It is impossible for us to help everyone we want to help. Certainly Jesus felt this same frustration. Though He healed so many, He did not heal everyone in the world and though He fed thousands, He did not feed all the poor in His day. If we attempted to help everyone, we’d quickly bankrupt ourselves. There is a principle at work in the Lord’s life, however, that we would do well to follow. Jesus allowed His compassion to compel Him to take action, and we should do the same.

Our first problem is that we often feel nothing. We look at a world full of hurting people and its easy to become calloused to their pain. There are so many, after all. What could I do? Jesus connected emotionally with the suffering of the people He loved so much. He had compassion for them. He wept for His people, His heart ached over their lostness. We too must be able to look out on the lostness of humanity and feel a groaning in our hearts. Where there is no suffering in our souls for others, there will certainly be a shallow ministry.

Our second problem is that when we feel, we often do nothing. Of course we can’t help everyone, but we can help someone. We can’t fix all the problems of the world, but we can help to fix one. Often we feel that our giving, our praying, our lending a hand will be a mere drop in the bucket compared with the needs of the world around us. But real compassion compels us to take some kind of action. We cannot sit idly by. We may not save the world, but we might lead one soul to the Savior. We may not feed all the poor, but we can put food in the mouth of one hungry child.

Jesus was willing to feel. He refused to harden His heart toward pain. And Jesus was willing to act. He stepped into people’s lives and offered them a divine hand. Today, we have the privilege of offering Jesus Christ to the world. We can give, we can pray, we can tell, and we can lend a helping hand. In our world of suffering, we have the opportunity to be Jesus’ ministers to the hurting. Allow compassion to compel you today to take action, if but for a moment, if for only one soul. Make a difference today for just one someone.

Compelling Compassion is a post from Daily Bible Journey. © 2011 Brandon Cox. Distribute freely, but please preserve a link to the original source.

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, 5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. 7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace 8 which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, 9 having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, 10 that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earthin Him. 11 In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, 12 that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory. 13 In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.

Ephesians 1:3-14 NKJV

And here’s a list of things that God does but doesn’t undo…

• He has blessed us, but never UNblesses us.
• He chose us, but never UNchooses us.
• He predestined us, but never UNdestines us.
• He made us accepted, but never makes us UNacceptable.
• He seals us with the Holy Spirit, but never UNseals us.

And there are more. See how many you can find that I didn’t point out.

We often evaluate our relationship with God based on our feelings or bad theology, but God wants us to look at our relationship the way He sees it. If we’re in Christ, then all is well. We are blessed, adopted, chosen, predestined, and sealed. And God has no undo button.

Things God Doesn’t UNdo is a post from Daily Bible Journey. © 2011 Brandon Cox. Distribute freely, but please preserve a link to the original source.

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

~ John 1:14 NIV

Randy Alcorn wrote an excellent little book called The Grace and Truth Paradox. He points out just how tough it is for us to find the balance between these two vital concepts. On the one hand, we tend to show grace without offering truth, and thus we serve as mere enablers. On the other hand, we hammer down with truth but apply no grace with our words, and we become tyrants.

We often relate to God on the basis of what we’ve perceived of the imbalance between grace and truth also. One who grew up in a home where the expectations were high and the boundaries tight, but who did not experience the freedom to fail, will usually struggle with viewing God as legalistic. And one who comes from a background where Mom and Dad were more friend than parent, offering little to no specific moral guidance, will view God as benevolent but not holy.

But in the middle, where Jesus lives, is the fullness of both grace and truth. Truth confronts us with our sin and our need. Grace answers the need and absolves our sin. Grace and truth work together to change us into the image of Jesus. And grace and truth both remain at our disposal to shower into the lives of others.

Full of Grace and Truth is a post from Daily Bible Journey. © 2011 Brandon Cox. Distribute freely, but please preserve a link to the original source.

As believers, we sometimes resemble the Yates’. We work hard to scratch out some form or appearance of holiness, when we’re sitting on top of a reserve of spiritual blessings unimaginably vast. Paul put it this way…

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.

~ Ephesians 1:3 NIV

The key phrase here is “who has blessed us…” which, in the original, is written in a tense that suggests an action that has been brought to completion, but which has permanent effects. In other words, God has completely and fully blessed us, and His blessing of us has permanent effects. The spiritual blessings – the power and presence of God – that we are promised are not merely for someday. They are for today.

Whatever has been given by the Creator, secured by the Savior, and endowed by the Spirit is permanently, presently, and readily available. We just need to open our eyes to see it. Go ahead. Enjoy God’s blessing!

Go Ahead, Enjoy God’s Blessing is a post from Daily Bible Journey. © 2011 Brandon Cox. Distribute freely, but please preserve a link to the original source.

For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the Law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach statutes and ordinances in Israel.

~ Ezra 7:10 NKJV

1. Seek it.

Read it, study it, memorize it and meditate on it. Carry it with you, spend time with it daily, get into God’s Word, and let God’s Word get into you. Find out its meaning and never stop digging!

2. Do it.

Seeking it is only the beginning. In fact, reading more merely makes us responsible for more knowledge. We need to cross the finish line and do God’s Word, weaving it into our daily lives.

3. Teach it.

Seek it. Do it. And after we’ve sought it and done it, spread it. Share the basic truths of the gospel with those who are unfamiliar with it, and pour truth into other believers as well. This gift is too precious to keep to yourself.

Seek it. Do it. Teach the Word of God.

Seek. Do. Teach. is a post from Daily Bible Journey. © 2011 Brandon Cox. Distribute freely, but please preserve a link to the original source.

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.

~ 1 John 3:16

Love is… what Jesus did on the cross. Love is… His sacrifice for us, for His friends, and even fore His enemies. The simplest way to identify love is to look to these words from James. This is how we know what love is… so he’s about to give us the evidence to look for. Jesus Christ laid down his life for us… and there is no defining it any more clearly.

Love may require you to lay down your life physically, but it also compels us to lay down our preferences, our ambitions, and our prejudices. It moves us to let go of our comfort, our conveniences, and our routines. My Pastor, Rick Warren, has often said that “you can give without loving, but you can never love without giving.”

So the issue of love is settled. For a few days at least.

The Issue of Love Is Settled is a post from Daily Bible Journey. © 2011 Brandon Cox. Distribute freely, but please preserve a link to the original source.

As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.

~ John 15:9 NIV

There is only one God, who exists in three distinct personalities – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. This community of three has existed for all eternity and will continue to exist forever. And in this community, we find our greatest example of love. The relationship that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit enjoy with one another is perfect love, perfect oneness, and total sacrifice.

Jesus came not only to show the world the Father, but also to show the world the love of the Father. He told the apostles on the night he was crucified, “as the Father has loved me, so I have loved you.” Jesus, who had been loved perfectly by the Father for eternity offers that same love to His closest friends, to all of His followers, and to every person on the planet. But he also goes a step further, inviting the apostles to “remain in my love.”

To remain is to abide, to dwell, or to live. At the end of our frantic searching and endless wandering, we can come to rest, to dwell in the love of Jesus. The assurance that He loves you is a good place to stop and stay a while.

Learning to Love from a Triune God is a post from Daily Bible Journey. © 2011 Brandon Cox. Distribute freely, but please preserve a link to the original source.

God defines love rather differently.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

~ 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 NIV

Based on our cultural definitions, we identify love by the expression of emotion. God identifies it by the living out of a solid set of core values. Real love, the way God defines it, is identifiable because it is patient, it is kind, does not envy or boast and isn’t proud.

Would you like to know for sure if you’re really loving others or not? Don’t search your feelings. Search your life and ask these questions:

• Am I patient?
• Am I kind?
• Do I envy?
• Do I boast?
• Am I proud?
• Do I dishonor others?
• Am I self-seeking?
• Am I easily angered?
• Do I keep a record of wrongs?
• Do I delight in evil or rejoice with the truth?
• Do I protect?
• Do I trust?
• Do I hope?
• Do I persevere?

How I answer those questions will determine if I’m really being loving or not… the way God defines love.

Defining Love on God’s Terms is a post from Daily Bible Journey. © 2011 Brandon Cox. Distribute freely, but please preserve a link to the original source.

If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing. (1 Corinthians 13:1-3 NLT)

Remember that the value of love is incomprehensible, and therefore the impact is as well. Choose love.

Love Matters More is a post from Daily Bible Journey. © 2011 Brandon Cox. Distribute freely, but please preserve a link to the original source.

… walk in love.

Ephesians 5:2 NIV

To walk in love means to live life completely within the realm and under the influence of love and to have all of our thoughts, intentions, and motives tested against love as the great principle of divinity and humanity. Walking in love means to live by a new pattern. And how do we adopt a new pattern for life?

• We think loving thoughts, by filling our minds with the truth of the Scriptures about love – reading, memorizing, and cherishing the words of the Scriptures on the subject.
• We say loving things, realizing that our words are not enough while also realizing that it isn’t enough to not express our love in words. Some things need to be said… often.
• We do loving things, acting in love even when we don’t feel like it, and even toward people whom we do not deserve to be the object of it.

There are probably few who truly walk in love in the root sense of the word, but those who do experience a spectacular way of life. The great thing is, the life of walking in love is open and available to all!

Walk In Love is a post from Daily Bible Journey. © 2011 Brandon Cox. Distribute freely, but please preserve a link to the original source.

After the message, a lady approached me to show me the tattoo on her wrist. In calligraphy, one word was there… Beloved. It refers to one who is the recipient of love. I don’t always feel lovable, but the Bible is clear that my heavenly Father has indeed loved me, going to every length possible to prove it, even to the point of giving His own Son as my ransom.

I am beloved. I am God’s child, and to refuse to believe that He loves me would be an insult to His own loving character. So push away all of the other voices around you that assault your sense of worth. And instead, hear Him say, “You are dearly loved, child.”

You Are Dearly Loved, Child is a post from Daily Bible Journey. © 2011 Brandon Cox. Distribute freely, but please preserve a link to the original source.

And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sweet-smelling aroma.

~ Ephesians 5:2 NKJV

Walking in love means living life under the lordship of love, allowing love, as demonstrated by Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross for our sins, to determine how we think, what we say, and what we do. But it also means walking in the confidence of God’s love for you.

To walk in love is to walk a pathway that is directed by love for God and others rather than by love for self. To walk in love requires that we understand what love is and the lengths to which Jesus went to achieve salvation

You are loved.

You can love.

You can walk in love.

Walk In Love is a post from Daily Bible Journey. © 2011 Brandon Cox. Distribute freely, but please preserve a link to the original source.

“Love not the world… for all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but of the world, and the world passeth away…” -1 John 2:15-17

Remember Louis Armstrong’s great What A Wonderful World? Angie and I had that song played at our wedding. This truly is a wonderful world in many respects. It’s the place where we view the glory of God in creation. This world is where Jesus came to minister and to give His life a ransom for many. This world is where Jesus found me and saved me and is now using believers across the world to extend His Kingdom. But this world is not everything. In fact, it isn’t even permanent.

John and other New Testament writers often used the word “world” (kosmos) to refer, not to the physical creation (though that was the literal meaning ofkosmos), but to what we might call today, secularism. The “world” of which John spoke was the human realm of thinking, devoid of God. It’s the realm in which Satan attempts to pull us away from God through his three primary tempting agents: the lust of the flesh (that which feels good to our body), the lust of the eyes (that which appeals to our sight), and the pride of life (that which fills us with a false sense of fulfillment or self-achievement).

Preachers used to speak of “worldliness” more in churches, but it was usually in reference to cultural stigmas such as going to dances or movies or having the wrong haircut. Worldliness is much broader than these or any other simple actions. Worldliness is thinking in temporal terms, living for the here and now with total disregard to eternity. We’ll either live in fear of an eternal God or we’ll be left to our own devices (i.e. worldliness).

When left with the choice between living in godless humanism or godly cosecration, let us remember the words of Peter Marshall, “It is Christ or chaos!” Are your everyday decisions informed by Scripture or society? Do you think in spiritual terms or cultural tones? Does Christ have all of you or do you have one foot in the church and the other in the world?

Don’t Fall In Love With This World is a post from Daily Bible Journey. © 2011 Brandon Cox. Distribute freely, but please preserve a link to the original source.

anger gives a foothold to the devil.

~ Ephesians 4:27 NLT

And when Satan gets a foothold, he doesn’t give it back easily. Step by step, inch by inch, he takes more ground. He’s a vicious predator who turns our emotions into weapons against us.

But there’s good news – Satan isn’t God. He isn’t all powerful or all knowing. He doesn’t have permission to destroy God’s children with any kind of weapon. And best of all, he is already defeated because of the victorious resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The big question is, how can we handle anger in a way that is biblically appropriate and that doesn’t open us up to Satan’s sure and swift maneuvers?

1. We recognize anger as a God-given emotion – an appropriate response to injustice.
2. We realize that we can’t hold onto anger for any length of time in our fallenness – we keep a short fuse.
3. We take our anger to the Creator who gave it to us – God understands anger, and He understands how we handle it.
4. We rip the rug out from under the enemy by declaring that we give him no allegiance – our allegiance is to Christ alone.
5. We give glory to the only One who has proven that He handles anger in a righteous and longsuffering way.
6. We forgive. We love. We cultivate kindness, compassion, and the rest of the fruit of the Spirit.

Anger is neutral. Satan is fierce, but Jesus wins. Take anger to Jesus every time.

Anger Just Might Kill You is a post from Daily Bible Journey. © 2011 Brandon Cox. Distribute freely, but please preserve a link to the original source.

Paul throws out five examples of the fruits of repentance. What does it look like when we’ve really changed?

So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth,…
And “don’t sin by letting anger control you.” Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a foothold to the devil…
If you are a thief, quit stealing. Instead, use your hands for good hard work, and then give generously to others in need…
Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them…
Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.

~ Ephesians 4:25-32 NLT

So, stop lying and start telling the truth. Stop stealing and start working and giving. Stop… start… change. Trying to stop doing bad things without starting to do good things will become rather frustrating. Trying to do good things while not stopping our sinful habits doesn’t help us either. This is the principle of replacement.

Maybe it’s time to confess some things. But maybe it’s also time for a change.

The Fruits of Repentance is a post from Daily Bible Journey. © 2011 Brandon Cox. Distribute freely, but please preserve a link to the original source.

Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes.

~ Ephesians 4:23 NLT

Ever done something good with a bad attitude? Yep, me too. There are really two phases to obedience. The first is letting God set the agenda for our life – what we do, and when and how we do it. The second phase is letting God set the agenda for our heart - why we do what we do. God perceives our motives, and they are as much a concern to Him as our actions.

When we are serving someone, we have a choice to make about what will go on in our spirits. We can huff and puff, miserably doing something good for someone else. Or, we can choose to willfully delight in joining hands with Jesus to meet someone else’s need.

Don’t misunderstand. Serving out of a sense of duty isn’t a bad thing. Sometimes doing God’s will when we don’t feel like it is a way to bring honor to Him. But the gracious gift He wants to offer is that He is willing to give us a sense of joy. He can renew our hearts.

So as you serve Him, let Him adjust your attitude along the way.

Have a Spirit-led Attitude is a post from Daily Bible Journey. © 2011 Brandon Cox. Distribute freely, but please preserve a link to the original source.

With the Lord’s authority I say this: Live no longer as the Gentiles do, for they are hopelessly confused. Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him.

~ Ephesians 4:17-18

In two verses, as the apostle Paul describes those who live their lives apart from God’s influence, he points to the mind three times. They are confused… their minds are full of darkness… they have closed their minds. If we simply live by default, we will literally think our way out of heaven. We will miss the life God intended because our beliefs and perspectives, rather than being renewed by the power of God, will be rooted in our own arrogance and rebellion against God.

But when we renew our minds, we set the stage for an entirely new worldview and belief set that poises us to grow in intimacy with God.

All of our actions are based on beliefs. When we sin against God, it is because we have believed a lie in that moment. We might, for at least an instant, believe that no one will know, no one will get hurt, or there won’t be any consequences. All are lies, and all are thoughts we think because of a mind that is confused, full of darkness, and closed to what God wants to do in the root of who we are.

Change your mind… change your life.

Change Your Mind. Change Your Life! is a post from Daily Bible Journey. © 2011 Brandon Cox. Distribute freely, but please preserve a link to the original source.

As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.

~ Ephesians 4:16 NLT

You might have heard the reasoning that if we each grow, then we will all grow. This sounds good, but God never intended for us to go off as loners and grow to up the sum total of maturity across all individual believers. Instead, He wants us to be conscientiously and intentionally involved in the growth of the body as a whole. In our western culture, we are trained to think as individual achievers, but the ancient world was far more family-centric, not just at the typical household level, but as entire clans stayed close together for life.

The church is more than a collection of individuals. It’s a body in which every part interrelates with all other parts. We lean on each other, depend on each other, and draw strength from one another. And spiritual maturity is evidenced by my getting outside myself and thinking of how my life affects the lives of other believers. My example, my words, my deeds… they all matter to the body and to the family of God.

So grow, for one another’s sake.

Spiritual Maturity Means Helping the Whole Body Grow is a post from Daily Bible Journey. © 2011 Brandon Cox. Distribute freely, but please preserve a link to the original source.

…growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.

~ Ephesians 4:15 NLT

Spiritual maturity means knowing and valuing truth, as well as speaking the truth to others in love. It also means living more like Jesus every day. Don’t misunderstand. It’s not about being more like Jesus in a cultural or historical sense. It’s not about becoming a carpenter, wearing a robe, or emulating Jesus’ personality. It’s about being conformed to His character and reflecting that character to others.

God, in Christ, is the Author of all that is true, and He is love, so He’s the ultimate expert at speaking the truth in love and reflecting every other possible mark of spiritual maturity as well. He’s the ultimate example and model to follow.

And how do we become more like Him? Exposure. Time in His presence, in conversation with Him and in observation of His life as reflected in the gospels is key to becoming more like Him in attitude and action.

Go do something Jesus-like.

Spiritual Maturity Means Living More Like Jesus is a post from Daily Bible Journey. © 2011 Brandon Cox. Distribute freely, but please preserve a link to the original source.

Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.

~ Ephesians 4:15 NLT

If you believe that spiritual maturity is the result of gathering biblical data and memorizing it, you are truly missing out. We need to grow in both knowledge and grace. Yesterday, we learned that spiritual maturity means knowing and valuing truth, and the only way to know and value truth is to spend more time with it. But as much as we value truth, we should also value people.

I’ve had plenty of conversations that seemed like all truth and no love, which isn’t truly love. Spiritual maturity requires that we learn the artform Jesus mastered – approaching people with truth in a way that conveys love, value, and grace. The world doesn’t need anymore flatterers, but it also doesn’t need anymore heartless critics.

Rather than viewing those who have the most Bible knowledge as the most mature among believers, we need to celebrate those who can have more knowledge and show greater love too. We should increase in our ability to convey truth in a loving voice.

Spiritual Maturity Means Speaking Truth in Love is a post from Daily Bible Journey. © 2011 Brandon Cox. Distribute freely, but please preserve a link to the original source.