JUNE 19.

ROOTS OF BITTERNESS.

Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of G.o.d; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled.

HEBREWS 12:14-15.

CERTAIN KINDS OF ROOTS can be dug up, dried, ground, and mixed with oil to make dyes to color clothes. And as any housewife could tell us, a dye misused causes a terrible stain. Bitterness is like a misused dye-it colors how we look at life, and it stains every relationship. The writer to the Hebrews encourages us to pursue peace in every relationship and to be careful so that a "root of bitterness" won't cause problems.

People who are bitter feel they have every right to their feelings and perspectives. After all, somebody did them wrong! They feel like victims because they are victims. G.o.d doesn't promise protection from every hurt we experience, but He doesn't want our anger and hurt to fester into bitterness and ruin every aspect of our lives. The author of Hebrews accurately observed that when someone is bitter, "many become defiled"-not just the bitter person, but everyone else near that person. The stains of the dye permeate every thread in the fabric.

Bitter people look for fights. They may say they don't like them, but they actually thrive on the adrenaline produced by intense disagreements. Instead, G.o.d wants us to stop this process before it starts: to pursue peace with all people. When they hurt us, we are to forgive them quickly. We need to watch out so that patterns of recrimination don't steal our joy, sap our energy, and ruin our ability to represent Christ.

Bitterness is serious business. It's a cancer that can't be tolerated, or it'll kill us. And it's contagious.

What does it mean to pursue peace with someone you disagree with?

How can you overcome bitterness?

"You can alter your life by altering your att.i.tude."-WILLIAM JAMES

JUNE 20.

CHANGE YOUR WORLD.

[Jesus said,] "You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."

ACTS 1:8.

JUST BEFORE JESUS ascended into a cloud, He had some final words for His followers: a promise and a directive. In a few days, He told them, a monumental moment would occur. He had told them about it a few weeks before, and now it was going to be a reality. The Holy Spirit was going to enter each of them and take up residence there! No longer would G.o.d be at arm's length. Now He would live inside them.

The Holy Spirit is called the Comforter, but He also could be called the Generator because He supplies power for believers to follow Christ's directions and change the world. Jesus told those first disciples that they would represent Him as His amba.s.sadors, first in Jerusalem; then in the surrounding areas; and, finally, to the remotest corners of the globe.

Jesus gives us the same promise and directive today. If we have trusted in Christ, His Spirit now lives inside us to comfort us, guide us, and give us power to do what G.o.d wants us to do. And what, exactly, does He want us to do? He has given us the incredible honor of representing Him in our families and neighborhoods, in our workplaces, and at school. He has given us the power to pray, to give, and to reach the world for Christ.

Are you ready to change your world?

What does the Holy Spirit want to do in you and through you?

What are some ways you can represent Christ to people around you today?

"The Great Commission is not an option to be considered, it is a command to be obeyed."-HUDSON TAYLOR

JUNE 21.

FINISH THE WORK.

[Jesus said,] "I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do."

JOHN 17:4.

AT THE END OF HIS LIFE, Jesus could say to the Father, "I've finished what I came to do." Does that mean that there weren't more sick people to heal, more sermons to be preached, and more disciples to train? Does it mean that every person He cared for had heard His message and responded? Were there no more unchecked boxes on Jesus' to-do list? Jesus was crystal clear about why He came, and He was certain He had completed His task.

Jesus came to set up the Kingdom of G.o.d on earth. To fulfill that vision, He needed to accomplish two goals: to provide direct access to G.o.d through forgiveness of sins and to leave behind some people who could carry the message to the rest of the world. On the night He was betrayed, Jesus knew that the next day's events would fulfill the first goal, and as He looked around while He prayed, He looked into the faces of the people who would be filled with the Holy Spirit and take the gospel to the ends of the earth. His mission was complete.

Can we make the same claim? At the end of each day, week, month, and year and at the end of our lives, can we pray confidently, "Father, I've done what You wanted me to do"? Is that even possible? Yes, it is, and it gives immeasurable satisfaction to our lives. First, we have to align our priorities with G.o.d's, and then we need to carry out our tasks in a way that honors Him. When we encounter difficulties (Jesus certainly faced more than His fair share), we keep trusting G.o.d to lead us and use us.

How would you know if you have completed the work G.o.d gave you to do each day?

What would have to change in your walk with G.o.d for this to happen?

"If a commission by an earthly king is considered an honor, how can a commission by a Heavenly King be considered a sacrifice?"-DAVID LIVINGSTONE

JUNE 22.

NO GREATER COMMANDMENT.

Jesus [said], "The first of all the commandments is: 'Hear, O Israel, the LORD our G.o.d, the LORD is one. And you shall love the LORD your G.o.d with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.' This is the first commandment."

MARK 12:29-30.

G.o.d DOESN'T WANT MUCH-just everything we have. He doesn't expect much-just every ounce of pa.s.sion, heart, and love we can muster. He doesn't demand much-just that we put Him first every minute of every day. And He has every reason to expect this of us because He created us to function best when we are fully devoted to Him.

Ancient Greek philosophers stressed the virtue of balance: "Moderation in all things." In most areas of our lives, that advice rings true. We need balance in our diets, exercise, sleep, work habits, spending, investments, and most other aspects of life. But in our relationship with G.o.d, balance is never extolled. Radical, abject, complete devotion is the only acceptable response to the G.o.d of the universe, who stooped to rescue us from sin and death. He deserves nothing less than our whole hearts.

The Old Testament contains hundreds of commands dealing with every aspect of existence, but to the religious leaders of the first century, that list wasn't good enough. They added hundreds more to define exactly what G.o.d (or they) expected of people. With the proliferation of commands as the background, someone asked Jesus, "Which one is most important?" Without hesitation, He replied, "The one that says, 'Love G.o.d with everything you've got.'" When we do that, each part of our lives comes into alignment-or drops away because it's no longer important. When we fail to put G.o.d first, everything seems equally important, and we spend all our energies trying to please people, proving ourselves, or hiding from risks. G.o.d's first commandment demands complete devotion, and it makes perfect sense. It's the way He created us to live.

What would it mean for you to love G.o.d with all your heart?

What changes would you need to make?

"The true follower of Christ will not ask, 'If I embrace this truth, what will it cost me?' Rather he will say, 'This is the truth. G.o.d help me to walk in it, let come what may!'"-A. W. TOZER "Realistically, we can be happier and more enthusiastic about everything we do, provided we are doing it for Jesus."-ZIG ZIGLAR

JUNE 23.

YOUR NEIGHBOR.

[Jesus said,] "And the second, like it, is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these."

MARK 12:31.

JESUS HAD JUST IDENTIFIED the "greatest commandment" in the Scriptures, the single, most important directive G.o.d has given us: Love G.o.d with everything you've got. Now He adds an addendum to that directive. When we love G.o.d with all our hearts, it affects our human relationships too. The second command also focuses on the power of love: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

"As yourself." Jesus could have said, "Love people a lot" or "Love people the way you love your pets," but He said that our love for others should compare favorably to the attention we give to our own needs. When we're hungry, we find something in the refrigerator. When we're sleepy, we go to bed (or at least, we should go to bed). We don't spend a lot of time wondering if we have this need or that one. If it's obvious, we just meet it. Our love for others should have the same reflexive quality: When we see their needs, we simply meet those needs.

Too often, we get wrapped up in our own little worlds, and we're consumed with our own needs without even noticing the needs of those around us. Or we're so exhausted at the end of each day that we can't imagine giving out to anyone else, especially to demanding kids or a spouse who is at least as tired as we are.

We have to break this cycle, back up, regroup, and bring some sanity to our lives so we'll have the perspective, energy, and compa.s.sion for the people we see each day, and especially those who live under the same roof with us. Then we can love them like we love ourselves.

Describe what it means to love someone the way you love yourself.

What are some practical things you can do to have more energy to devote to loving others?

"The highest and best way to love others is to apply the SALT Principle: See others as Jesus sees them.

Accept others as Jesus accepts them.

Love others as Jesus loves them.

Touch others as Jesus touches them."-IKE REIGHARD

JUNE 24.

LISTEN CAREFULLY.

Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, "This is the way, walk in it," whenever you turn to the right hand or whenever you turn to the left.

ISAIAH 30:21.

MANY STUDENTS DRIVE their parents crazy by listening to music while they study. "Oh, it doesn't distract me at all," the kids claim. "It's just background noise. I really don't even hear it."

In the same way, we can tune out the Holy Spirit's whispers and become oblivious to His communication with us. The people of Israel had grown tired of G.o.d's repeated pleas to turn to Him, and they complained, "Don't tell us anymore!" (see Isaiah 30:10-11). But G.o.d didn't quit. He persisted in speaking to them to show them areas that needed repentance. We may tune Him out, but He never tunes us out.

The Spirit speaks "a word behind" us, gently nudging us in a direction and reminding us of a truth from G.o.d's Word. He never shouts, and He never demands. He always lets us make our own choices, even if those choices lead to pain and heartache.

For many of us, however, the whisper of the Spirit is drowned out by the noise of our culture. A hectic pace, demands at work and home, to-do lists, and the stress of living modern life create a buzz that makes it difficult to hear the Spirit. When we realize what we're missing, we make adjustments. We carve out time to be alone and to be quiet, to read and to reflect, and to stop everything so we can really listen. And we invite the Holy Spirit to whisper once again His directions to us. If we practice enough, listening becomes a way of life.