“Many are the plans in the mind of a man,
but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.”
– Proverbs 19:21

Perhaps this should be the theme verse for 2020! No doubt everyone reading this post had very different plans for this year than God did. We have been taught a valuable lesson in how little control we actually have over our lives!

The encouragement of Scripture is that while plans change endlessly, God’s purpose does not! We have all learned to plan, re-plan, and re-re-plan this year. However, as we make and change plans, let us never lose sight of the purposes of God that remain before us: to make disciples, to proclaim the Gospel, to glorify God, to love God, our neighbors, and each other, and to shine the light of Christ by our good deeds!

“Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw — each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done.” – 1 Corinthians 3:12-13

Christian, what sort of work have you done for the Lord? God knows whether we’ve done work that was solidly built on the foundation of Jesus Christ using our very best efforts, abilities, gifts, and talents or whether we’ve “phoned it in” to fulfill some obligation or give the appearance of holiness.

Every Christian is called to serve the Lord and advance the Kingdom of God. Every Christian has work to do (Ephesians 2:10). We need to do the work we’re called to and we need to do it well, as an act of worship, with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. At the final judgment, the earnestness of our work will be revealed before Christ’s throne.

While our salvation is assured through faith in Christ, we’ll not want our work revealed to be shoddy or half-hearted. Prayerfully discern what work you should be doing, then prayerfully do that work with everything you’ve got (especially the power of God’s Spirit living in you)![PP1] 

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 [PP1]

“The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.” – 1 Corinthians 2:14

In case you were wondering why non-Christians don’t think the same way you do, don’t agree with your perspective on certain things, and don’t care that “the Bible says so”, this is the reason!

We shouldn’t be surprised when those who haven’t accepted Christ believe we’re foolish or even crazy. We should expect this and rather than be disappointed, confused, or angry, we should be ready to happily explain the best news in the whole world and how it’s changed our lives!

The brokenness in the world around us is obvious – everyone should agree on that. This is our avenue to begin explaining why there’s brokenness (disobedience to God’s perfect design) and how to recover and pursue a relationship with God (through faith in the sacrificial death and physical resurrection of Jesus Christ). This will still sound foolish to our listeners unless God gives them ears and a heart to hear.

So pray. When people think you’re foolish and crazy, don’t get frustrated, get on your knees! Don’t hesitate to share how your life has been transformed by your friend Jesus, but surround that testimony with prayer that God would provide the illumination that reveals that God’s foolishness is actually ultimate and perfect wisdom!

“I will say to the Lord, ‘My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.’” – Psalm 91:2

In this Psalm about God’s faithful protection against terrible enemies, including disease, we are encouraged to find our strength, comfort, and protection in God. During difficult times, God is our refuge, our strength, our fortress.

He is always with us, He always hears us, and He loves us. In Christ He protects us spiritually and gives us the strength we need to face the challenges, turmoil, foes, and fears that surround us! Ultimately He will deliver all who trust in Christ into His glorious presence where we will enjoy peace, comfort, healing, and wholeness forever.

Of course, we must also be wise in what we do in the face of danger. Satan tried to tempt Jesus into testing God by quoting this very Psalm. Jesus rightly rebuked the devil for suggesting that He ever put God to the test. So be wise, take appropriate precautions, and rest comfortably in the strength and protection of the Lord!

“Good sense makes one slow to anger,
and it is his glory to overlook an offense.”
– Proverbs 19:11

This is a startling piece of wisdom in an age of outrage! Many of us have our sense of offense wired to a hair trigger. We may not realize it, but we’re walking around prepared to be offended on a moment’s notice!

God offers a different way. He promises that for those in Him, He is strong enough that we don’t need to take offense so easily. Godly wisdom teaches us to be VERY slow to anger, because our anger is usually ungodly!

As Christians, we need to fully process the truth that as followers of Christ we have been forgiven the terrible offenses we have committed against God. Once we truly understand this, then we’re able to let the Holy Spirit work within us to overlook minor offenses. Certainly we must deal appropriately with sin, but much of what we take offense at these days isn’t actually sin. As Christians, we must understand and celebrate that it’s our glory to overlook such offenses!