At this point in your life, who is your "joy" and "crown"?

If you have difficulty expressing affection for people close to you, how would it help to see them the way G.o.d sees them?

"Christians are like the flowers in a garden, that have each of them the dew of Heaven, which, being shaken with the wind, they let fall at each other's roots, whereby they are jointly nourished, and become nourishers of each other." -JOHN BUNYAN

DECEMBER 3.

ACCOMPLISHING HIS WILL.

After David had done the will of G.o.d in his own generation, he died and was buried with his ancestors.

ACTS 13:36, NLT.

WHAT A WONDERFUL EPITAPH: David served according to the will of G.o.d, and then he died. If we are Christians, on the day that our eyes close for the last time, we'll be ushered into the presence of Christ, and we'll celebrate as never before! At some point, He will ask us to give an account of what we did as believers on earth, and hopefully, each of us will be able to say, "Lord, I served according to Your will."

Our service, even for the most dedicated of us, is checkered. David was a man after G.o.d's own heart (see 1 Samuel 13:14) who conquered nations, led the Mighty Men in battle, and unified the divided nation, but he also committed adultery and murder. And by all accounts, he was not the best father in the world. G.o.d doesn't demand perfection from us, but He desires our love, loyalty, and pa.s.sion.

From looking at the life of David, we can surmise that G.o.d is very gracious to overlook our flaws if we follow Him with our whole hearts. Like the patient mother of an overactive toddler or the gracious father of an adolescent who is longing for independence, G.o.d overlooks our excesses and focuses on the big picture: Do we desire, more than anything in the world, to please Him, honor Him, and serve Him? If that's our heart, we'll accomplish G.o.d's will, and He'll be delighted.

Do you agree or disagree that pa.s.sion is more important than perfection? Explain your answer.

What do you need to do to rekindle or inflame your pa.s.sion for Christ?

"History judges a man not by his victories or defeats but by their results."-WINSTON CHURCHILL

DECEMBER 4.

THE G.o.d OF INCREASE.

I planted, Apollos watered, but G.o.d gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but G.o.d who gives the increase.

1 CORINTHIANS 3:6-7.

IT'S EASY TO GET MIXED UP about the role we play in the Kingdom of G.o.d. The Lord has given us the inexpressible privilege of being partners with Him in the greatest venture of all time: reaching every person on the planet with the message of Christ. He could have used angels, rocks, or volcanic plumes of skywriting, but He chose to use us. He wants us to look for opportunities to touch lives, to love people unconditionally, and to explain the message of the Cross. When G.o.d transforms a life, though, we may think we made it happen!

We aren't the power source; G.o.d is. We don't change lives; G.o.d does. We can't make spiritual life occur from a dead heart; only G.o.d can do that. We need to recognize the privilege and the limitations of our role. Yes, G.o.d calls us His amba.s.sadors (see 2 Corinthians 5:20), but we represent Him, not ourselves. And in the metaphor Paul uses in this pa.s.sage, G.o.d gives us the privilege to plant seeds of the gospel and water them with truth and grace, but the transformation of a human heart requires divine intervention. We're just the gardeners. G.o.d is still the Creator.

Understanding our role and limitations humbles us, refocuses our faith on G.o.d instead of our own abilities, promotes prayer for G.o.d to work, and lifts the burden of changing lives from us and puts it on G.o.d, where it belongs.

What problems can occur when we take credit for G.o.d's work to change lives?

Describe your role and limitations in the Kingdom. How are you doing with them?

"It is not enough to do G.o.d's work; it must be done in His way and for His credit."-ERWIN LUTZER

DECEMBER 5.

CALLED TO COUNT.

Let each one remain in the same calling in which he was called.

1 CORINTHIANS 7:20.

"BLOOM WHERE YOU ARE PLANTED." These famous words from a 1960s poster are just as pertinent today as they were then. Many of us look at our lives and wish things were different-really different. We wish we were married, or we wish we were married to someone else. We wish we'd taken another job, or we wish we'd gone in a completely different direction in college. We wish this, and we wish that. We live in a cloudy world of "if onlys" and "what ifs."

Paul's encouragement for people to remain in their calling was written to-get ready for this-slaves (see 1 Corinthians 7:21). He told them not to worry about their freedom. If they could become free, they should go for it, but if not, they didn't have to worry about it. Either way, they were told to follow G.o.d with pa.s.sion and whole heart. If slaves could bloom where they were planted, maybe we can, too.

In our nation, we have phenomenal opportunities to change our lives in many ways, but not all changes are necessary or even helpful. Most of us would benefit from honest reflection about the level of contentment in our lives, followed by a rigorous a.s.sessment of what we demand out of G.o.d, out of other people, and out of ourselves. Quite often, we'd find that we have bought into the dream of more and better. We'd be wise to back away, think hard about where G.o.d has placed us, and maybe, just maybe, put our energies into blooming exactly where we've been planted.

Take a minute to reflect on your contentment and demands for more. Is anything out of line? Explain your answer.

What would it look like for you to bloom where you're planted?

"The awareness of a need and the capability to meet that need; this const.i.tutes a call."-JOHN R. MOTT

DECEMBER 6.

THINGS G.o.d WILL NEVER TAKE BACK.

The gifts and the calling of G.o.d are irrevocable.

ROMANS 11:29.

ULTIMATELY, on a national or a personal level, G.o.d's purposes can't be sidetracked. In the middle of his letter to the Romans, Paul leaves his teaching about how to grow in Christ and turns to answer questions many people had asked: So many Gentiles are coming to Christ, but what about the Jewish people? Has G.o.d abandoned them?

Paul's answer is an emphatic no. G.o.d chose the Jewish people to represent Him to every nation, but they failed. Since they hadn't followed His directions, G.o.d, in essence, put them on the shelf. His plan for them, though, isn't finished. They might have been enemies of the gospel of Christ in Paul's day or might be in ours, but a moment in history is coming when many Jews will turn to Christ as their promised Messiah. G.o.d's gift of truth and His calling to follow Him are still pure and strong, even if the Jewish people have walked away for a while.

G.o.d's patience and persistence with the Jews is a picture of His relationship with us. Over and over in the Scriptures, we read of G.o.d's promises, people's rejection of G.o.d, and G.o.d's grace to restore them. Our disobedience grieves G.o.d, but He doesn't wring His hands and wonder, What in the world am I going to do now? He has complete knowledge of all of history, and He possesses wisdom and power to accomplish His purposes. Nothing confuses Him, and nothing can ultimately block His purposes.

When we think about the incredible patience of G.o.d, we are rea.s.sured that He never takes back His gifts to us and His calling in our lives.

What are G.o.d's gifts and His calling in your life?

What are some ways G.o.d has shown His patience to keep pursuing you?

"Each honest calling, each walk of life, has its own elite, its own aristocracy based on excellence of performance."-JAMES BRYANT CONANT

DECEMBER 7.

MODELED PRAYER.

As [Jesus] was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, . . . one of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples."

LUKE 11:1.

EVERY DAY, before and after every conceivable situation, the followers of Jesus saw Him pray. Sometimes when they were cooking breakfast, He wandered in from the hillside, where He'd been praying all night. At other times, they saw Him burst out in spontaneous praise to G.o.d, and they watched Jesus labor as He prayed about pressing needs. As they observed Him, they saw something about His time with the Father that captured their hearts and made them thirsty to learn from Him.

In the ancient Jewish culture, famous rabbis and teachers often composed prayers for their followers. The disciples now asked Jesus to compose one for them. He didn't miss a beat. Communication with the Father was such an integral part of His life that He was ready to give them a model of prayer before they even asked. We know it as the Lord's Prayer, but it could accurately be called the Disciples' Prayer because it was a pattern for them to follow (see Luke 11:2-4).

The prayer is elegant in its simplicity. It begins with the affirmation of the majesty of G.o.d the Father and the desire that His will be done on earth. The requests are for daily sustenance, forgiveness, protection, and direction.

How do we pray? Do we focus on the Father and ask for the things Jesus recommended in His prayer? Jesus gave us a wonderful pattern, not a straitjacket. The Lord's Prayer is a template and a jumping-off point to explore each element in more depth. Consider using it for the next week to shape your prayers.

Why is it important to begin prayer by focusing on the greatness and the will of G.o.d?

Use the prayer today as a model. Paraphrase each section and make it your own.

"I asked Him to give me the prayers He wants me to pray and to give or withhold anything according to his plan for me. Nothing is too big to ask of Him, not even an ocean lot. It is G.o.d's business to decide if it is good for me. It is my business to obey Him."-ELISABETH ELLIOT

DECEMBER 8.

THE FIVE P'S OF PRAYER

When you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.

MATTHEW 6:6.

PRAYER HAS ALWAYS BEEN A MYSTERY to those who pursue G.o.d. It is our way of connecting with the One who created us and loves us, but in some ways, prayer is nothing like any other type of communication in our lives. Here are some tracks to keep us going toward G.o.d as we pray, the five P's of prayer: Primacy. Connecting with G.o.d is the most important thing we can do each day. From Him we gain wisdom to make better decisions and courage to follow through.

Period. We need to carve out a time so that prayer is a priority to us. The pressures we face each day will threaten to crowd out our time with G.o.d, so we need to guard our time of prayer.

Privacy. Some of us pray publicly, but all of us first need to go to G.o.d alone, with no audience and no distractions to pour out our hearts to Him and to listen.

Person. Prayer isn't just a self-improvement exercise. When we pray, we are connecting with a living Person who loves, grieves, laughs, and hears.

Promise. Jesus a.s.sures us that our Father will reward our efforts to connect with Him. That doesn't mean He promises to give us everything we want. More importantly, G.o.d will gradually change our hearts so that what we want most of all is Him.