cultivate a divisive theological environment that misrepresents the uncompromising truth of God’s Word.

In the first century, Jewish rabbis roamed Judea with their followers, interpreting, debating, and reiterating God’s Word. Many prominent religious leaders contributed to the conversation by offering their expert opinion and commentary on Scripture.

Just like today, diverse and divisive theology arose which misrepresented God’s word. As the Living Word (the Bible), Jesus assures His followers that His understanding of God’s Word is reliable and infallible. He characterizes a wise man as someone who hears His words and acts on them. James and John reiterate that, as His followers, we must prioritize His Word as our primary counsel and authority, and obediently and faithfully practice it.

Today, Christian books and other teaching tools are an essential element of Christian discipleship. However, believers must discern truth by measuring everything according to the only infallible words of wisdom – the Words of the Living Word. The written Word and the Living Word testify of eternal wisdom, truth, and life.

In today’s diverse and distracting theological environment, we need to keep our eyes on Jesus and prioritize His Word, so that when the rains come…the streams rise…the winds blow—which inevitably they will, we shall not fall.

Thank You that You sent Jesus, the Living Word to lead us into all truth. Empower me, through Your Holy Spirit to faithfully and obediently be a doer of the Word. Amen.

Ask yourself this question: Is God’s Word my primary authority? If your answer is yes, then consider how you can better honor and reflect His Word in your daily life. Write down the steps you feel God is asking you to take to prioritize His Word more. Then set a time to get started.

By Allan Mitchell
used by permission

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“Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.”  John 5:19

Would you consider yourself self-sufficient? Most people would say yes, because from childhood through adulthood, culture teaches us to be self-sustaining individuals. Cultural expectation encourages and rewards self-effort for life’s physical, emotional, relational, and spiritual needs. In fact, people experiencing hardship who then rely on someone or something else for these life essentials are perceived as weak and failures. Is this really the life Jesus models for His followers — a life of self-reliance?

Throughout Scripture, prophets, priests, and kings experience hardship yet humbly acknowledge their personal shortcomings. Inevitably, their greatest triumphs come from relying on and applying God’s will and Word. In John 5, when Jewish leaders confront Jesus about healing on the Sabbath, He humbly declares that He can do nothing except reiterate and model His Father. Jesus is modelling intimacy ? a relationship of total reliance on the Father in word and deed.

God knows that life brings hardship. Trials and tribulations are an unavoidable rite of passage. However, when these things happen, we can experience relational intimacy with our Lord. It is what He wants for us. While his disciples slept, Jesus prayed, “…you are in me… I am in you… May they also be in us” (John 17:21-23). We can boldly and bravely assume a spiritual posture of intimacy and reliance on our heavenly Father for every need. There is no shame or weakness in seeking spiritual sustenance by petitioning the name that provides provision, protection, and perseverance for life’s ongoing journey.

 Dear Heavenly Father and Lord, thank you that you desire an ongoing intimate relationship with me, despite life’s trials and tribulations. Even when I experience hardship, you are willing and waiting for me to fully rely on your provision. Help me to set aside any pride and to surrender self and to understand that when I am weak, I am strong, because you are with me and for me. In Jesus name, amen.

By Allan Mitchell
Used by permission

Allan also writes for
www.thelife.com/dailydevotions

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“For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.” Romans 8:29

God created you in His image and designed an intricate plan for your life—a  plan to redeem, restore, and refine your character to reflect the character of His Son, Jesus. As you journey through your day, I invite you to reflect on my poem:

“Tapestry.”

My life’s a woven tapestry, I so often fail to see,
The perfect weaving of the loom at work inside of me.
Every day, I look unfinished, and find it hard to understand,
My tapestry’s great splendor seeking all my Lord has planned.

In times of pain and suffering, when trust and pain collide,
I long to see the finished work, but I can only view the underside:
A tangled web of knots and threads, caught up in such a mess,
I know His work’s unfinished, and in His tender hands, I rest.
His needlework is perfect, in every stitch His love is told,
The crafting of His handiwork in priceless threads of gold.
I must trust the master weaver, who knows my life’s great plan.
So I’ll let Him sow his perfect will, though I may not understand.

My life’s a treasured tapestry that I shall walk in faith to see,
As I feel the nails as needles sow his tender love through me.
And when His work is finished on the topside may I see,
The perfect image of my Savior, on my life’s great tapestry.

You are a living tapestry—a masterpiece in progress—created to authentically reflect God’s image and glory.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for sending Your Son to redeem me and for the gift of the Holy Spirit. Help me to realize I am a work in progress and to keep my eyes on Jesus. May His refining fire sanctify my soul and transform my character and heart to reflect Jesus. Amen.

Before you begin your busy day, ask yourself today, how can I become more like Jesus? Ask the Holy Spirit to help you to become more like Jesus—to see the world and those around you through His eyes.

By Allan Mitchell
used by permission

photo credit: Russ Seldel  Creative Commons License

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