Crosswalk.com--The Devotional

[Judy Harder]

Owned by Identity, Bought by a Savior
by John UpChurch, Senior Editor of BibleStudyTools.com

You are not your own, for you were bought with a price (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).

Arguments about "identity" should end at this verse. For non-Christians, it's meaningless noise. For Christians, it's everything. We own nothing from our hair follicles to our toenails. Every drop of cytoplasm, every hormone, every spark of our synapses was paid for in full. Christ didn't die for the "good" parts or the parts we let Him have; He wanted all of us.

That's why it makes no sense for us to justify what's natural or what makes us happy or what satisfies us. To do so breaks us into pieces, compartmentalizing where we will and will not surrender, what we will and will not hand over to Christ. But the choice isn't ours. The price paid was for the whole shebang.

The heart loves to mass-produce idols, and identity works just as well as anything else. Deep inside, the hammers of what's just and fair and right beat in time with our resistance to surrender. We know who we are, and we can't change.

But the possibility of change is completely beside the point. Even if no change comes before the perfect does (1 Corinthians 13:10), even if the desires never stop, we have no room to act on them or justify them. We have no ownership in ourselves. Not even a partial vacation stake.

It all belongs to Jesus.

Christ urged us to follow Him with the heavy weight of lumber slung across our shoulders (Mark 8:34). That image is one of ownership. Why else would we take up humiliation and hardship to struggle after a bloodied Lamb? It isn't an image of coercion, but of willingness. Just as the Messiah surrendered Himself to be crucified, we crucify ourselves to admit surrender.

The arguments about orientations or ingrained needs or natural behaviors focus on one thing: us. They point to who we are and what we want. Put succinctly, such discussions are nothing more than navel-gazing. We're peering down at what makes us tick and letting that determine our course.

And ultimately, none of it matters. That navel we're peering so deeply into belongs to Christ. He bought it.

We've got genes. They're Christ's. We've got a past. It's Christ's. We've got failures and foibles and more twisted thoughts than we know what to do with. And they're hammered to the cross. The ownership of a Savoir sidesteps any arguments about identity because our true identity starts and ends with who we are in Christ. It undercuts any passionate defense of "who I am" because who we are is His. Nothing should come between us—the purchased—and the One who took care of the bill.

We must not let the clanging of our idol-making heart drown out the call of Christ to follow how He leads.

Intersecting Faith and Life: Salvation is free, but following Jesus isn't. The cost isn't in wealth or doing enough good stuff. It's sacrifice—the willful surrender of even some of our most cherished beliefs about ourselves and what we need. When we come to Christ but refuse to surrender it all, we're like the rich man who couldn't bear the thought of empty pockets (Matthew 16:19-30). We're not all in.

However you identified yourself before you got blisters from hauling around your cross, that identity is now the old identity. You gave it up to the One who paid up. You're His. You're new.

For Further Reading

1 Corinthians 6
2 Corinthians 5

[Judy Harder]

Fits Any Niche
by Shawn McEvoy, Crosswalk.com Managing Editor

Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.
Psalm 119:105

All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness.
2 Timothy 3:16

As the editor responsible for all devotional content here at Crosswalk, one of the questions I'm asked most frequently by our beloved users goes something like this:

"Your devotional offerings are great, but could you please include one for cousins of divorcees with sleeping disorders who have befriended agnostic vegetarians? Because that would be really great."

Okay, that's an exaggeration (but only barely). And it's not like we dislike filling niches. We have devotionals for women, the workplace, weight loss and the list goes on. We're continually adding to the selection and have plans for a men's devotional, a children's devotional, a singles devotional, and more. To an extent, we're at the mercy of what's well-written, theologically sound, recognizable, and most of all, available.

But when I'm asked a question like, "My fiance and I are interested in a devotional for yet-to-be-married couples living in the mid-Atlantic from different church backgrounds who are both post-millenialists. What do you recommend for us?" my answer is always the same:

Just study the Word, man.

Whether you find it here or somewhere else, locate a ministry, author, preacher, or regular old Joe/JoAnn whom God has gifted with insight into his holy scriptures, and read their take regularly. Follow that up with your own deeper individual study. Take that into praying with a spouse, accountability partner, disciple, or mentor. Join a group Bible Study. And take notes during sermons.

It's not much more complicated than that. We sometimes make it so. We pigeonhole ourselves or our current life situation or level of belief, and so risk hindering the effective wholeness of the Word.

Besides, if there's one thing I've noticed through almost a biblical generation of life, it's that our specific situations are many times made more complex by our non-stop obsession with them, and are often made more simple by backing off and getting at them indirectly through solid study that may not at first seem related to what we are going through.

There's nothing wrong with wanting to hear which verses were blessings to folks who have gone through heartbreaks or challenges similar to what you are now experiencing. What I'm suggesting is that the Word of the Lord never returns void. And that there have been several topics I've tried to understand (and been disappointed in the lack of direct guidance the Bible appears to give on the subject), or several life situations I've wanted to study (and not known where to start or how to find others who have biblical wisdom to offer in the form of a devotional) that have been solved when I stepped away and just studied sound teaching with prayer.

One example is when, as a young man, I wanted to find everything the Bible said about the "big sins" our youth ministers were so concerned with keeping us from -- sex and drinking. I shortly exhausted all the verses that dealt directly with these topics. But it wasn't until I backed away from a focus on these issues and began more comprehensive studies of what God had to say about all things that the picture grew bigger and the reasons for abstinence, purity, sobriety, and not causing others to stumble became clear in the light of grace, righteousness, sacrifice, and ministry.

Another example is the time I was battling a crippling depression. I found few answers and little comfort in attacking the problem directly -- even if there didn't seem to be a lack of correlative verses or devos, which only would have reminded me double of the state I was in. What did help was reading other topics from the Bible, and books from established Christian authors and preachers about the Bible itself, about faith, about truth. Eventually the clouds lifted, and I was stronger for having gone through the darkness and for the overarching principles that brought me home.

Let me encourage you today not to wall yourself off from the full richness of the Word, but to seek out sound doctrine and study on general principles regularly that I promise will apply to your specifics, whether directly or indirectly, immediately or eventually.

Further Reading

A Plea to Use the Bible Every Day
How to Have a Meaningful Quiet Time

[Judy Harder]

Blessed are the Meek
by Sarah Phillips

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Mt 5: 5 (NIV)

I used to have a strong dislike for the word "meek." It brings me back a decade to a defining moment during my sophomore year of high school.

I was a shy teenager who had stepped outside of her comfort zone by enrolling in several theater classes, including a class on "behind the scenes" theater productions. This should have been the easiest of all the courses for my sensitive nature. But my instructor, while delegating roles for the Spring production of Peter Pan, proved me wrong when she voiced her choice of stage manager like this:

"I've chosen Melissa because I need someone with a strong personality - someone who isn't meek, like Sarah."

Of course, I only drove her point home when I didn't stick up for myself. I spent years after that scene developing assertiveness, determined to prove that Sarah was not meek. Like this teacher, I associated meekness with weakness and both were traits that needed to be eradicated if I was going to get anywhere in life.

At least that's what I thought until I found that dreaded word jumping off the pages of scripture at me in the Gospel of Matthew. There it was, one of the first things Jesus says in his famous Sermon on the Mount.

Our deacon offered some thoughts on this verse that helped put things in perspective for me. He shared that it's in the Sermon on the Mount where we see Jesus begin to expand on His true purpose - and to the disappointment of many, He was not going to be an earthly king bestowing power and prestige on His people, not just yet. Instead, God's plan for mankind included an interior transformation of souls for the sake of an eternal kingdom. To properly prepare us for this kingdom, God rejected earthly methods of acquiring power in favor of the healing that comes with merciful love.

It is God's mercy that changes our hearts from hearts of stone to hearts of flesh. It's Christ's humility, His lowliness, that beckons us into a relationship with Him. And ultimately, it was Christ's willingness to give up earthly glory that opened the door for us to share in His eternal glory.

Now, as much as I would like earthly power, He asks us to "learn from him." As our souls find rest in God, He can continue His redemptive work through us as we display these same "weaker" virtues to the world.

This isn't to say God lacks power or that Christians should throw out virtues like courage. I think sometimes cultivating traits like meekness and humility are trickier than learning boldness because we can easily tip the scales too far and become passive. It's a difficult balance, but a necessary one if we want to reflect Christ to a hurting world.

Intersecting Faith & Life: Is there a situation in your life right now that would benefit from a little meekness, humility, or gentleness on your part? Ask God to show you how to have a meek and humble heart like His - one that offers healing and restoration while maintaining your God-given dignity.

Further Reading:

Psalm 37: 11
Ephesians 4: 2
James 4: 10

[Judy Harder]

White Walls
by Meghan Kleppinger

Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon, "Build houses and live {in them;} and plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and become the fathers of sons and daughters, and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; and multiply there and do not decrease. Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf; for in its welfare you will have welfare."
Jeremiah 29:4-7

If we were playing the word association game and someone said, "Military life," I would answer "white walls."

Thanks to our travel agency, otherwise known as the U.S. Army, I moved with my family 13 times before I graduated from college. Many of our abodes were Army quarters (houses on army installations for military families). The walls were always white. I determined early on that when I moved out on my own there wouldn't be a single white wall in my home.

From the time I graduated college until now, I've continued to be in transition which has meant more white walls in my apartments. Well, I just bought my first house and, of course, I'm not thinking about the practical purchases that need to be made (like a washer and a dryer for example), I'm considering color! I'm thinking about the things that need to be done to help me feel settled and at home.

Eventually, I could move to a different town, or I could marry (this one gets my parents' vote), or a number of other things could happen that would require me to move out of this house. Will my probable future keep my belongings in their boxes or the paint in its can? Of course not! If there is one thing I learned as a military kid, it's to make home wherever I am for as long as I am there.

This world is not our permanent home and God tells us our days are like a breath (Psalm 144:4), but He has also given each of us the opportunity to unpack our boxes and make an impact while we are here.

Like the exiles in Babylon, God has put each of us where we are at this time for a reason. While we anticipate a "better country" (Hebrews 11:16), we are to live, enjoy the blessings God continues to give, and exhibit a life that tells others of His magnificent love.

Intersecting Faith & Life: In the words of missionary Jim Elliot, "Wherever you are, be all there." In other words, get a brush and paint some walls!

Further Reading

Called to Contentment: Living Happily, Here and Now

[Judy Harder]

Is Suffering Inevitable?
by Shawn McEvoy, Managing Editor, Crosswalk.com

For it is better, if God should will it so, that you suffer for doing what is right rather than for doing what is wrong.
1 Peter 3:17, NAS

Suffering. It's not standard daily devotional fare, because let's face it, usually we want to begin or end our day being uplifted, or even better, lifting up God, rather than focusing on our pains and problems.

But there's the rub... we all have pains and problems. Christian and non-Christian. Lifelong disciple and baby believer. Red and yellow, black and white. Everyone, from the moment he or she was born, has struggled, tried, failed, hurt, sinned, misunderstood, and reacted. Humanity shares a true brotherhood over suffering, one that we might understand a lot better if suffering weren't also so relative. By which I mean, one person's issues may sound simple, easy-to-solve, even petty to another. "That's nothing compared to what I've had to endure!"

But the fact is, your sorrows and difficulties are real to you. It's one reason why I'm no fan of when people say a certain place or time in their lives isn't "the real world," as if the spot they are currently tucked away at is immune from any degree of difficulty.

Suffering is very real, and there's certainly no reason any Christian would expect life to be otherwise. We purport to follow a "Suffering Savior." His stripes have healed us, and wow do we seem to feel them sometimes, which is as it should be, as we deserved them instead of Him. If we agree that no person but one - no matter where they lived or how easy or hard they had it - has escaped sin's corruption, then how much more must we agree that truly NO person has escaped suffering?

Look at what Peter suggests in today's verse: you can suffer for doing good, or you can suffer for doing bad. By extension, some of the problems in your life may be a result of your own rebellion, while other hurts may naturally result from walking so closely with Christ that you ache at the injustice and hardship around you, with the world despising and persecuting you.

In the classic allegory Hinds' Feet on High Places, Much-Afraid journeys with companions named Sorrow and Suffering, and these two assist her in her climb up the Injury Precipice, which is a part of her transformation into "Grace and Glory."

The same is true for you. Your sufferings have informed you, educated you, helped you along in your journey. You may despise them, but they are yours. And they will be with you whether you are doing right, or not. Of course, the nature of them will be quite different.

There may be one way, though, to avoid suffering. There's a third option, left out here by Peter, but not left out by John in the Revelation. It's the lukewarm response to life, the do-nothing approach. This is the approach that cocoons itself off from life and all of its pain. And make no mistake, "Life is pain, Highness. Anyone who says differently is selling something," says that famous theologian the Man in Black in The Princess Bride.

You may not feel anything from inside a cocoon; in fact, it may be an abundance of pain and suffering that forced you in there. But remember, no creature that cocoons itself is intended to stay locked up forever. The point is to be rested, healed, matured, transformed. To become more beautiful, useful. Even the emerging process itself carries a degree of struggle, but one that, if the insect did not go through itself, would leave it too weak to fly.

So be lifted up in your suffering today.

It is a companion.

It is designed to transform you.

It gives you a share in the inheritance of Christ and the brotherhood of humanity.

And it gives you empathy, which gives you every excuse for ministry.

Intersecting Faith & Life: Make it your goal to partake, as much as possible, only of the brand of suffering that comes from doing what is right according to God's Word.

Further Reading

God's Undeserved Gift to the World: Christian Sufferers
Trusting God in the Darkness

[Judy Harder]

Understanding the Old Testament
by Ryan Duncan, Crosswalk.com Entertainment Editor

The Almighty--we cannot find him; he is great in power; justice and abundant righteousness he will not violate. – Job 37:23

Like many Christians, when the New Year started I resolved to spend more time reading my Bible. I had already spent most of the previous year combing through the New Testament, so I decided to start at the very beginning and make my way through the Old Testament. Maybe it's a sign of how little I've read my Bible lately, but I had forgotten how brutal the Old Testament could be. In particular, I spent a lot of time going over the Old Testament laws and the punishments for breaking them. It baffled me that the smallest infraction on the most obscure law could often lead to exile, or even death.

If you're like me, you probably found yourself questioning these pages of the Old Testament. After all, how could a loving God condemn someone so harshly for eating pork or working on the Sabbath? This is a question I still struggle with, but a verse in Deuteronomy helped me toward understanding it more.             

"Do not say in your heart, after the LORD your God has thrust them out before you, 'It is because of my righteousness that the LORD has brought me in to possess this land,' whereas it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the LORD is driving them out before you. Not because of your righteousness or the uprightness of your heart are you going in to possess their land, but because of the wickedness of these nations the LORD your God is driving them out from before you, and that he may confirm the word that the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. "Know, therefore, that the LORD your God is not giving you this good land to possess because of your righteousness, for you are a stubborn people." –Deuteronomy 9:4-6

I think our problem is that humanity likes to look at the Bible (and history) through rose-colored lenses. We forget that back then there was no electricity, no internet, no police, no hospitals, and the ruling governments weren't all that interested in things like free speech or trial by jury. The Old Testament law was a harsh and rigid guideline because the Israelites lived in a harsh and brutal world. God knew that telling the early Israelites to "turn the other cheek" would eventually lead to their destruction, so he took measures to protect them until the world was ready to receive the Gospel of Grace through his Son. The Old Testament will always be difficult to understand, but that does not make God's love for us any less true.

Intersecting Faith and Life: If there is something in scripture you do not understand, ask a pastor or bring it to your small group.

Further Reading

Job 38

[Judy Harder]

My Mother's Example
by Fred Alberti, Salem Web Network Director of Social Media

Listen, my son, to your father's instruction and do not forsake your mother's teaching.
Proverbs 1:8

I'll never forget waking in the morning to get ready for school and finding my mother outside on the deck reading her Bible and praying. That scene has been burned into my mind so strongly that I now find myself also abiding with the Lord surrounded by His creation in the great outdoors.

Did my mother tell me that I must do this? No. Rather, she taught me this through example.

One thing I have learned through my career is that an online community tends to be the reflection of those who lead it. I think the same can be true for parenting. Our children are a reflection of us.

Do we habitually break the law by speeding? We can expect to see our children show the same respect to the law.

Do we habitually overeat? (By the way, this is called gluttony and is a sin). If so, we can expect to see our children also become plump when they adopt our own lifestyle.

Do we reject the notion of loving others? Yes, here too, our children will exhibit that same lack of compassion.

Do we contribute to the disintegration of the family by breaking our marriage vows? Yes, if we do not take seriously, "until death do us part" then we can expect our children to likewise adopt the false teaching that marriage vows are expendable and only good for as long as we are pleased with the relationship.

While children are charged with not forsaking their parents' teachings we have the higher responsibility. We are to train and raise a generation of people who are being ingrained with the concept that loving the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, body, and soul is of utmost importance.

How are we doing that today?

What teaching and instruction are our children learning through observing our Christian walk?

Intersecting Faith & Life: Work on consistently setting time aside to be with the Lord in a quiet setting. This can be outside under a tree or even a place in the house with a door that can lock (I've known many a mom that is forced to use the bathroom for such an endeavor). The important thing is that you make it a priority to be with the Lord and seek His guidance in your life.

Further Reading

My Mother Taught Me...
There's More to Mother's Day Than Flowers

[Judy Harder]

Anything and Everything
by Shawn McEvoy, Crosswalk.com Managing Editor

He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all--how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Romans 8:32

My children, at ages five and three, knew my weakness.

They recognized that it's not ice cream, baseball, or their mom's chili... or even a hug or puppy-dog eyes from them.

See, none of the above make me cry (although the chili almost did once). Yes, my children have seen their father cry. It's not something I wanted, or intended. I'm a man, after all. I go to work, show my strength. I coach, help, show, point, and guide. I communicate, discipline, and lead. I pray. I do not cry.

...Except when I read Shel Silverstein's The Giving Tree, that is.

And like I said, my children, who are older now, have known this from early on. And oh, have they twisted that knife. We must own a couple hundred children's books, but if it's a night where Daddy is doing the bedtime reading rather than Mommy, what have they invariangly picked through the years? The Giving Tree of course!

I've been reading this book, first published in 1964, since I myself was a child, and no matter how many times I do, I am unable to de-sensitize. I mean, when I watch the movie Field of Dreams and Ray has a catch with his ghost-dad, that gets me. But if I see the scene over and over within a certain time frame? Nah. No sweat, no tears. But this blasted children's book... well... what's going on here?

First of all, you're probably wondering that very thing if you aren't familiar with the story. A tree and a boy are the best of friends during an idyllic childhood for the young man where he eats apples from the tree, climbs her trunk, swings from her branches, and rests in her shade. Then things change, as things do, and we see the boy approach the tree at all the various stages of his life, caught up - understandably, even - more in wanting and needing than in just being. Every time he has a "need," the tree obliges... and is happy for having done so. She doesn't have much, but gives all she has until eventually, she is nothing but a stump. At the end of all things, however, it turns out a stump is just what the old man needs - a quiet place to sit down and rest and reflect. "And the tree was happy. The end."

And I am undone... again.

Is it because I am reading the story to my children, and I know our stories will be very much like that of the tree and the boy, where they are my delight but eventually I must simply become provider as they go out into the world? Yes and no.

Is it because our family copy of the book - the one I read to the kids - carries an inscription from my wife on our first Christmas as husband and wife that says, "With God's help, may I love you like this"? Yes and no.

Is it because as my father lay dying I told him of the story (he wasn't familiar with it), and how he had been that tree for me? That's definitely part of it. My mother, I remember, commented that she didn't recall it being a "Christian" book. I didn't really have an answer to that, only to what I saw in it. Which is...

Complete love to the point of emptying. Unquestioning sacrifice, even for someone who isn't appreciating or understanding what they've been given. A desire only to have communion. An entering into final rest. In other words, a perfect example of the immensity of what Jesus did for me, desired from me, provides for me, and will carry me to.

That is why I always cry.

So every time I finish the story, eyes full of tears, my kids look at me as if to say, "Are you okay?" My youngest used to ask, "Why you cry, Dad?" And every time I've explained, I think she has understood just the tiniest bit more. These are tears of being overwhelmed by the enormity of the Giver and the immensity of a gift to a person consumed with self-interest who has forgotten innocence. This past summer, my prayers were answered as these children opened their hearts to receive that gift. Now I pray that they won't miss the other lesson from the book: all our Giver really wants in return is our time, for us to come to Him as we did as children.

Intersecting Faith & Life: But can any of us actually hope to become more like the tree in the story? Parents know what it means to give every last ounce of everything they are to the betterment of their children. We have reason for doing so. Do you know anyone who empties themselves this way for those they don't have a familial reason to love? What steps can you take to emulate their Christ-like, unconditional love?

Further Reading

Giving is What Living is All About
2 Corinthians 8:3-12

[Judy Harder]

Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Romans 12:15

"Just installed our kitchen countertops! They're GOREGEOUS."

I rolled my eyes as I glanced at the pictures someone - no older than me, a 25-year-old - had just posted online. Picture after picture of their sparkly new kitchen, inside their custom built (custom built, I tell you!) house. I looked up from screen and into my own tiny apartment kitchen with its plain, generic countertops. Nothing custom-built in my place. I tried not to think about it, but it was too late - jealousy had flooded my heart. It's scary how natural it flowed in. All I wanted in that moment was to be OUT of my apartment and into some glamorous space of my own. Can you relate?

I love it when the Bible is black and white. There's no confusion surrounding Romans 12:15 - we're called to rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Pretty simple... except when it isn't. I bet most of us wouldn't have to think too hard to remember a time we failed pretty miserably at rejoicing over someone's joy, or weeping as another wept. Why do we have this challenge?

When we fail to rejoice with those who rejoice, there could be several reasons why, but here are some I thought of off the top of my head: insecurity, jealousy or envy, discontent, bitterness.

What about when we fail to weep with those who weep? Here are some reasons (excuses, really) that come to mind: lacking compassion, both generally in life or toward a certain individual; perhaps not taking the time to listen or really put yourself in the person's position; too busy to notice the suffering of others, distancing yourself emotionally from pain.

I've thought of some scenarios that may indicate we're failing at Romans 12:15:


Instead of rejoicing at someone's news, we immediately begin to compare how our circumstances measure up.
We're quick to say "Oh yes, that happened to me once, too" instead of silently listening and acknowledging the hurt of others.
We try to come to the rescue in every situation, rather than acknowledging that some suffering isn't solvable or explainable (think Job and his friends).
We brush off the pain of others because we think they are "taking things too hard."
We're quick to say, "Well at least you've never experienced this" (insert whatever horrible thing we've experienced).
We think they cheated their way to the blessings, just got lucky or don't deserve the good thing they received (their parents are totally paying for that custom-built house!).
So what's at the root of all of this? What's the "sin beneath the sin," so to speak?

I think central to our failure to rejoice and weep with others is a preoccupation with self. We can't step outside of ourselves long enough to truly step into both the blessings and sufferings of those around us. It's taken me a while, but I've tried to make a habit of acknowledging the joys and sufferings of others without immediately inserting myself into the situation. This isn't a natural inclination for me. Satan is the master of deception and loves to make us fall for one of the oldest tricks in the book: that everything is about us.

Ultimately, the key to mastering Romans 12:15 isn't just thinking about ourselves less. We've got to think about God more. People are most successful at eliminating bad behaviors or habits from their lives when they replace them with a good habit or behavior. So, I not only have to stop focusing on myself, but I have to replace all that time I spend thinking of myself with thinking of God. This is life transforming; this is the key to killing pride - not simply humbling yourself, but exalting God - who is the only thing worthy of our exaltation.

When I'm thinking about God, and not about myself, he reminds me of some powerful truths:

I've come from dust and I'll return to dust.  Genesis 3:19 reminds me that no matter how much I get ahead in life, eventually I'm going to die. And nothing on this earth is worth coveting when I acknowledge that I can't take it with me.

I am beautifully and wonderfully made. Psalm 139 reminds me that God made me perfectly, intentionally, knowingly- so I need to stop comparing the body I have to others. He made me just right.

A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones. Proverbs 14:30 reminds me that envy is a crippling sin; I could literally waste my life away being envious of others. Contentment, on the other hand, brings life.

Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. Galatians 6:2 reminds me that our part of our calling as Christians is to care for those burdened and help carry the burdens of others. I don't get to "pass" on this part of my faith if it doesn't come naturally to me or if I feel inconvenienced or uncomfortable by it. I don't get to ignore the sufferings of others; I'm called to step into it.

After meditating on God's promises and blessings, I am able to recall all the wonderful things about our apartment (hello, cheap rent!) and the many, many ways God has blessed and provided for me. Proverbs 30:8 says, "Give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread." As Christians, contentment in our own circumstances is the surest way to reflect the all satisfying power of Christ to those who may need to be reminded of where their joys and sufferings begin and end.

Intersecting Faith & Life: Do you struggle to rejoice with those rejoicing or weep with those weeping? Check yourself - what's stopping you? Pray that God would help uncover the "sin beneath the sin" - the ways you're focusing on yourself instead of focusing on Him.

[Judy Harder]

Love... and Other Mysteries
by John UpChurch, Senior Editor of BibleStudyTools.com

My goal is that they will be encouraged and knit together by strong ties of love. I want them to have full confidence because they have complete understanding of God's secret plan [mystery], which is Christ himself. (Colossians 2:2 NLT)

There are two things you need to know about how I met my wife. These two inevitably surprise or shock; so, we'll just get them out of the way first. We met on eHarmony (back when it was still a Christian site), and from the first date to the date of the wedding was four months. Yes, four—and that was actually longer than we wanted.

Okay, so maybe there are three surprises here. You see, I knew I wanted to marry her before we had even seen each other. No pictures. No hints. Nothing. The beauty of eHarmony back then was that you didn't have to show your face to the other person. You filled out a personality profile, and then found yourself knee-deep in a pool of potential matches. Well, that was supposed to be how it worked, and that's what happened for my wife-to-be.

But I only had one match. Her.

You could call it providence. You could call it "finding the one." Or you could call it a decided lack of women on the site. Whatever the case, we asked each other a few questions, and then started emailing. Emailing led to phone calls. Phone calls led to a first date. And a first date led to a second date on the same day.

But I was gone well before that point. Tucked away in our phone conversations about high school nicknames (I'd tell you hers, but she'll read this) and our faith stumbles and triumphs, I came to know that I'd need to hear those stories—well—for as long our brains could dredge them up. Hers were mine. Mine were hers. All we needed was a place to drive away from with our car covered in toilet paper and chocolate letters. (Wedding tip: never give miniature chocolate candies to your wedding guests.)

When the apostle Paul talked about marriage being a mystery in Ephesians 5, I'm pretty sure he had mine in mind. Of course, by mystery, he didn't mean Sherlockian intuition wringing meaning from a peanut shell (or whatnot); he meant God opening our eyes to something. Where once the darkness smothered understanding, God turned the flood lights on. And it was ten times as awesome for being revealed at just the right time.

And that's why I'm thankful for the type of courtship I had. Not because I kissed dating goodbye, but because I went in blind. I had understanding of this feisty woman who lived an hour away, but I'd never seen her red hair or green eyes. I knew her spunk, but not her spark. That all changed when she climbed out of her car at the Brick Oven Grill. The mystery came flooding into non-mystery territory. And my jaw dropped. She truly blew away what I thought I knew.

Mysteries should do that: make our minds explode, knock things into place, jack our wonder up to a new level. God hinted at them and then brought full understanding suddenly and perfectly and with a kick-up-your-heels-in-a-hoedown kind of way.  And it was worth the wait.

Intersecting Faith & Life: We live on the other side of the Cross. From our perspective, it's a done deal. We know what happened. We know what went down to bring Jesus from heaven to earth, from the hill to the grave. That's an old story. Because of that, we often take mysteries for granted. But Jesus was a mystery. The Cross was a mystery. The gospel was a mystery. Not because there's no foreshadowing or hints or suggestions that Jesus would be coming, but because no one could really imagine something so crazy-good. And when it did come, people got just a wee bit excited. We should still be.

For Further Reading

Colossians 2
Ephesians 3