Devotional

Give the Bible the First and Last Word in Your Life

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by Rick Warren

“If you abide in my word, then you are truly disciples of mine.” (John 8:31 NASB, 1978 edition)

In order to build your life on the Bible, it must become the authoritative standard for your life. It must become the compass you rely on for direction, the counsel you listen to for making wise decisions, and the benchmark you use for evaluating everything.

The Bible must always have the first and last word in your life.

Many of our troubles occur because we base our choices on unreliable authorities: culture (“Everyone is doing it”), tradition (“We’ve always done it”), reason (“It seemed logical”), or emotion (“It just felt right”). Yet, what we need is a perfect standard that will never lead us in the wrong direction. Only God’s Word meets that need: “Every word of God is flawless” (Proverbs 30:5a NIV).

The most important decision you can make today is to settle this issue of what will be the ultimate authority for your life. Decide that regardless of culture, tradition, reason, or emotion, you choose the Bible as your final authority. When making decisions, determine to first ask, “What does the Bible say?” Resolve that when God says to do something, you will trust God’s Word and do it whether or not it makes sense or you feel like doing it.

Move Forward with Confidence

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by Rick Warren

“Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God.” (1 John 3:21 NIV)

You’ve probably noticed that your confidence ebbs and flows. It varies greatly from day to day: One day you’re up, and one day you’re down. What causes that?

In part, it’s about what is going on inside of you. The Bible teaches, “If our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God” (1 John 3:21 NIV). When we face life’s hurts, habits, and hang-ups, it’s important that we walk out of self-condemnation and into the faithful confidence that God forgives us.

What causes self-condemnation?

Unresolved guilt: King David wrote, “There was a time when I wouldn’t admit what a sinner I was. But my dishonesty made me miserable and filled my days with frustration” (Psalm 32:3 LB).

This reminds me of a sign I saw the other day: “A clean engine produces more power.” That’s true in humans, too. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the man who wrote “Sherlock Holmes,” once pulled a prank on 12 prominent Englishmen. He sent them an anonymous note that said, “All is found out. Flee at once.” Within 24 hours, eight of those men had left the country! Guilt destroys your confidence.

Unrealistic expectations: This is also known as perfectionism — the feeling that I must be flawless, that I must please everybody, that I always have to do more, that I’m not allowed to relax.

If you’re a perfectionist, your favorite phrase is, “I should … I must … I ought … I have to …” You’re always doing more.

If you’re an average person, you have three things on your daily “to do” list. You get one of them done, you leave one of them unfinished, and the third one you just forget about. You go home and put your feet up at night and feel good about yourself.

If you’re a perfectionist, you have 29 things on your daily “to do” list. You finish 28 of them, then you go home and feel like a failure! The Bible says, “Even perfection has its limits, but [God’s] commands have no limit” (Psalm 119:96 NLT).

Both guilt and perfectionism cause a lack of confidence in our lives.

You Were Chosen for Ministry

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by Jon Walker

“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” (1 Peter 2:9 NIV)

The Bible teaches that every Christian is:
Created for ministry (Ephesians 2:10)
Saved for ministry (2 Timothy 1:9)
Called into ministry (1 Peter 2:9-10)
Gifted for ministry (1 Peter 4:10)
Authorized for ministry (Matthew 28:18-20)
Commanded to minister (Matthew 20:26-28)
Prepared for ministry (Ephesians 4:11-12)
Needed for ministry (1 Corinthians 12:27)
Accountable for and rewarded according to his or her ministry (Colossians 3:23-24)
This means ordinary people with children and jobs and mortgages and really, really full calendars — in other words, people just like you and me — are called to be ministers from God.

What does this mean?

God shaped you for ministry. The God of the universe shaped you uniquely to make a contribution in this world and the world to come.

God will support you in ministry. There is no way you can fail in your mission unless you fail to accept the calling of ministry that comes with being a Jesus-one.

God will answer your questions. Ask God how he wants you to contribute. Ask him how he wants to use the way he’s created you to uniquely serve him. Ask God, “What kind of God-legacy do you want me to leave?”

Thank God you are among “the ones chosen by God, chosen for the high calling of priestly work, chosen to be a holy people, God’s instruments to do his work and speak out for him, to tell others of the night-and-day difference he made for you” (1 Peter 2:9 MSG).