Press the arrow to listen to Desperation Band play “Amazed” while reading today’s devotion on victory through worship.

Scripture
Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory. Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry. Colossians 3:1-5

Observation
Worship is the secret of living a life in victory over sin, because it is as we look into Christ that we see the new and improved model of ourselves.

We are hidden in Christ who is in God. There is something new under plastic wrap, boxed in styrofoam of what we will become. When we worship we don’t have to imagine what it would be like to live a life resentment free, lust free, greed free, or corruption free. We don’t have to imagine it because we can see this the new as now in Christ.

The trumpeting victory call is that I don’t have to wait until tomorrow for all things new, I can live tomorrow today. Worship is a telescope that zooms the future into the present so I can start living like heaven today. In worship we are to be looking not just at Christ but also at ourselves. Christ we worship and of ourselves we wonder at the miracle of new creation.

Life at ground level is often discouraging because our greatest enemy is not the devil but ourselves. Worship lifts us up to see better things. Worship gives us permission to play dead to live a new life. We do not need to capitulate to evil as if sin were inevitable. There are better things ahead.

Application
Self-worship is as depressing as meditating on a junk yard. Those who worship Christ have the opportunity of change for they can see themselves in him and live with a better goal in mind.

Prayer
Father, today as I worship Christ give me a glimpse of what I will yet be. Amen.

Press the arrow to listen to Hillsong sing “Higher” (I Beleive in You) as you read today’s devotion about worry-free living.

Scripture
Be anxious for nothing….

Observation
“Fear not.” There is such a reassuring cadence in those words. We heard echo in our mother’s voice soothing down the hallway in the middle of a dark night. We hear those words today through the voice of God. “Fear not” is one of the Father’s favorite things to say. He sprinkles this command liberally throughout the whole of the Bible.

The Father wants us to live fearlessly. It is almost like someone inviting Sir Isaac Newton to live in weightlessness of space. There is a freedom from the grim gravity that grips so many down.

Paul found the secret. He knew how to live well poor or rich. The secret was to look beyond the means and to see the source. Behind it all is Christ and in him there is always enough. With or without things we always have him and he is more than enough. Poverty causes us to desire him more; prosperity reminds us that he is the giver of all.

Application
When I chose to be satisfied with Christ alone I am weightless in a weighed down world. Some are weighed down with worry and others with wealthy, but I can be worry free. This begins with a choice, for that is the only option to respond to a command. Paul did not encourage us to not be anxious; he commanded us not to worry. Fearlessness is the result of obedience.

Prayer
Father, I trust you, totally, thorough, completely. You are my all in all. Amen.

Press the arrow to listen to Kari Jobe sing “Though I Am Not Worthy”

Scripture
[Be] of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; Philippians 2:2-3

Observation
Paul had high expectations: that his multi-cultural church would have one purpose. His church was full of Jews as well as Gentiles, Romans as well as Greeks and Macedonians, slave as well as free, and military as well as civilian. This was Philippi, a Roman colony in Greece filled with retired army officers. Yet Paul called for one purpose.

How can a leader of any group hope for one mind among many?

The secret is found in the next sentence.

Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves.

He called these people to a new level of maturity. He did not ask them to be selfless but to recognize that at the core they were selfish. He did not ask them to stop be conceited, but to recognize that at the core they were self-centered. Once they would recognize their selfishness and conceit they could then make a second choice: not to respond to it.

Each of us is to one degree or another selfish and conceited. We like things our way and think of ourselves if not better than others, then at least not worse than most. Maturity comes not when all selfishness and conceit is purged from me, but when I choose to see it and not respond to it.

Paul showed another way: humility. Selfishness and conceit exist only when look at ourselves in the mirror; humility comes when we look others in the eye. Each human being we meet is crafted in the image of God out of the dust of the earth. We are surrounded by divines who struggle, like we do, with the dust of their character. This calls on one had for profound respect of others, to listen, to value, and to engage. On the other hand, it calls for great tolerance as we see the faults in others that are also in us.

Application
The bottom line is that we really need each other and we need to set up each other for success.

Prayer
Father, I make the choice today to see each person I meet as more important than myself. Amen.

Press the arrow to listen to “Revelation Song” by Kari Jobe while reading today’s devotion.

Scripture
He who digs a pit may fall into it, and a serpent may bite him who breaks through a wall. Ecclesiastes 10:8

Observation
Being clever is a risky thing. There are some who can think ahead, slip in from around from the side and work behind the scenes. They seem to move ahead, sometimes quickly. But there are consequences. The most immediate is that the clever man must keep ahead not just of the pack but of himself. The price of being clever once is that one must be more clever again, and again and again. That can be exhausting. Then like a rubber band that has stretched to its farthest limit, life can snap back to the beginning. Cleverness has its consequences.

The pit dug is a secret trap for an enemy. A wall broken through is a robber’s way to gain entry. These metaphors are images of the clever man ensnaring and snatching to get his way ahead. There are pits and fangs ahead.

So what is the opposite of cleverness? The most convenient word is “candor”. Candor is not speaking one’s mind, but speaking the truth without hidden agendas. The man of candor has a refreshing plainness about him. There is discretion, there is a sense of timing, but when the time is appropriate the heart is as clear as the facts.

Application

I want to be a man of candor. When I reflect through life, the leaders I’ve respected the most have been men like that. It is the safest way to stay out of the pits or to ward of snake bite.

Prayer
Father, show me how to be a man of candor. Amen.