MARCH 26.

THE 365 PLAN.

G.o.d has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

2 TIMOTHY 1:7.

PEPPERED THROUGHOUT THE SCRIPTURES, we hear a message spoken repeatedly by G.o.d, prophets, and angels: "Fear not." In fact, this encouragement is found 365 times. A coincidence? I don't think so. G.o.d wants us to know that we can trust Him every day, even in the most threatening situations or with the most difficult people.

Why does G.o.d give us the command to "fear not" so many times? Because we are so p.r.o.ne to let circ.u.mstances overwhelm us. When we feel out of control, our first instinct (sad to say) isn't to trust G.o.d but to run away in fear or fight back in defiance. G.o.d reminds us, instead, to first look to Him, remember His greatness and grace, and cling to His ability to do the impossible.

Paul's bold statement to Timothy arrests our attention like a slap in the face. He is saying, "Hey, if you're afraid, it's not from G.o.d. He's the author of power and love and right thinking. Count on it."

So, what about you and me? What are the recurring situations when we feel threatened, out of control, or overwhelmed? In those-even those-situations, G.o.d tells us to stop, look to Him, and listen for the a.s.surance of His Spirit that He will guide us. If we keep focusing our attention on the problem, we'll be afraid and act to protect ourselves, but if we turn quickly to G.o.d and reflect on His love and strength, we'll keep trusting Him.

What are some recurring situations that cause you to run away in fear or fight back in defiance?

When that happens again, what about G.o.d do you need to remember? How will this reflection help you in critical moments?

"He who is not everyday conquering some fear has not learned the secret of life."-RALPH WALDO EMERSON

MARCH 27.

UPRIGHT OR UPTIGHT?.

Many sorrows shall be to the wicked; but he who trusts in the LORD, mercy shall surround him. Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, you righteous; and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!

PSALM 32:10-11.

BAD DECISIONS, especially those that are caused by our selfishness and that result in others' pain, create tremendous stress. If we don't turn to G.o.d quickly, we can multiply our "sorrows" with outbursts of anger when others point out our faults, with lies as we try to cover them up, and with ruined relationships because people can't trust us.

G.o.d doesn't demand perfection from us-just honesty. This beautiful psalm is David's confession of sin. In it, he bluntly describes the pain and anguish he endured when he kept silent about his sin, but when he embraced G.o.d's forgiveness, he experienced cleansing and hope. Perhaps as much as anyone who ever lived, David had good reason to be grateful for G.o.d's lavish mercy.

Thankfulness is one of the chief characteristics of a person who walks with G.o.d. We can be thankful for all manner of things: our homes, our health, our family and friends, our nation, and countless other blessings. But if we're honest about the darkness in our hearts, perhaps one blessing stands out above the rest: the infinite mercy of G.o.d.

We can't attain "upright hearts" by self-effort. Having a clean and pure heart comes only from the kindness of G.o.d to look at the worst of our sins and choose to forgive us. It's enough to make us shout for joy!

What are some selfish choices in your life that have made you uptight?

Take those to G.o.d and thank Him for His wonderful mercy and forgiveness.

"The Christian Church is a society of sinners. It is the only society in the world in which membership is based upon the single qualification that the candidate be unworthy of membership."-CHARLES C. MORRISON

MARCH 28.

PAYBACKS.

Oh, love the LORD, all you His saints! For the LORD preserves the faithful, and fully repays the proud person.

PSALM 31:23.

WE'VE GOT GOOD NEWS and bad news. Actually the news is the same, but the one receiving it will determine if it's good or bad. The news is that G.o.d gives people what they deserve. In the Scriptures, we see this in two scenes. In his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul teaches us that all believers will stand before G.o.d one day to give an account of our faithfulness (see 1 Corinthians 3:13-15). On that day, G.o.d will review everything we've done since the day we trusted Christ. We'll be rewarded for all eternity for the things that we did to honor Him, and the rest of our actions, the ones done for selfish motives, will burn up and turn to ashes. At the end of Revelation we find the Great White Throne Judgment, where believers are rewarded and unbelievers are punished for eternity (see Revelation 20:11-15).

These scenes in the Scriptures aren't put there just to fill up s.p.a.ce. They are important lessons G.o.d wants to impart to us. The choices we make today are very important. In fact, we'll receive a report card at the end of our lives, and we'll live with the results for all eternity.

Even in this life, we're given what we deserve. G.o.d rewards our faithfulness in many ways. He preserves us, blesses us richly, and gives us lives of meaning and peace. But we also pay for wrongdoing. In this life, arrogant, self-absorbed people often pay the price of strained relationships and other heartaches.

Both in this life and in the one to come, G.o.d gives us exactly what we deserve. Count on it.

How does G.o.d's grace fit into the teaching about G.o.d paying people back?

What choices do you need to make so that you'll get a good report card on that day when you stand before Christ?

"If you are sincere, praise is effective. If you are insincere, it is manipulative."-ZIG ZIGLAR

MARCH 29.

DELIGHT = DESIRES.

Delight yourself also in the LORD, and He shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pa.s.s.

PSALM 37:4-5.

THIS Pa.s.sAGE in the Psalms is sometimes misunderstood. Some have thought that it means G.o.d will give us all the things we desire in exchange for delighting in Him. Instead, He works in our hearts to change what we desire.

The source of our delight shapes the nature of our desires. If we delight in someone, we genuinely want that person to be happy. If we delight in acquiring bigger and better possessions, we won't be able to stop until we have enough to satisfy us-which never happens. And if we delight in G.o.d, our interactions with Him shape our hearts so that we gradually desire what He desires and value what He values.

Author and pastor John Piper has said, "G.o.d is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him."[7] To delight in G.o.d is to be satisfied and, in fact, thrilled with His love, forgiveness, and purpose for us. As we know and love Him more, we want to pursue His will, we make choices to follow His leading, and we take action to accomplish things He has directed us to do.

It doesn't take a psychologist to unlock the secrets of our desires. We need only to look at what excites us, what frustrates us, and what hopes and fears fill our minds. We can choose, though, to focus on G.o.d, to delight in Him so that He gradually changes the desires of our hearts to fit more with His.

What do your joys, frustrations, hopes, and fears say about your desires?

To what degree would you say you genuinely delight in G.o.d?

"If we will make the choice, G.o.d will make the change."-IKE REIGHARD "Ability can take you to the top, but it takes character to keep you there."- ZIG ZIGLAR

MARCH 30.

WALKING AS JESUS WALKED.

He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.

1 JOHN 2:6.

YOU CAN'T JUST TALK the talk; you've also got to walk the walk. This statement about authenticity is true in every area of life, but none more than in our spiritual lives. What does it mean to "walk just as He walked"? Some of us might think it means performing miracles, and to that we may say, "Well, I don't think that's going to happen!" Probably not, but that's not what John is talking about. The hallmarks of the Christian experience, John says in verse 5, are obedience and love.

How did Jesus walk in obedience? From childhood, He dedicated Himself to the Father's will. When Jesus might have been tempted to stay where He was very popular, He said, "No, I have to go where the Father has sent Me." When He was criticized and condemned for following G.o.d, He didn't flinch. He stayed true to the Father's purpose for Him. When Satan offered Him the whole world, He said no. Nothing could keep Him from following the narrow path of doing what pleased the Father.

How did Jesus walk in love? To the amazement (and often, the dismay) of His closest friends, Jesus reached out to people at the "bottom of the barrel" over and over again. He didn't care what others thought of Him. He loved the prost.i.tutes, the lepers, the blind, the paralyzed, the sick, the tax gatherers, the foreigners, and all the other outcasts in society. And of course, He loved everybody else, too.

When we walk as Jesus walked, our hearts are increasingly riveted on G.o.d's purposes instead of on our selfish desires and self-protection, and we reach out to care for the people no one else even notices. If we truly know Christ, He changes our hearts, and His love will overflow from us to touch others.

What do you need to do to align your life more completely with G.o.d's purposes for you?

Who are some people no one else notices who need your love?

"What would Jesus do?"-CHARLES SHELDON

MARCH 31.

A DESPERATE PRAYER FOR DESPERATE TIMES.

Do not forsake me, O LORD; O my G.o.d, be not far from me! Make haste to help me, O Lord, my salvation!

PSALM 38:21-22.

YOU MAY THINK you've had a bad day, but it's nothing compared to the heartache David felt when writing Psalm 38. In this psalm, David describes one of the darkest points of his life. With blunt transparency, he admits that some of his pain and confusion comes from his own sins and foolish decisions. In addition, his cup of heartache is filled up with the accusations and attacks of his enemies; even worse, his family and friends have turned their backs on him when he needed them most.

Where could he turn now? In a desperate cry for help, David turned to G.o.d. "You won't forsake me, too, will You?" he seems to plead. Everything in his life had gone wrong, and everyone had turned against him. In this moment of hopelessness, David asked for help and found hope in G.o.d.

Our troubles may come from a wide variety of sources, but we don't want to experience them all at once the way David did! Whenever we feel hopeless, abandoned, misunderstood, betrayed, or incompetent, we can always turn to the One who is faithful to listen, to care, and to restore hope. This time of desperation wasn't the end of the road for David, and times of desperation aren't the end for us either-if we'll turn our attention to G.o.d and express our trust that He will come through.

When was the last time you felt hopeless, trapped, or abandoned?

How does G.o.d use those times to get your attention?

"When G.o.d is all we have left, we then realize that G.o.d is all we need."-IKE REIGHARD