Release from political captivity isn't very common, but those who experience it laugh with joy. Release from spiritual captivity is a far more common experience. We need to be gripped by its reality so we marvel at our freedom and sing with gladness.

Think about the prison of sin and spiritual death. How would you describe your release from that prison?

Tell G.o.d how grateful you are for His setting you free and bringing you home.

"Religion and good morals are the only solid foundation of public liberty and happiness."-SAMUEL ADAMS

JULY 7.

ABOUT HIS BUSINESS.

[Jesus said,] "The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed."

LUKE 4:18.

IT WAS ONE OF THOSE MOMENTS that you'd give anything to have witnessed in person. It was an announcement that people had longed to hear for countless generations, but it was such good news that many in the room that day refused to believe it. In one of His first acts in His ministry, Jesus walked into a synagogue and picked up the scroll of Scripture to read. He unrolled it and read Isaiah's prophecy of the Messiah's role to comfort, heal, free, and restore wounded and oppressed people (see Isaiah 61:1-2). The people listening had heard this pa.s.sage read dozens of times before, but today would be different.

Jesus finished reading, handed the scroll back to the attendant, looked out at the faces looking back at Him, and said, "I am that person. That was written about Me. I'm here to do all those things in people's lives, and if you believe, they'll happen in your life" (see Luke 4:21).

Someone in the audience questioned how Jesus could possibly be the promised Messiah, and after some back and forth dialogue, the people were angry with Jesus. In fact, they were so angry that they wanted to kill Him! Ironic, isn't it? They threatened to take the life of the One who came to give life, to hurt the One who came to heal. Why did they respond this way? Because now the long-awaited promise had arrived, and now they had to choose to believe or to doubt. Many chose to doubt because believing required too much of them.

Jesus was about His Father's business that day. Some believed; some doubted. He's still about His Father's business today. Do you believe?

Why do you think the people were filled with wrath and wanted to kill Jesus?

How do you think you would have responded that day?

"If G.o.d calls you to be a missionary, don't stoop to be a king."-CHARLES HADDON SPURGEON

JULY 8.

AN ATt.i.tUDE OF GRAt.i.tUDE.

You are already full! You are already rich! You have reigned as kings without us-and indeed I could wish you did reign, that we also might reign with you!

1 CORINTHIANS 4:8.

COMPARISON KILLS a thankful heart. Far too often, we look around at what others have, and discouragement creeps into our thoughts. Gradually (or not so gradually), discontent takes over, and complaints spill out of our mouths. Comparison convinces us that whatever we have isn't enough. Raises, bonuses, and windfalls of any kind satisfy only for a moment, and we quickly revert back to demanding more and more. Chasing the dream sounds exciting, but it can lead to a hardened heart.

Instead, Paul reminds the believers in Corinth that G.o.d had already poured out His riches of grace on them. They had gone from condemned prisoners to beloved children of the King! They had been spiritual paupers, and now they were rich beyond measure in G.o.d's blessings. They had been lost and impotent, wandering through life without hope, but now they "reigned as kings"!

Each of us looks in a mirror every day, either the mirror of earthly success and approval, which tells us we never have enough, or the mirror of G.o.d's grace and truth, which says we're already rich. Which one do you believe?

How are you affected (att.i.tude, desires, demands, actions) by comparison?

How would it change your life if you looked more often in the mirror of G.o.d's grace and truth, which says you're already rich?

"The more grat.i.tude you express, the more you will experience to have grat.i.tude for."-ZIG ZIGLAR

JULY 9.

RICHER THAN YOU THINK.

My G.o.d shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

PHILIPPIANS 4:19.

PAUL'S PROMISE that G.o.d would meet every need comes in response to the Philippians' generosity to give to G.o.d's work. Times were tough in the first-century mission field, and Paul often had very few supporters. He really appreciated the ones who stood behind him! The Philippians had sent him a wonderful gift. Paul describes it as a "sweet-smelling aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to G.o.d" (Philippians 4:18). Was it an aromatic candle? No, I don't think so. Whatever it was, the gift was as sweet to Paul as a bouquet of fresh flowers.

The gift, though, had cost the Philippians a lot. As a perceptive leader, Paul understood that some of them might be wondering, "Hmmm. If we gave money we needed to live on, what's going to happen to us?" Paul answered by telling them that G.o.d wouldn't forget their generosity. He would meet their needs in a way that revealed His direct involvement in their lives and His pleasure in their generous hearts.

The promise isn't that G.o.d will meet every desire or every want. It is that G.o.d will meet every need-especially those needs created when we have given over and above what we can afford to support G.o.d's work in the world. In an affluent culture like ours, most of us have few real needs. We enjoy the latest technology, we want a nicer car, and we expect a better vacation than last year. Maybe we should give so much to G.o.d that He has to meet real needs in our lives. That would be an adventure!

When have you given the most to the Lord's work? How did you feel about it?

What is G.o.d prompting you to do now in your giving?

"G.o.d's work done in G.o.d's way will never lack G.o.d's supply."-HUDSON TAYLOR "I can testify that the Lord is as good as His Word. If we trust, believe, and bring our t.i.thes into the storehouse, He will pour out His blessings of all kinds, including personal, family, and business."-ZIG ZIGLAR

JULY 10.

GREATER THAN THESE.

[Jesus said,] "Most a.s.suredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father."

JOHN 14:12.

"GREATER THAN THE WORKS Jesus did? You've got to be kidding!" That's the way most of us respond when we read Jesus' words, but we're missing the point. We're thinking about healing the sick, giving sight to the blind, walking on water, and raising people from the dead. Jesus wasn't saying that we'd do more of those things than He did. Those aren't the primary reasons He came, anyway.

What was the primary "work" He did? He took the gospel to people. Jesus came to communicate the incredibly good news of G.o.d's forgiveness, love, and acceptance to a lost and dying world.

Where did He do it? During His brief life on earth, Jesus was confined to a very small patch of ground, just a few miles from one town to the next in the backwater country of Palestine.

When Jesus went to the Father, He sent the Holy Spirit to live inside each believer. Today, there are estimated to be a billion Christians worldwide. With the Spirit's direction and life-changing power, G.o.d uses us to take the gospel to far more people throughout the world than Jesus met in tiny Palestine. That's the point Jesus was making.

The question for all of us is, Are we doing our part? Are we actively engaged in telling friends and neighbors about Christ, praying for missionaries, giving to fund mission efforts, and going to see what G.o.d is doing throughout the world? If we are, then we're doing "greater works" than He did because, collectively, we're going to more people to tell them about Him.

Are you doing your part? Explain your answer.

What is one thing you can do in the next few days that will help you do your part more effectively? When will you do it?

"Pray for great things, expect great things, work for great things, but above all, pray."-R. A. TORREY

JULY 11.

ALIGNED TO ACHIEVE.

Whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.

1 JOHN 3:22.

AS BELIEVERS, we know that success in life isn't quantum physics or rocket science. If we follow Christ's directions, He promises to make our lives richer and more rewarding than we can imagine. If we obey His commands, our hearts will be aligned with His heart and He will delight in answering our prayers.

But do we know what He demands of us? And do we even care? The answers to these questions may not be simple. Somehow, many of us have divorced the biblical truth we've learned from our daily lives. If we're pressed to remember, we can think of some commands G.o.d has given us. Let's see now, don't murder, don't lie, and don't commit adultery. But many of us don't let G.o.d's commands to love and forgive others infuse our daily relationships at home and at work. We leave our church services and go right back to harboring resentments, withholding affection, and blaming people who fail to measure up to our standards.

First, then, we need a refresher course on what G.o.d commands us to be and do in every relationship and in every situation. Once we know His instructions, we then need to remember that our choices touch His heart. He is the infinite, Almighty G.o.d, but our att.i.tudes and actions bring a smile or a frown to His face. If we know Him at all, we want to make Him smile.

Every command G.o.d gives us is for our own good and to expand His Kingdom through us to show His love to others. Our obedience is important. People's lives depend on it.

What are some commands G.o.d has for you today?

Does making G.o.d smile motivate you to obey Him? Why or why not?

"When you have great desires for heavenly things, when your desires are such as G.o.d approves of, when you want what G.o.d wants, then you will have what you like."-CHARLES HADDON SPURGEON

JULY 12.

OLD AND NEW.

Put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful l.u.s.ts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and . . . put on the new man which was created according to G.o.d, in true righteousness and holiness.

EPHESIANS 4:22-24.

IN SOME WAYS, being a Christian makes life more complicated. Instead of having one nature (selfish and sinful though it is), we have two. When we become believers, incredibly wonderful and dramatic things happen. G.o.d forgives us for all our sins, we become children of G.o.d, and we have eternal life, to name just a few. But our old sinful nature doesn't evaporate. It's still there, whispering to us that G.o.d doesn't care; that we're foolish for following Him; and that, after all, there's nothing wrong with being selfish. Paul tells us that not only is our old selfish nature still there-it's getting worse!

Paul uses the metaphor of getting dressed to help us understand how to live by our new nature. It's as simple as putting on clean clothes. First, we recognize that our old clothes are dirty, and we take steps to take them off. When the Spirit of G.o.d shines His light on our pride, arrogance, indifference, or other sins, we say, "Yes, Lord. I see them too." We confess our sin, and we lay that behavior aside like a dirty shirt.