Convictions are guided by the Holy Spirit by Jon Walker

March 28, 2010

Convictions are guided by the Holy Spirit by Jon Walker
(This devotional is excerpted from Growing with Purpose, available from Saddleback Resources.)

Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Galatians 5:25 (NIV)

All day I'd been involved in a debate. There was something I wanted to do which I knew other Christians were involved with, but I felt a check from the Holy Spirit telling me I shouldn't.

And as it happened, late in the day, I was working on a project with Rick Warren. He pulled some papers from his printer and handed them to me to read.

When I came to the last page, God ended the day-long debate. There were four words on the paper: "Others can; you cannot."

Sometimes the Spirit leads us to greater restriction than the law requires: "Where others can; we cannot."

The Spirit may even direct us to do more than the law requires, as foreshadowed by Jesus: "If a soldier demands that you carry his gear for a mile, carry it two miles" (Matthew 5:41 NLT).

If we're led by the Spirit, we're no longer under the law (Galatians 5:18). Yet, this doesn't mean we have a license to sin (Romans 6), rather we're now compelled by love instead of law, by faith instead of fear. "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law" (Galatians 5:22-23 NIV, italics added).

Can you see, then, that it takes more faith to walk by the Spirit than to walk by the law? The law is meant to drive us to dependence on the Father as he guides us by the Spirit he's placed within us.

This is not a downgrading of the law, which Jesus said he came to fulfill; rather it gives us the objective to grow-up in Christ, accepting the responsibility to stay intimate with the Law-giver and his rule of Love.

(This devotional is excerpted from Growing with Purpose, available from Saddleback Resources.)

Forgive-again? by Jon Walker (Posted on the Purpose Driven daily email)

Forgive-again? by Jon Walker

March 02, 2010

Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?" Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times." Matthew 18:21-22 (NIV)

Just because someone sins again, doesn't mean you can revoke, in a sense, the forgiveness you've already given. Forgiveness is a choice, so you don't take it back so much as you choose to be offended again.

Peter struggled with this dilemma and thought he was being generous, under Jewish law, when he suggested to Jesus that he should forgive someone up to seven times.

But Jesus emphasized the unlimited generosity of forgiveness by expanding beyond the limits of Peter's capacity to forgive; not seven times, said Jesus, but seventy-seven times.

God's forgiveness is ever-expanding; we can't run beyond its borders; we can't bankrupt the account. In God's refrigerator of grace, the container filled with forgiveness never goes stale and always has a current freshness date.

I'd hate to think my conversion to Christianity is dependent upon being perfect after my conversion instead of being dependent upon God's infinite, indestructible, and immovable grace. If it is dependent upon my perfection, then I fell from the race long ago.

And perhaps you did, too?

There's always a flip side to our conflicts with other people. When we're hesitant to give grace, we forget that we, too, need grace.

Jesus says we will be judged by the standard by which we judge. Is it seven? Seventy-seven? Or, unlimited?

Didn't Jesus say it only had to be seventy-seven? Yes, but he didn't say you couldn't go higher, and he wasn't speaking about his own unlimited capacity to forgive. If each of us only had seventy-seven forgiveness tickets per person per lifetime, then I ran out many, many, many years ago. Thank God that he is faithful to forgive and actively seeking to restore each of us into the family of God.
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This devotional is excerpted from Growing with Purpose, available at Saddleback resources. Copyright 2010 by Jon Walker. Used by permission.

Negotiating forgiveness by Jon Walker

Negotiating forgiveness by Jon Walker

March 01, 2010

For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. Matthew 6:14-15 (NIV)

When it comes to forgiveness, we're tough negotiators. We open with an offer like, "I'll forgive you, if . . . ." Then, we follow with a subtle concession that sounds like a confession: "I can't forgive her until she learns her lesson."

When we think the other side is stonewalling, we take off the gloves: "If I forgive him, he'll just think he got away with it."

We think we're negotiating for God; we think we're negotiating for their souls; we think we're negotiation for justice, when all we're really doing is negotiating for control over the situation.

Truth says we can't conduct these negotiations. We're ambassadors of the King, and we represent, not our own, but the King's intentions as well as his character. The King says forgive and that means we forgive. See the period at the end of the previous sentence? We forgive.

The King's instructions are clear and unambiguous: If you forgive those who sin against you, then the King will forgive you for your sins against him. If you don't forgive those who sin against you, then the King won't forgive you for your sins against him. No room for negotiation there.

Anything else, such as saying, ""I'll forgive him, if . . ." isn't really forgiving; it's just negotiating, and God's court of justice will not recognize contracts made without kingly authority or permission.

The question is not should, if, or can someone be forgiven; the true question is will you make the choice to forgive?

This devotional is excerpted from Growing with Purpose, available at Saddleback resources. Copyright 2010 by Jon Walker. Used by permission.

Jesus came to cleanse; not condemn by Jon Walker

Jesus came to cleanse; not condemn by Jon Walker

February 09, 2010

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son. John 3:17-18 (NIV)

Jesus came to do whatever was necessary to cleanse us of our sins so that we could come home to the Father. Again and again, we see Jesus in the New Testament willing to use his power to heal; we see him willing to use his authority to cleanse.

If, while Earth-bound, Jesus showed compassion for people in need, why would he be any different today? The difference is not with him; it is with the lie within us that whispers God sent his son into the world to condemn it, not to save -- a contradiction of God's Word, which says, "For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned ...." (John 3:17 NIV)

Can you hear the hiss of the serpent saying the yoke of Jesus is heavy and hard, and so we must hide from the Truth?

A man with a dreaded disease once came to Jesus and said, "Sir, if you want to, you can make me clean."

Jesus reached out and touched the man, saying, "I do want to. Be clean!"

At once the man was healed of his disease. (based on Matthew 8:2-3 TEV)

Today, Jesus still says, "I do want to!"

He wants us to be with him in his kingdom. (John 17:24) His whole mission was to "rescue us from the present evil age." (Galatians 1:4 NIV)

Jon Walker is the managing editor of the Daily Hope devotionals and author of "Growing with Purpose," available at Saddleback Resources. Copyright 2010 by Jon Walker. Used by permission.

We are not perfect, but God is by Jon Walker (Posted by Mia Swanepoel on Facebook)

We are not perfect, but God is by Jon Walker
Posted by Mia Swanepoel on Facebook

February 01, 2010

(This guest devotional is an excerpt from, Growing with Purpose, available from Saddleback Resources.)

As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him. 2 Samuel 22:31 (NIV)

We are not perfect; God is perfect
We are flawed; God is flawless.

God takes his perfection, mixes it with the blood of Jesus Christ, and paints his perfection over our imperfection.

God takes his flawlessness, couples it with his strength, and forges it to the flaws that weaken us.

What does this mean?

If you struggle with perfectionism, then ask God to help you deeply understand that he loves you unconditionally. You can not earn your way into his love because he freely gives it. You not only need not be perfect; there is no way you can be perfect. Praise God for Jesus.

"This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus." (Romans 3:22-24 NIV)

If you are frustrated with your flaws, then be honest with God. Ask him to help you see how he works through your flaws and accept your flaws as God's way of keeping you dependent upon him.

"But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me." (2 Corinthians 12:9 NIV)

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Jon Walker is the managing editor of the Daily Hope devotionals. This devotional is copyrighted 2010 by Jon Walker. Used by permission.

Gracious Uncertainty by Jon Walker (Posted by Mia Swanepoel on Facebook)

Gracious Uncertainty by Jon Walker
Posted by Mia Swanepoel on Facebook

January 17, 2010

"I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 18:3 (NIV)
This guest devotional is from Jon Walker, author of "Growing with Purpose."

When my oldest son first started playing baseball, he was still relatively young and not used to a life lived around clocks and calendars. So it wasn't uncommon for him to ask, "Is my game today?" "How many days until Saturday?"

Jesus says this childlike nature is necessary to enter the kingdom of heaven. My son wasn't questioning if something would happen; it was a given that it would. Instead, he was dependent upon my wife or me to tell him when it would happen.

Oswald Chambers, in My Utmost for His Highest, writes "The nature of the spiritual life is that we are certain in our uncertainty." He describes this as "gracious uncertainty," where "we are uncertain of the next step, but we are certain of God." I would add we can be certain of God's grace while being graciously uncertain of the future details of our lives.

With gracious uncertainty, we can be confident in our expectations, knowing our hope in the Lord will not disappoint (Romans 5:5). With gracious uncertainty, we can release the things we have no responsibility for, yet worry about anyway.

My son can be certain I will get him to the ball game, but he need not be concerned about the gas required, the directions there, or even to drive. He can just enjoy being a child and simply live in each moment, trusting I've got a handle on the details and I'll let him know when it's time to go.

If only we all had such faith, no longer requiring God to submit to our clocks and calendars. Our objective-in-Jesus is to grow confident each day that our heavenly Father will come through at just the right time in just the right way.

The Waiting Is the Hardest Part, Part 3 By Jon Walker (Posted by Mia Swanepoel on Facebook)

The Waiting Is the Hardest Part, Part 3
By Jon Walker
Posted by Mia Swanepoel on Facebook

November 12, 2009

"God also said to Abraham, 'As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah. I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her.'" (Genesis 17:15–16 NIV).

(This guest devotional is by Jon Walker, author of 'Growing with Purpose,' and editor of the Purpose Driven Life On-line Devotionals)

Just like you or me, Sarah and Abraham may have thought, "God doesn't understand our circumstances; his commandments are good guidelines, but they simply don't work well in the nitty-gritty of life."

And so Hagar gave birth to Ishmael.

Yet the promise had been that Sarah would be the one to deliver a son for Abraham; so the wait continued, long after reaching the point of desperate frustration--the place where you say, "God, I can't go on any longer!"

You've been there--like the widow knocking on the judge's door, you pray day and night but the shutters stay closed and the door remains shut (Luke 18). Sarah and Abraham knocked on that door for another fourteen years! (Genesis 16:16; Genesis 21:5).

While Abraham and Sarah waited, God made a covenant with Abram, changing his name to Abraham, which means "father of many." And he changed Sarai's name to Sarah, saying she would be the mother of nations and among her off-spring would be kings (Genesis 17 NIV).

Then God sent three mysterious visitors to tell Abraham that Sarah would provide him a son within the year. Sarah laughed, not believing God was about to give birth to his promise (Genesis 18).

Yet, they were totally and wholly dependent upon God to fulfill his promise. Not dependent because they'd obediently submitted everything to God, but totally dependent because they'd exhausted every other possibility.

And that's often why God delays. He's waiting on us to be ready for him.

Finally, God opened Sarah's womb so she could bear Abraham a son in his old age, at the time appointed by God (Genesis 21:2).

Jon Walker can be found on Facebook at GraceCreates with Jon Walker. This devotional is copyrighted 2009 by Jon Walker. Used by permission.

The Waiting Is the Hardest Part, Part 2 By Jon Walker (Posted by Mia Swanepoel on Facebook)

The Waiting Is the Hardest Part, Part 2
By Jon Walker
Posted by Mia Swanepoel on Facebook

November 11, 2009

"Now the serpent . . . said to the woman, 'Did God really say, You must not eat from any tree in the garden?'" (Genesis 3:1 NIV).

(This guest devotional is by Jon Walker, author of 'Growing with Purpose,' and editor of the Purpose Driven Life On-line Devotionals)

And so Sarai took it upon herself to fulfill the promise, no longer trusting God to do his job. The waiting is the hardest part, and Sarai was tired of the wait.

Sitting in a humid tent, she heard the support poles creak; she heard, through the open flaps, a camel snort; and she heard . . . was that a voice, like the hiss of a serpent, saying, "Did God really say your husband would be the father of a family so vast it would surpass the number of stars in the sky?" (Consider Genesis 3).

Perhaps Sarai said, "God can, but he won't." Or maybe she said, "God can't figure this out, but I can." Looking through the tent's door, she saw her servant Hagar, and in that moment she saw the solution, though she didn't see the Pandora's box she would soon open. Perhaps she even thought, "Of course! This is probably the answer God meant for me to see all along."

Sarai believed her assumptions more than she believed God's promise. She wondered why God was no longer on her side--"Why is the LORD keeping this from me?"--instead of confessing she was no longer one with God's will.

Ask God to help you identify the places in your life where you're saying, "The LORD is keeping this from me!" God's interest is that you master the lessons of faith. He wants you to succeed, able to walk further in faith each day. So failure is not defeat; he will continue to teach you--and stretch you--until walking by faith and not by sight is as natural as breathing. Tell God, "I believe; help my unbelief!"

Jon Walker can be found on Facebook at GraceCreates with Jon Walker. This devotional is copyrighted 2009 by Jon Walker. Used by permission.

The Waiting Is the Hardest Part, Part 1 by Jon Walker (Posted by Mia Swanepoel on Facebook)

The Waiting Is the Hardest Part, Part 1
By Jon Walker
Posted by Mia Swanepoel on Facebook

November 10, 2009

"Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children . . . so she said to Abram, 'The LORD has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my maidservant; perhaps I can build a family through her.' Abram agreed to what Sarai said" (Genesis 16:1–2 NIV).

(This guest devotional is by Jon Walker, author of 'Growing with Purpose,' and editor of the Purpose Driven Life On-line Devotionals.)

And so Sarai took it upon herself to solve God's problem. After all, God told Sarai's husband, Abram, that he'd have a huge family, more descendants than there are stars in the sky (Genesis 15).

Sarai waited and waited for God to provide their first descendant, to answer her prayers, to make good on his promise--but the baby didn't come. Every day, the tension and the frustration mounted. As that great theologian and musician, Tom Petty, sings: "The waiting is the hardest part."

Like me--perhaps like you--Sarai began to wonder if God would ever answer her prayers or if he had forgotten about her. Perhaps--like you, like me--Sarai questioned whether God really knew what he was doing.

It appears Sarai's thoughts walked as far as her faith would carry her until she stood looking at the mountains of her fear. Did God understand how important this was to her? How could God deny her the greatest desire of her heart? Was God even on her side?

Even as Sarai acknowledged God's ability to fulfill the promise--"The LORD has kept me from having any children . . . "--she denied God's sovereignty to decide when the promise would be fulfilled.

If we could ask Sarai, "Can God?" she most likely would answer "Yes." If we then asked Sarai, "Will God?" her honest answer may have been "No."

When faced with a delayed answer, do you break with God? What does manipulating an answer to our prayers say about our belief in God's character?

Jon Walker can be found on Facebook at 'GraceCreates' with Jon Walker. This devotional is copyrighted 2009 by Jon Walker. Used by permission.

Snatching from God’s Hands of God By Jon Walker (Posted on Facebook by Mia Swanepoel)

Snatching from God’s Hands of God
by Jon Walker
Posted on Facebook by Mia Swanepoel

November 06, 2009

"Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle. Who is he, this King of glory? The LORD Almighty--he is the King of glory" (Psalm 24:8, 10 NIV).

This guest devotional is by Jon Walker, author of 'Growing with Purpose.'

In Greek mythology, Prometheus stole fire from Zeus and gave it to man.

We, too, steal things from the One True God:

- We steal when we take matters into our own hands, thinking God is too slow or not coming at all;
- We steal when we insist on our own answer instead of being content with God's;
- We steal when we grab for something we want, because we think God won't give it to us;
- We steal when we say we did it when the truth is it only happened because God worked through us.

The problem with this promethean pattern is it destroys our ability to be grateful. If we took it, then we got it no thanks to God or anyone else.

When we snatch things out of the hands of God, it says more about our ability to trust God than it does about whether or not God is trustworthy.

When we grab for what we want, it quite possibly reveals a root of bitterness growing within us, defiling us to think God will not be there for us when we need him (Hebrews 12:15).

When we steal from God's infinite bounty, we're submitting to the lie that we're unworthy to be blessed by God and so we have to take because he's unlikely to give.

Gratitude is one gauge that measures our dependence on God. The more dependent we are, the more grateful we become.

The psalmist sings of gratitude that overflows your soul, compelling you to praise the Almighty, King of Glory: "I long, yes, I faint with longing to enter the courts of the LORD. With my whole being, body and soul, I will shout joyfully to the living God" (Psalm 84:2 NLT).

Jon Walker is the editor of The Purpose Driven Life On-line Devotionals. You can find him on Facebook at ‘GraceCreates with Jon Walker. This devotional is copyrighted 2009 by Jon Walker. Used by permission.

God Is Stronger Than We Think by Jon Walker (Posted by Mia Swanepoel on Facebook)

God Is Stronger Than We Think
by Jon Walker
Posted by Mia Swanepoel on Facebook

"I can do everything through him who gives me strength" (Philippians 4:13 NIV).

This guest devotional is by Jon Walker, author of 'Growing with Purpose.'

We're not as strong as we think we are, but God is stronger than we think.

You become strong through God's strength. His strength enters your life, delivered by the Holy Spirit--Jesus within--and the more dependent you are on God, the stronger in him you become. In our weakness, he is strong (2 Corinthians 12:10).

"I can do everything . . . " doesn't mean, 'Now that I'm a believer, I'm strong enough to do everything and anything for God.' Your own testimony can attest to the fears and failures related to such thinking.

The strength of "I can do everything . . . " comes through God, who gives you the strength you need for each day. Your ability to "do everything" is wholly dependent upon him because your strength is dependent upon him. It's not a strength you work up to by pumping iron with emotional or mental barbells.

Strength comes from submission. The thing you do that may require the greatest strength is to submit yourself completely to God! But God is "working in you, giving you the desire to obey him and the power to do what pleases him" (Philippians 2:13 NLT).

Strength is linked to faith. You believe in faith that God is giving you his strength; and so, in faith you can act in confidence, knowing the strength is there: "But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength" (2 Timothy 4:17 NIV).

Jon Walker is the editor of The Purpose Driven Life On-line Devotionals. You can find him on Facebook at 'GraceCreates' with Jon Walker. This devotional is copyrighted 2009 by Jon Walker. Used by permission.