April 6 – Co-operating With God

        2 Peter 1:5-7 – "For this very reason, make every effort to add goodness to your faith; and to add knowledge to goodness; and to add self-control to knowledge; and to add perseverance to self-control; and to add godliness to perseverance; and to add brotherly kindness to godliness; and to add love to brotherly kindness."

        Hebrews 12:2 – "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith...."

        While God has made it clear that he has provided all the details for making our salvation sure, walking with God entails some work on our part. The production of the fruit of the Spirit is God's job, as any tree knows that it is a natural thing to produce fruit, as long as the tree is rooted and in good soil. That last phrase is what our part as Christians, is. Just like we are living sacrifices that can wriggle off the altar, so too we can move our roots in and out of good soil and water absorption. If we want God to produce his fruit in us, we must co-operate with him. We cannot be couch potatoes, expecting God to miraculously change our behavior.

        There are many scriptures in which God commands us to behave in godly ways, or to do something, which "triggers" God to do something. For example, James 4:8 states, "Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you." In John 15:5, Jesus stated, "If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit." There is a cause-and-effect, a give-and-take relationship with God. So as we seek, worship, pray, study, act, give, do, even change ourselves (as 2 Peter 1 intimates), God will be faithful to do his part to change us even more, conforming us to his image and likeness.  Paul also states, "We have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. We pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Master, and that you may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work; growing in the knowledge of God; and being strengthened with all his power...." (Colossians 1:9-11)

March 3 – Put Your Hope in God

        Psalm 43:5 – " Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God."

        There are a myriad of answers to the question above. Your situation could be as serious as being a refugee, fleeing a war-torn nation. It could be as frustrating as trying to land a decent-paying job, after applying for hundreds of them. Whatever your disappointing situation is, there is hope to be found - and not just mental hope that is conjured by your own psychological workings to ease a troubled mind – although that is part of the solution.

        King David had his many troubles throughout his life, despite the great victories that God wrought for him. The Psalms are strewn with lines such as this: "I cry aloud to God. Deliver me from my enemies!" Psalm 42 and 43 are actually one Psalm in the original Hebrew writings, which is easily seen after reading both. The theme is a vacillating conversation with oneself, which asks the retorical question above, then answers with the encouragement to self.

        When the details of life do not go my way, I find myself asking God, "What's the deal?" Then I cry out for deliverance, like David does. The last step, then, is to stop my complaining and whining, and to remember to praise God for the good things he is doing in my life. Praise and thanksgiving to God is one remedy to our frustration. He is our savior in this world – not just from our sins – but from all kinds of evil, unfortunate events, wicked men, and bad attitudes, to name a few things.

        So when the anger comes to the top, take a few moments to pause, and remind yourself to put your hope in God, and in the fact that he wants to give you victory. He is your strong tower, your Savior, and the all-powerful one who is on your side (Romans 8:31).