Every valley shall be exalted and every mountain and hill brought low; the crooked places shall be made straight and the rough places smooth; the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

ISAIAH 40:4-5.

PEOPLE SAY that the night is darkest just before the dawn. Certainly, the children of Israel in the time Isaiah was written felt their situation was as black as it could be. The cruel Babylonian empire had overrun them. G.o.d had warned them over and over again that He would punish them for their repeated sins, but they had rebelled against Him. Now, they were suffering the drastic consequences of their behavior.

In a remarkable sign of grace, G.o.d spoke to them through Isaiah to rea.s.sure them of His good intentions for them. In their despair, they felt like giving up, but G.o.d reminded them that He could make their wildest dreams-of freedom, peace, and joy-come true.

G.o.d's promise of blessing and change found in the pa.s.sage above carries two separate meanings. First, it a.s.sures the people of Israel that G.o.d would rescue them from Babylon. The second application will occur when Jesus returns to earth. On that day, He will appear in the clouds with angels blaring trumpets (see Matthew 24:30-31) as the world watches (on every network and cable news station!). On both occasions-the return to Israel from Babylon and Christ's return to earth-people experience miraculous transformation, injustice is replaced by G.o.d's justice, and righteousness rules.

All of us long for wrongs to be made right. We may not be in as difficult a spot as the children of Israel in captivity, but all of us experience forms of injustice in our lives. Someday, though, G.o.d will make everything right. It's His promise.

What injustices would you like to see G.o.d make right?

What will it look like when G.o.d does it?

"I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain and the crooked places will be made straight and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together."-MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.

SEPTEMBER 29.

G.o.d'S DELIGHT

Thus says the LORD: "Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, let not the mighty man glory in his might, nor let the rich man glory in his riches; but let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight," says the LORD.

JEREMIAH 9:23-24.

A CASUAL WALK past the magazine rack at a bookstore shows us what people value: beauty, wealth, lavish spending, physical strength, pleasure of every description, and political and corporate power. Millions of people read about these things, daydream about them, and work hard to have more of them. But G.o.d says, "If you pursue these, you miss the whole point of life."

We glory in the people, places, and things that give us the most pleasure. We think about them, we praise them, and we can't wait to tell our friends about them. The truly wise person, G.o.d says, doesn't glory in what's tangible in this world, but in the intangible thing of inestimable value: having a rich, rewarding relationship with G.o.d.

We become like what fills our minds. If we focus on beauty and riches, we'll compare ourselves and everything else to those traits. But if the character of G.o.d fills our minds, we'll become more like Him. What does that look like? G.o.d overflows with loyal love, accurate judgment and wisdom, and righteous choices that help people. When we rivet our thoughts increasingly on G.o.d, He works these traits into us, too.

Becoming more like G.o.d, though, isn't just hard work and self-discipline. Walking hand in hand with G.o.d-leaving the things that promise life but deliver death and making choices that honor G.o.d-brings delight to us and to G.o.d.

It's our choice: the visible and worthless, or the intangible and valuable.

Why do tangible things such as beauty and wealth look so attractive to us? What do they promise us? What do they deliver?

How would your life be different if you truly delighted in loving-kindness, wisdom, and righteousness?

"The chief cause of failure and unhappiness is trading what you want most for what you want now."-ZIG ZIGLAR

SEPTEMBER 30.

LEAD BY EXAMPLE.

Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity.

1 TIMOTHY 4:12.

G.o.d HAS GIVEN all of us skills and talents, but He is more interested in the character of the man or woman who uses these abilities. Certainly, we can be good examples to others who watch us model the skills we use in our work. They can learn a lot from us. But they can learn even more by watching how we treat our spouses and children and our fellow employees, how we respond to annoying people and difficult situations, and how we talk about corporate executives when they make poor decisions.

In the business world, we may expect people to look out for themselves, to do whatever it takes to climb the corporate ladder, and to use people every step of the way. When a Christian goes out of his or her way to care for someone who is hurting, overlooks petty offenses and takes steps to resolve big ones, finds something else to do when the rest of the team goes to a strip club, and exudes a positive att.i.tude while being ruthlessly honest about difficulties-people notice!

All of us have a hundred choices to make each day. We may not recognize many of them because we're so steeped in habitual att.i.tudes and behaviors, but we have constant opportunities to demonstrate love or selfishness, faith or doubt, hope or complaints, purity or sinful pa.s.sion. Habits can be broken, but not without heartfelt prayer and tenacity to make different choices. If we choose to be Christ's examples to those around us, we're in for a great ride of seeing Him touch people through us. Don't miss it!

Who is the best "leader by example" you know? Describe that person's impact on others.

What new choices do you need to make, and what new habits do you need to develop?

"Charisma may place you at the front of the line. Only character will keep you there."-IKE REIGHARD

October.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31.

OCTOBER 1.

THE GREAT THING ABOUT GREAT THINGS.

Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.

JEREMIAH 33:3.

G.o.d'S PROMISE to answer the prayers of His people was given at a time of desperate need. The children of Israel were in deep trouble-in slavery under the brutal, vicious Babylonian regime. Survival was uppermost on their minds, but G.o.d had bigger, more wonderful plans for them than merely surviving. In fact, G.o.d's plans for them were beyond their comprehension.

The promise was clear and strong, but the path to deliverance wouldn't be easy. If the children of Israel responded, they would experience the cleansing of suffering before G.o.d would free them and restore them to their land. Later, when they made the trip from Babylon back to Israel, they laughed and cried because they were so happy (see Psalm 126).

For us, too, saying yes to G.o.d doesn't guarantee a smooth ride. G.o.d's great promises often involve great challenges to test our faith in and our loyalty to Him. As we respond to His promise, we need to have our eyes and ears open. G.o.d's path of freedom may first take us where we suffer in order to purge our hearts of impure desires, and G.o.d's path to blessing may wind through loss.

Through it all, we will cling to G.o.d's promise. More than that, we will cling to G.o.d Himself. We will reflect on His goodness and greatness and remember how He worked in the lives of men and women who trusted Him with their lives, their hopes, and their futures. And we will trust Him too.

Can we, then, trust G.o.d's promise to give us freedom and blessings? Explain your answer.

What does your yes to G.o.d mean today?

"The thing is to understand myself, to see what G.o.d wishes me to do . . . to find the idea for which I can live and die."-SREN KIERKEGAARD "I would rather have plans changed with G.o.d's blessings than fulfilled plans without His blessing."-ZIG ZIGLAR

OCTOBER 2.

MEASURING UP TO JESUS.

He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of G.o.d, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.

EPHESIANS 4:11-13.

A CHRISTIAN LEADER once commented, "Christ's followers today have done what His enemies could never do-we've made Him boring." What a travesty! If we focus our attention on bad news and gossip about Christians, we will miss G.o.d's incredible, visionary, optimistic purpose for every believer: to grow so much in our faith that we shine like beacons to everyone around us!

Yes, the road is long and tough, and yes, G.o.d is working with clay that has a lot of lumps in it, but G.o.d is able to work miracles if we'll trust Him. One of those miracles, one that our neighbors are looking for, is love among Christians. Our friends and neighbors have heard about church members arguing about the flowers planted out front or the extra things done for the wedding of someone's daughter. They know about the vicious arguments and church splits, and they're sick of hearing about them! So are we.

G.o.d's vision for each church is that we would grow so much in our love for G.o.d that we'd love people the way He loves them: unconditionally and pa.s.sionately. He wants us to be filled up with Christ's grace, truth, and purpose so that everything we do will reflect Him to those around us.

Can that vision really happen? Not if we're content with having lukewarm affection for G.o.d, tolerating people instead of loving them, and just getting by in our efforts to touch others' lives.

Describe what G.o.d's vision for your church might look like.

What are you doing to contribute to this vision being fulfilled?

"If a hypocrite is standing between you and G.o.d, it just means the hypocrite is closer to G.o.d than you are." -ZIG ZIGLAR

OCTOBER 3.

ALL THINGS NEW.

G.o.d will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have pa.s.sed away. Then He who sat on the throne said, "Behold, I make all things new." And He said to me, "Write, for these words are true and faithful."

REVELATION 21:4-5.

ALMOST THREE MILLENNIA AGO, Solomon observed that G.o.d had placed a desire for eternity in our hearts (see Ecclesiastes 3:11). We long for heaven. Intuitively, people know there's something beyond this life. Men and women of every culture and every age have tried to identify what it might look like, and we're given a glimpse in John's Revelation.

A day is coming when all wrongs will be made right, every pain will be comforted, and every tear dried. All of the confusion, doubt, and heartache will pa.s.s away. Bitterness, resentment, and strains of every kind in every relationship will vanish. In their place, G.o.d will make "all things new."

To tantalize us, G.o.d doesn't give us more than a shadowy look into that glorious time. We can, though, make some a.s.sumptions. Those things that give us joy now will be magnified incredibly. Love, affirmation, understanding, and encouragement will thrill us because they will be untainted by any hint of selfishness. We'll laugh more heartily than ever before, and we'll be challenged to worship G.o.d more effectively and wholeheartedly. And those things that cause pain now will vanish in the light of G.o.d's amazing love.

For centuries, those who thought, talked, and sang about heaven were those who experienced oppression in this life. Slaves, the chronically poor and dest.i.tute, sick and disabled people, and prisoners have always longed for heaven's door. The rest of us, though, will marvel when we get there because heaven will be so much more wonderful than our lives now.

Think about it. It'll do you good.

How do you think heaven will be different from your life now?

What do you look forward to most?

"When the darkness of dismay comes, endure until it is over, because out of it will come that following of Jesus which is an unspeakable joy."-OSWALD CHAMBERS