Sitting in a church sanctuary, I was listening to a nationally known Christian leader speak to a group of leaders about the importance of godly character. After his well-crafted presentation, we were given an opportunity to ask questions. And so I did.

My question was essentially this: “For decades, I have heard this message about character preached, and yet we still see moral failure after moral failure among Christian leaders. Why is that?”

The man answered the best that he could while also admitting that he didn’t really have a good answer. I appreciated his honesty.

Why We Ignore Our Inner Lives

I don’t think the problem lies with Christian leaders seeing character as unimportant. It’s just that there are so many other important things to vie for our attention. This is especially true when we are moved by a God-given vision to make a difference in this lost and dying world.

There is work to be done. Souls need to be saved. Messages require preparation. Finances must be raised. And of course, in working with people, we can expect crises to attend to. The list goes on and on and on . . . .

And so the work of the ministry continues . . . until a long-simmering undercurrent suddenly takes center stage.

At that moment, the importance of character becomes painfully clear, but rearview-mirror vision is powerless to fix all the damage done by those character breakdowns. It is in those moments of pain and confusion that we discover why the inner life matters so much.

Wise Advice

The writer of Proverbs gave some especially wise advice to his readers:

Watch over your heart with all diligence for from it flow the springs of life.

Proverbs 4:23 (NASB)

From the heart flow the very springs of life! Understanding this truth illuminates the vision of Search for Me Ministries.

Our books and resources focus heavily on our inner lives because it is from our hearts that the springs of life flow.

Why the Inner Life Matters

Of course, we care about the unsaved and about the overall mission of the church. But we also understand how the state of our hearts affects our ability to fulfill that very mission.

Service to God is not just about the good works that we do, it is also about the quality of the waters that flow from our hearts. Our inner lives either purify, refresh, and strengthen others, or they pollute and contaminate the very ones we are trying to help.

No one is perfect. But purification of motives is a vital process nonetheless.

How much lead does it take to turn a water supply toxic? The U.S. Government threshold is only 15 parts per billion.

What goes on inside of us has a huge influence on what goes on around us.

If we can learn to align our inner lives with the dynamics of God’s truth, we will abide in His grace. Everything else will then follow in its season. But if we fail to align our inner lives, all our grand and noble endeavors will eventually fail in their season.

“Watch over your heart with all diligence for from it flow the springs of life.” Such wisdom for the ages!

The post Why the Inner Life Matters appeared first on Search for Me Ministries.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Perhaps you’re familiar with this passage that was ratified in 1791. If not, you have just read the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights. I am referring to a set of ten amendments that our founding fathers added to the United States Constitution.

Wisdom by Experience

To grasp the wisdom of the Bill of Rights, we must put ourselves in the shoes of those who penned our nation’s founding documents. They had all come from Europe—a continent that had been plagued for centuries by religious strife. In particular, it was common practice for government leaders to unjustly oppress people and violently suppress dissent in the name of religion.

Having suffered at the hands of European monarchies for so many years, a large representation of Americans championed a form of government that would guarantee individual rights.

Thomas Jefferson, who inspired the Bill of Rights, said, “A bill of rights is what the people are entitled to against every government on earth, general or particular, and what no just government should refuse, or rest on inference.” The U.S. Constitution, as important as it is, would never have been ratified if not for the promise to add the Bill of Rights immediately thereafter.

Religious Freedom Matters

I find it interesting that the freedom of religion was the very first item in the very first amendment. The founders of our nation understood something that is being lost to our day: the freedom of religion is the foundation to freedom itself. Religious freedom matters!

In our culture, we see a strong push to preserve the freedom of the press, the right to protest peacefully, and also the opportunity to address grievances. At the same time, our freedom of speech has come under fire. And our freedom of religion maybe more so.

Why is the freedom of religion so important? Freedom is a God-given right that was first conferred upon humanity in the garden of Eden. Giving Adam and Eve the choice to choose between the various trees of the garden provides solid evidence of God’s intent.

While the Lord reigns over the earth, He does not control all our actions. Within the sphere of His sovereignty, we each have the freedom to make choices that will one day be called into account.

On the other hand, humanity is plagued by a natural bent toward control. In painful fashion, history displays our human compulsion to lust for power and control. Freedom, in the rare times that it has existed throughout history, has always been tenuous.

As imperfect as our expressions of religion might be, if those freedoms are lost, the America that we have known for over 200 years will cease to exist. And the proclamation of liberty that once characterized this great nation will fall silent.

If religious freedoms are removed as a result of our culture wars, our entire nation will pay a steep price. No one will be spared. Even those whose blind zeal sees religion as an enemy of humanity will squander the rights and freedoms that they have long taken for granted.

The first article of the First Amendment was as intentional as the Constitution itself. If our freedom of religion is sacrificed on the altar of inclusion, the seemingly timeless vision for liberty that has been purchased and preserved by the blood of our ancestors will be lost until who knows when.

Religious freedom matters. May we never forget it!

Bob Santos is the author of the Community Prayer Devotional and several other spiritually minded books.

https://billofrightsinstitute.org/primary-sources/bill-of-rights

https://www.aclu.org/other/bill-rights-brief-history#:~:text=The%20American%20Bill%20of%20Rights,the%20law%20of%20the%20land.

The post Religious Freedom Matters appeared first on Search for Me Ministries.

A friend recently posted a picture of her Christmas tree. The sad thing had given up the ghost a full week before the big day. In the heading, she wrote “If 2020 were a Christmas tree……” No shortage of hilarious comments followed.

A Painful Year

It’s safe to say that 2020 was a year like no other—for all of us. What began with the hopeful anticipation of rowdy New Year’s Eve celebrations soon gave way heartbreaking scenes of overflowing morgues. 2020 will forever be remembered as “the year of the pandemic.” Not “the year of perfect vision” as so many had hoped.

For those who have lost jobs, businesses, and especially loved ones, the end of the year feels more like a funeral march than the end of a marathon. At the same time, no one has been immune to the pain. The compelling push to stay isolated has drained the life of vitality of so many more.

A lot of people felt compelled to begin their Christmas preparations early. They put up lights and started listening to carols long before usual. And commercialism had nothing to do with it! Christmas has long offered a sense of joy and hope—even for those who lack a deep faith in God.

If 2020 Were A Christmas Tree…

Still, even with its early beginnings, Christmas seems off this year. A multitude of meaningful traditions have been derailed by the hideous coronavirus. No Christmas parties. No joyful gatherings to sing carols. No family get-togethers to drink holiday cheer and feast on roast beast. Suddenly, the joy of Christmas doesn’t seem so magical.

This holiday season will certainly be different for our family. My wife’s mother passed early in the year. This will be Debi’s first Christmas ever that she didn’t spend time with her mom. Our kids will also be absent from our home as they work to serve others.

Christmas Will Never Lose Its Power!

Despite the many negatives, Christmas still holds tremendous meaning—perhaps even more so. I’m reminded of that special scene from my favorite holiday movie (the animated version, of course) when the infamous Grinch saw the light of Christmas like never before.

What happens with us changes NOTHING about the essence of Christmas! The Son of God still came to earth to save people from their sins and to restore our relationship with our Creator. Angels still announced a message of peace and good will. The kingdom of God still established its beachhead on a sin-stricken planet. Nothing that does or doesn’t happen in our world can change the heart of what Christmas is all about.

And perhaps, that is what makes Christmas so special. Its power lies not with human traditions, but with the eternal hope of the Almighty God. Christmas will never lose its potency regardless of what happens in our world.

A Christmas Prayer

With so many peripherals removed, I pray that, this season would be a time when we connect with our Lord and Savior like never before. I pray that the light of heaven will rise in our hearts, vanquishing the thick darkness that has weighed so many of us down. May our hearts hold fast to the eternal truth of God’s glory, fixed on an anchor of hope that no storm can budge.

The power of Christmas can never be extinguished, and a fresh revelation of hope awaits all who choose to press in and believe!

Bob Santos is the author of The Search for Rest: Fifty Days to a More Peaceful Life.

Photo used by permission.

The post If 2020 Were A Christmas Tree . . . appeared first on Search for Me Ministries.

When I was growing up, there was a catchy pop tune that expressed frustration over the many signs in our world telling us what we could and couldn’t do. Today, those signs have been joined by voices—a vast array of voices telling us how we should and should not live our lives.

We live in a society with a God complex. People feel superior to others. People believe that their wisdom excels that of others. And people believe that it is their obligation to tell others how to live. Most have no real authority in our lives; they simply seek to rule by instinct.

There was a time when my life was dominated by what other people thought, but the day that I became a Christian marked the beginning of a new era. One Voice claimed the right to govern my life, and even my obedience to earthly authorities stems from my submission to Him.

Learning to hear the voice of God has not been an easy or flawless process. Nonetheless, it has led me to a sense of purpose like never before. That purpose stems not from the opinions of others, or even the stirrings of my own conscience, but rather from the throne of my Creator.

For much of my adult life, my purpose has been to help people know God and grow into mature Christian service. Almost everything I do in ministry is connected to that purpose. And though the voices of this world seem to grow louder with each passing day, His is the call that I will continue to obey.

This world overflows with needs, and our good God has both the desire and ability to meet them all—using people like you and me. As we bring our time of fasting and prayer to a close, we want to ask the Lord two simple questions: “What do You want me to do, and how do You want me to do it?”

The many problems in our world will not simply disappear because we humbled ourselves to fast and pray. We are, however, acting as agents of God’s kingdom to help bring heaven to earth. Action must be a part of the process, but that action should always be birthed from humility and prayer as we listen to and obey the voice of our Master.

Living with a God-given purpose will mark the difference between a fleeting existence on earth and a life that leaves a mark for decades to come.

Personal Reflection: What do You want me to do, Lord, and how do You want me to do it?

Prayer: Lord God, help me to hear Your voice, and please give me the wisdom and courage to act accordingly.

Bible Reading:

John 12:44-50

John 15:12-17

Galatians 1:6-10

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

Bob Santos is the author of the Community Prayer Devotional and several other books oriented toward spiritual growth and Christian living.

The post Day 8 – Fulfilling God’s Purposes appeared first on Search for Me Ministries.

The Word of God is so pregnant with life that sometimes a single verse can transform our thinking. Recently, my mind was opened to a whole new world of thoughts when I heard a pastor quote James 1:20: “The anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.”

Like never before, I saw the massive mistake that many Christians have made by getting entangled with political mindsets. Please allow me to explain.

Human governments, with their systems of laws and leadership hierarchy, are necessary for the safety, well-being, and prosperity of a culture. And in their wisdom, the founding fathers of the United States established a balance of power to stave off the natural human thirst for supremacy and control.

This balance of power has thus far kept our nation from descending into chaos, but the political process is often characterized by the base elements of human nature. Nasty attitudes, cutthroat competition, and arm-twisting manipulation are all too common.

The need for Christians to enter the political process is evident. Elected officials make the decisions that affect not only our everyday lives, but also the future of our nation. The very real danger, however, is that we become corrupted by the very process we are trying to change.

And so, we come to James 1:19-20:

But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God. James 1:19b-20 (NASB)

To put it differently, we might say, “the attitudes and methods of humanity do not achieve God’s kingdom purposes.”

Why does it matter what methods we use to advance our cause? Because, ultimately, ungodly means will backfire. Rather than establishing a righteous future for our children and grandchildren, unwise actions will only make matters worse.

Author Philip Yancey said it well:

C. S. Lewis observed that almost all crimes of Christian history have come about when religion is confused with politics. Politics, which always runs by the rules of ungrace, allures us to trade away grace for power, a temptation the church has often been unable to resist.

My friends, this is why we humble our hearts to fast and pray! The last thing we want to do is abandon the superior power of God’s grace for the inferior power of the political arena.

Rather than being corrupted by the world’s system, we are using kingdom means to achieve God’s purposes. And as we seek heavenly wisdom for earthly problems, the Holy Spirit will enlighten our hearts, form our attitudes, and direct our actions.

Personal Reflection: Have I allowed my heart to be hardened by the coldness of the cutthroat world around me?

Prayer: Jesus, please forgive me for using worldly means to achieve good purposes. Help me understand the dynamics of how Your kingdom works.

Bible Reading:

Matthew 6:9-18

Matthew 24:9-14

1 Timothy 2:1-8

Image by Pexels from Pixabay

The post Day 7 – Teach Me Your Ways appeared first on Search for Me Ministries.

I have walked this earth for more decades than I care to admit, but there is a part of me that never really grew up. My all-time favorite Christmas story continues to be How the Grinch Stole Christmas. I’m not thinking about the poor excuse for a movie that does no justice to the Dr. Seuss book, but rather the short, animated video that was so masterfully produced.

I have many favorite parts in that story, such as Max riding behind the sled he was supposed to be pulling, and little Cindy Lou Who (who was not more than two) stumbling upon the impostor Claus. But the moment that inspires me most is when the Grinch had a “Christmas conversion,” and his heart grew not one, but three sizes.

Too many of us, myself included, have grown up in small worlds and with small hearts. Our thoughts, words, and actions proclaim that we will embrace anyone—who happens to be just like us.

If we are honest with ourselves, we are more grinch-like than we care to admit. How we look with suspicion upon those who are different, and down with judgment upon those whose ideologies stray from our own. And as Christians, we might even champion the idea of missions—as long as “those people” stay “over there.”

I can’t say that my heart has ever been all that large, but sixteen years of college ministry affected me deeply. Day in and day out, I interacted with a diverse array of students. Some came from across town, and others from across the ocean. Some had the light skin representative of my hometown, and others were of varying shades. Some had the typical hair colors to which I was accustomed, and others sported hues of bright pink and neon green.

Through it all, I learned a vital lesson: each person is created in the image of God and is a potential recipient of the grace that flows from Christ’s timeless sacrifice. 

Do you know what Jesus hated? It certainly wasn’t people from other cultures or countries. He didn’t even hate sinners. The Son of God lovingly embraced many who were scorned and rejected by the covenant people of God. Jesus hated self-righteousness and hypocrisy.

As Christians, we profess to love others because we know that is what God expects. But if our world is small and our hearts self-righteous, we find convenient excuses to exclude them from the sphere of our concern. Professing love, while looking down our noses with judgement at those who fail to meet our standards, then leads us into the realm of hypocrisy. And though I naturally stray into that territory from time to time, it is certainly not a place where I want to set up camp.

Personal Reflection: What makes me think that my culture is superior to others?

Prayer: Heavenly Father, I do not want to be a spiritual grinch. Please enlarge my heart and help me to see and love all peoples as You do.

Bible Reading:

Luke 10:25-37

Galatians 3:19-29

Philippians 2:1-11

Image by ErikaWittlieb from Pixabay

The post Day 6 – Enlarge My Heart appeared first on Search for Me Ministries.

The moment that Adam and Eve defied God and ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil stands at the epicenter of human tragedy. And as bad as the situation was, our ancient ancestors made matters all the worse by refusing to take ownership of their actions. Instead, they cast blame, and their descendants have followed suit ever since.

Thankfully, there are a few exceptions to our natural human tendency to blame others. Rather than focusing on everyone else, the wise prophet Daniel took ownership of his nation’s sins:

So I gave my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth and ashes. I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed and said, “Alas, O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments, we have sinned, committed iniquity, acted wickedly and rebelled, even turning aside from Your commandments and ordinances. Moreover, we have not listened to Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings, our princes, our fathers and all the people of the land. Daniel 9:3-6 (NASB)

Daniel had been a young man when the kingdom of Judah was driven into captivity. The idolatrous sins that caused a landslide of judgment were not his. They belonged to the generations before him. Even so, Daniel chose to identify with his people and to confess the sins of a nation as though they were his own.

The truth is that none of us is truly pure in heart (Galatians 3:22). God does not look lift the curse of judgment from our lives because we are so righteous, but because we have been clothed with His righteousness through faith in Christ. It is likely, then, that Daniel owned the sins of Judah because he realized his own dark potential.

Regardless of whether the sins belong to us or those around us, humbling our hearts and making confession to the Lord is a necessary component of change. An ancient verse provides a powerful encouragement to do so:

The Lord is gracious and merciful; Slow to anger and great in lovingkindness. Psalm 145:8

Because of God’s great mercy, and because Jesus died on the cross to purchase our forgiveness, we do not ignore sin or wallow in it. Instead, we humble ourselves and confess our sins to the Lord. Ownership, honesty, and prayer set the stage for the dominion of sin to finally be broken.

Personal Reflection: Have I brought my sins into the light by confessing them to God?

Prayer: Lord, I confess that I have sinned and that I am superior to no one.

Bible Reading:

Daniel 9:3-19

James 1:9

Hebrews 4:12-16

Image by StockSnap from Pixabay

The post Day 5 – Confessing Our Sins appeared first on Search for Me Ministries.

If I had to chose between going to the eye doctor and the dentist, the choice would be an easy one. Someone poking around in my mouth is far more unpleasant than looking through a glass lens. Even so, there is one eye test that I especially dislike: the peripheral vision test.

For the peripheral vision test, I lean my head into a big white monitor of sorts. Random lights begin to flash, and my task is to press a button every time I see a flash. Many of the lights are faint, however, so I’m always wondering if I’m seeing what I think I’m seeing.

One year, after taking the test, the optometrist said, “Excellent! You only missed two. That’s exactly what should have happened.”

I must have looked confused, so he followed up by explaining that all people naturally have a blind spot in each eye. There’s a technical reason for it, but it was the general idea that caught my attention because of the spiritual parallel involved.

We all have blind spots—areas of our hearts that we cannot see. There might be cancerous and sinful rot growing in those places, but we wouldn’t know because we are naturally blind to them.

King David—that passionate lover of God—once prayed:

Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way. Psalms 139:23-24 (NASB)

David clearly grasped that the Creator of all things can see what we cannot. But I sometimes wonder when David lifted this prayer to heaven. Was it before his terrible sin of sleeping with a married woman and having her husband murdered? Or did David pen these words after he had a fuller understanding of his own frailty? If David had uttered this prayer sooner, could he have avoided inflicting and experiencing a ton of pain?

There is no way for us to know the intricate details of King David’s story, but it’s entirely possible that the heartfelt use of his prayer might spare someone considerable grief.

For my part, I would much rather invite the Lord to search my heart than to mindlessly bumble into a terrible sin. How much better it is to open our hearts to the all-seeing God than to rivet our attention on the shortcomings of those around us!

Personal Reflection: Have I asked the Lord to search my heart and given Him complete freedom to do so?

Personal Prayer: Lord God, I choose to join with the great saints of old by asking you to search my heart and to free me from any tendencies that run contrary to your design.

 Bible Reading:

Psalm 139

Jeremiah 17:5-10

Hebrews 4:12

Image by James Nichols from Pixabay

The post Day 4 – Search My Heart appeared first on Search for Me Ministries.

By nature, we all think that we see with crystal clarity. The idea that my wisdom is superior is not limited to those who have devoted themselves to study in the halls of higher learning.

Living in a college town, but having grown up in a rural area, I am especially aware of the conflicting mindsets between the educated elite and the blue-collar worker.

College professors are often known for their arrogance. Hiring a carpenter to work at his house, the professor might think, “Look at this guy. His clothes are stained and ripped, his hands are rough, and his language is unrefined. The lack of education is obvious.”

Meanwhile, the carpenter will scoff when he sees the job that the professor hired him to complete. “Well, the guy surely lacks common sense. Even my grade-school kid could make this fix. But that’s okay, if he wants to waste his cash and pay me good money to do simple tasks, I’m all for it!”

Over time, such judgmental attitudes cannot help but seep into our public dialogue. And how our relationships suffer!

As simple as it sounds, one of the keys to getting along is to slow down, take note of our thoughts, and to admit that we are not as informed as we think. This is especially true regarding moral and religious issues.

One of the most powerful stories in the Bible is that of the man born blind—as found in John 9. In this story, Jesus didn’t just heal the sight of a man who was blind from birth, He also used the event as an opportunity to stick a pin in the egos the Pharisees:

And Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, so that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind.” Those of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these things and said to Him, “We are not blind too, are we?” Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but since you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains.” John 9:39-41 (NASB)

As much as we’d like to heap condemnation on the heads of those Pharisees, Jesus was speaking of a pride issue, and sadly, we are all guilty.

We seem to see well enough to identify everyone’s faults but our own.

When we humble ourselves during a fast, we are admitting that we do not see as we should. We are proclaiming to our Creator that, in the grand scheme of our cosmos, we know painfully little.

Humility is the key to spiritual clarity.

“Lord, heal open my eyes and heal my blindness” is a fitting prayer for every one of us to lift to heaven.

Personal Reflection: Of all that there is to know about God and life, how much knowledge do I possess?

Prayer: Jesus, I confess that I am blind and can see nothing apart from what You allow. Please heal my blindness and open my eyes to see as You see.

Bible Reading:

Proverbs 3:5-8

Matthew 7:1-5

John 9

Image by S. Hermann & F. Richter from Pixabay

The post Day 3 – Open My Eyes appeared first on Search for Me Ministries.

2 Chronicles 7:14 is a popular passage with many devout Christians:

If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14 (ESV)

These words, expressed by King Solomon during the dedication of the first Jewish temple, have provided a powerful call to prayer for God’s children in the midst of corrupt spirituality—as well they should.

There is one aspect of Solomon’s prayer, however, that has been lost throughout the centuries: the imagery.

In that Middle East era, grief, humility, and repentance were marked by tearing one’s clothes, donning an uncomfortable sackcloth, covering the head with ashes, and abstaining from food and drink. In a world in which clothing choices were limited, the representative statement was extreme. Extreme circumstances required a strong response.

In the Old Testament, we find many stories of personal or corporate repentance with sackcloth and ashes. And God responded! When the Jews were threatened with destruction during the time of Esther, many of them cried out to God in this way. Daniel fasted while wearing sackcloth and ashes during Israel’s exile in Babylon. Even the pagan city of Nineveh found reprieve from judgment when they responded in this way.

I am not suggesting that we reclaim the ancient practice of fasting with sackcloth and ashes, but that we adopt the attitude of the ancients as we pray for our nation. And while going without food for a day might seem like an extreme way to approach God with a humble heart, we must remember that extreme circumstances require extreme humility.

Our nation is at a crossroads as a massive power play is at work. If we want to see the kingdom of God at work, we must put off our prideful attitudes and humble our hearts before the Lord. This means taking our eyes off the shortcomings of others and bringing our honest selves into His presence.

Personal Reflection: Am I willing to embrace an attitude of true humility in light of all that is happening around me?

Prayer: Lord, please show me how You would have me respond to the perilous state of our nation.

Bible Reading:

Esther 4

Daniel 9:3-15

Jonah 3:6-10

The post Day 2 – Sackcloth and Ashes appeared first on Search for Me Ministries.