As much as you may hate to admit it, you were created with certain dependencies—the question is, on what or on whom are you depending on today? The hope of the past 21 days and this corporate fast has been that you’d find your way back to depending on the only one who can offer you true and abundant life. Because when we depend on anything else (i.e., a career, a relationship, a reputation, etc.), we’ll find ourselves being let down by things and people that don’t give us life, but will always steal our lives instead.

I don’t know about you, but I feel like life is always moving at a hurried pace. There’s an endless list of things to do, people to meet, places to visit, and dreams to chase. Yet, in the midst of all your busyness, have you ever asked yourself if you’re actually accomplishing anything at all? This question isn’t to downplay your everyday responsibilities—indeed, much of what you do is probably important work. But consider that eternity stretches beyond your life on earth, and eternity actually revolves around knowing and and being known by the God who has no beginning and no end. So again, I ask, what are you really accomplishing if you’re not learning how to grow closer to that God?

As you live, work, and play in this world, remember that God is always inviting you to start doing what you were created for—that is, to know and to be known by Him. There’s a fuller joy, firmer peace, and greater life available to those who decide for themselves this truth: Jesus + nothing else = everything. Learn what it means to abide in him. Tether yourself to His Word and to a life seeking His presence daily, starting today.

Jesus made it clear that he didn’t come to help those who were already capable, but he came to save those that were helpless. He came to be a savior for the helpless. Perhaps it’s because of our pride or the delusion that we can be self-sufficient—but over time, many of us seem to only seek Jesus and cry out to him for help when we need something. When we do this, whether we realize it or not, we’ve actually turned Jesus into an assistant rather than a savior.

The reality is, we don’t like to think of ourselves as desperate or in need of a savior. We’d much rather save ourselves than rely on someone else to save us. But the gospel confronts each of us with the truth that we were “dead” in sin. (Eph. 2) Dead people can’t save anything. Dead people can’t do anything. God had to intervene to bring us back to life, and He did just that by sending the savior that could do what we could never do for ourselves. When you truly grasp the heart of the gospel, then there’s no other way to look at Jesus but with gratitude for saving us when we couldn’t save ourselves.
 
Hear this good news today: God loves to pour out grace on those who can admit that they are helpless and needy. You will never outgrow your need for God’s grace, and God will never run out of grace if you keep asking Him for it. “The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” (Lam. 3:22-23)

It’s a natural tendency for us to isolate and try to walk through life alone, especially in times of trials and struggle. 2020 was a year where it was easy to give into this temptation, as COVID physically separated many of us from our communities; and it’s been hard to kick that habit. Yet, God calls His people to fight against this temptation and to find ways to root our lives in and with our spiritual family. How connected are you to the church? Do you see the church as your family—brothers and sisters that you need for your spiritual health and growth? Do you strive for fellowship and accountability with others in the church? Pray for a greater desire and discipline to grow in these areas of your spiritual life.

(A prayer for our church’s pastors taken from https://prayer.knowing-jesus.com/Prayers-for-Leaders)

Loving Father, I thank You for our Church leaders that You have appointed.

I pray that they would love Jesus with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength, and that their ministry would never steal from them their first love, Jesus Christ. I pray that they would love and serve their wives and family with glad hearts, and that their family would have love for the ministry instead of resenting it for “stealing” their husband and daddy away.

I pray that they will walk in confidence while kneeling in humility as gentle shepherds who care for their sheep. I pray for encouragement in their faith and ministry, and against those who attack, slander, harm, or speak evil against them. I pray that their teaching and preaching will be accurate, true, bold, convicting, encouraging, anointed, and Christ-centered. I pray that God will guard them from burnout and depression. I pray for their holiness and purity, and against lust, affairs, love of money, and pride.

I pray for rest spiritually and physically, and that they know that it is not their ministry they are leading, but God’s. I pray that they will finish better than they started. I pray that they will take time to have fun, do things they enjoy, spend time with their wives and play with the kids, and get away often to find peace and solitude. I pray for God to raise up people around them to assist them, serve them, honor them, encourage them, pray for them, admonish them, and protect them.

I pray that ministry, teaching, preaching, and leading will never become a chore for them, but that it would always be a joy and blessing to serve the Lord and His people with kindness and gladness, and that they would enjoy every aspect of leading, whether easy or hard, for the glory of God. Amen.

Perhaps one of the biggest problems that you and I struggle with is that we too often underestimate two things: (1) what God is capable of, and (2) what God wants for us. Some of us think that the gospel is only good for heaven and the life to come. This leads us to treat Christianity as a one-time decision—that if I just make the decision or pray a prayer to trust in Jesus, I get a “get out of hell free” card. But God’s will for you goes beyond a one-time decision. God actually wants you to experience the fullness of life that comes from knowing how much He loves you now, and also how powerful you can be in this world when you’re rooted in His love.

Jesus told his disciples that if they prayed with faith the size of a mustard seed (perhaps the tiniest seed known in Jesus’s day), their prayers could move mountains (Matt. 17:20). Today, when we hear those words, most of us write it off as hyperbolic and unbelievable. But Jesus, in saying these words, wants to confront us: do you believe in a weak god or do you believe in a God who’s capable of doing the impossible? Do you believe in a god that only works in categories that you can understand/explain, or do you believe in a God “who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think”? (Eph. 3:20)

What might your prayers sound like if you regularly believed God could handle the impossible things in your life? How different would your life look if you actually trusted in a God who makes ways out of no ways? We need to stop short-changing who God is and what he’s capable of, and we need to start living as confident sons and daughters of Almighty God.

There are two truths that should calm your fears today: (1) that God is sovereign and in control of everything that exists, and (2) that God is near to you and full of grace. If God were sovereign but not gracious, you’d do well to trust His power but probably not love Him. If God were gracious but not sovereign, you’d do well to love Him but probably not trust Him. But the fact that He is both sovereign and gracious means you can trust and love Him knowing that He is working all things for your good (Rom. 8:28).

God is a sovereign savior who has a proven track record of saving, redeeming, and transforming His people so that they’d have life and life abundantly. Scripture is full of examples of God providing for His people in places where His plan leads them. Look at the stories of Israel wandering in the wilderness, and how God provided daily bread and water in places and in situations where the people had no hope. These stories aren’t just for the past, but they’re stories that should build our faith today.

If God rules over everything, and His grace promises to give you everything you need to live inside His will, then what do you need to fear today? Don’t give way to fear today—if God is for you, who can be against you? 

A prayer for those preparing to work:

Heavenly Father, as I prepare for my work day, I acknowledge that the workplace can be filled with challenges and uncertainties. I ask for your protection from harmful situations and difficult circumstances. Guard my heart and mind, so that I may navigate challenges with wisdom and grace.

 Lord, grant me the courage to stand against negativity, injustice, and harmful influences in the workplace. Help me to be a beacon of light and positivity, even in the face of challenges.

 Let your presence be a shield around me, deflecting any negativity or harm that may be directed my way. Grant me discernment to navigate difficult situations and the wisdom to respond with grace and integrity.

 In your name, O God, I place my trust and seek your protection at my workplace. In the name of Jesus, my protector and guide, I pray. Amen.

Let’s face it—you and I are glory seekers. Whether we’ll admit or not, we all want glory for ourselves, and some of us work harder for it than others. We crave it from our bosses, we crave it from our spouses, and we crave it from strangers who “like” our posts on social media. Many of us can’t help but to chase “likes” from so many people in this world.

Yet, one of the hardest parts of the Christian life is coming to the understanding that our glory-seeking ways have to be put to death in light of who we are in Christ. In Christ, every believer has been given a new identity. Our identity is no longer defined by the things of this world—not by education, achievements, career, socio-economic status, marital status, sexual orientation, or even our race and ethnicity. Instead, a believer’s identity is all wrapped up in Jesus now. Our identity is that we are people who’ve been saved, forgiven, and redeemed by the person and work of Jesus. If there’s any glory to be gotten in our lives, it’s only the kind of glory that’s supposed to reflect off of us and point others to him.

We should make it a habit of regularly stopping and considering the question: whose glory am I seeking in all my efforts—Christ’s or my own? The reality is that Jesus doesn’t need you to make himself look good; he could just as easily use rocks and donkeys (cf. Num. 22:28; Luke 19:40). But in all that you do and in all that others see when they look at your life, you have the opportunity to re-direct your glory-seeking ways to get glory for the one who actually deserves it.

If you read your Bible or have gone to church for any amount of time, you’ve probably heard countless stories about God’s power, wisdom, and might. This is a God that spoke the universe into existence. He conquered entire nations and armies without even lifting His finger (cf. 2Chronicles 20). Nature and all of creation obey His commands. He tells us, “my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways.” (Isaiah 55:8) Yet, when suffering and trials come along in our lives, we can quickly start to think God has lost His handle on things.

The truth is, no one wishes for suffering and trials in life. Sickness, loss, pain, and heartbreak are things we’ll work our hardest to avoid. But could it be possible that God’s plans and agenda for your life looks quite different from your own plans and agenda? Could it be that God’s best for your life is actually better than what you could imagine, but it can only found on the other side of certain trials? God never promised perfect relationships, comfort, success, or financial stability, but what He’s promised is Himself—that He would never leave nor forsake you (Heb. 13:5). So when you face trials and suffering in life, could it be that God isn’t loving you less but He’s actually loving you more? Because in your suffering, you get the chance to experience God’s presence in a time where you need it the most.

Do you struggle to trust in God’s love, faithfulness, wisdom, and goodness in the midst of trials? How has God’s presence shown up in trials you’ve already gone through in the past? Pray that God would strengthen your faith especially for the trials that will inevitably come.

When was the last time you considered the humbling reality that you are a created being? And being a created being, you can’t really take any of the credit for when, how, and why you were created? You and I can try to make something of the days we’re given here on earth, but we can’t get away from the fact that we have a creator who created us according to His own plan and purposes.

The temptation as we live our lives is to believe that we get to the places and positions we get to in life because of our talent, our effort, our education, and our greatness. But Scripture reminds us that God was in control of your life before you (or anyone else) had any say over it. This truth should humble us to always give credit where credit is due—that is, to God and His grace. Spend some time praying and thanking God for all the experiences and people that have helped you become who you are—because after all, God has been forming and knitting your life together since the very start.

Sometimes we misunderstand what the Christian life is all about. We think that what God really cares about is that we read our Bibles consistently, go to church, tithe, and live good and moral lives. It’s not that these things aren’t important, but God has always been concerned with our attitude more than our activity. (Cf. Ps. 51:17; Mark 12:33) What pleases God most is an attitude of faithfulness.

Most of us vastly underestimate the impact of faithfulness. Many of us want to do great things and be great people, but we overlook the fact that in God’s eyes, faithfulness is greatness. Faithfulness in the workplace, faithfulness in marriage, faithfulness in the church—God sees these things as greatness. Faithfulness might not always be flashy, but it certainly stands out. In a world where complaining and critical hearts are the norm, gratitude and faithfulness can actually look countercultural. It’s through faithfulness that God wants His people to shine in this world.

What does faithfulness look like in your studies, work, relationships, and church life? Are you often led to complain about your circumstances or rather being rooted in God’s love and grace, are you known for your gratitude? Spend time praying that God would grow a heart of gratitude and faithfulness in every area of your life.

The church is supposed to be countercultural in this world. As you comb through the gospels, you’ll clearly see that Jesus stood out when he lived on this earth, and the Church is called to follow his example and teachings. Christians should be countercultural in the ways we handle our relationships, our marriages, our finances, our careers, and our everyday decisions. There should be something about our lives and our church that when others look at us, we seem to stand out.

Yet, standing out isn’t really all that difficult—it just depends on what you’re standing out for. Do you seek to stand out because you want to accurately reflect your “Father who is in heaven” (v. 16) or do you want to stand out for your own reasons? What does saltiness and light look like for our church here in San Francisco? How are you involved in helping our church live out this calling of being salt and light in this world? Spend time thinking about these questions and praying for greater wisdom and a greater desire to live out this calling.

In a race, it makes all the difference what a runner focuses on. When pain sets in, when it seems like other runners are passing ahead, when the race seems endless, these are the moments in a race where a runner needs to focus on the right things. It’s not that focusing on the right things makes running the race any easier—focus itself won’t instantaneously transport a runner to the finish line. But focusing on the right things helps the runner remember that his current struggles have a purpose. It keeps his race in proper perspective.

The Christian life is about focusing on Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, because he keeps our life in proper perspective. How do Christians forgive their enemies? How do we do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly before God? How do Christians remain hopeful in the most hopeless situations? The answer is by fixing our eyes on the one who showed us the way first. The more we focus on Jesus, the more we learn to live like him and become like him.

What are you focusing on and chasing after today? Consider what you need to lay aside today so that you can run your own race more like Jesus ran his—that is, with perfect faith and great joy.

Corporate worship isn’t simply an experience, it’s actually a necessity. It’s something that we, as spiritual amnesiacs, desperately need. What does it mean to be a spiritual amnesiac? It means that you and I often forget the most important truths that our souls feed on—truth like who God is and how He loves us; truth like who we are and why we exist; truth like eternity and where we’re headed. We forget these truths, and so we lose our way in life. Corporate worship is one of the ways that God reminds us and brings us back to Himself.

When God’s people gather together in worship, something powerful is at work: God is reminding His people who and what they are. Everywhere else in this world, you may be known by what you do, what you’ve achieved, and what you own. Yet, it’s the church that reminds you that Christ is your identity now and for eternity. Through singing, through preaching, through the holy sacraments, and through fellowship, God is tethering you and me to our greater identity—that in Christ, we are sons and daughters of the God of the universe.

God knew we would forget the most important things in life. He also knew that our forgetfulness would lead to the anxiety, fear, and lack of peace many of us live with. This is why he calls you and me to “not neglect to meet together” (Heb. 10:25). He gave us the gift of the church to be the cure to our spiritual amnesia. So let me ask you: are you making the most of his gift, and is it something you value deeply? How would your life look different if you were more committed and invested in His church today?

Stop and consider your own story of grace today. The reality is that each person’s life is a story filled with endless pages of God’s grace that has shown up—grace that has protected, grace that has provided, and grace that has guided you to the life you live today. The daily call that Christians have is to remember grace which leads to a life filled with gratitude, rather than entitlement which leads to a life filled with pride and discontentment.

Entitlement sneaks up so quietly and insidiously. When I finally get the job or admission into that particular school, I’m led to say, “thank you God for this blessing.” Yet, a short while later as I’m in the thick of things, I’ve found myself saying, “why is my life so hard? I deserve better.” Entitlement turns God’s gifts into the very things we complain about, and the irony is that entitlement makes us forget that it was only due to grace that we can be in a position that we’re choosing to complain about now.
 
The remedy to entitlement is that you and I have to develop practices of gratitude. Gratitude doesn’t come naturally to those who struggle with entitlement, so don’t be surprised that gratitude is something you and I have to work at it. Jot down the things and people you’re most grateful for today. Make it a habit in your daily prayers to thank God even for the smallest blessings. And start to pray for a greater awareness of how God’s grace is showing up for you today because I guarantee that it is. 

Be honest: whose sin bothers you more—your’s or someone else’s? And whose repentance are you more eager for: your’s or the person who is causing problems and drama in your life? As much as we hate to admit it, we all spend too much time focusing on the sins and flaws of someone else’s more than our own. This is a spiritual condition, and it has a name: self-righteousness.

Pastor and author Paul Tripp states, “self-righteousness means you don’t see yourself or the other person with accuracy.” Self-righteousness makes us quick to view others and their flaws with judgment and condemnation, but quick to view ourselves and our own flaws with grace and patience. This is precisely why Jesus says in Matthew 7:3, “Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?”

Yet, the beauty of the gospel is that though we may lack grace with one another, Jesus never runs out of grace with us. In all the ways that you and I are blind to our own self-righteousness, Jesus prays this prayer for us: “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). And the more that you recognize how your own sin looks to a holy God, and the more that you see the grace and forgiveness He offers you through His son, the more your life will naturally be marked by grace rather than self-righteousness. Spend time confessing your sins to God, and consider how you might start showing some of the grace and forgiveness God has shown you to someone who has sinned against you.

Perhaps the most counterintuitive part of the gospel-centered life is that in God’s economy, man’s weakness is strength and man’s strength is weakness. God actually values the ways in which a person has come to understand that he or she is weak. Because it’s only through embracing weakness that God’s strength can be displayed (2Cor. 12:9).

Yet, isn’t it so difficult to embrace weakness in a world that judges people based on strengths and potential? What do you do? How much do you have? What are you able to produce? These are the kinds of questions that the world wants you and me to focus and be fixated on. If we’re not careful in our spiritual journey, we can start to believe that God cares about the same things. We can start to mistakenly believe that God loves and accepts us more when we do and achieve more for Him.

The truth that you can rest on today is that you will never be able to achieve more than what Jesus already achieved for you at the cross—and here’s the best part, God isn’t asking you to try. God is perfectly satisfied in you simply saying, “I have nothing but weakness to offer you, God.” And the more we learn to live and believe this, the more we’ll receive God’s response: “Keep giving me your weakness so I can give you my strength.” Learn to rest and embrace your own weakness today. Boast in the identity that Jesus earned for you at the cross, not in the one you’ve been trying to make for yourself.  

It’s so easy for us to get caught up in the here and now. If you and I are not intentional about living our lives in light of eternity, this world has more than enough things in it to rule our attention, our calendars, and most importantly, our hearts. Whether it’s a mortgage, a career, a retirement plan, or even a family—these are just some of the things that can dominate our thoughts, emotions, and time. It’s not that any of these things are inherently bad. In fact, all of these things are important, but at the end of the day, they’re still things of this world. And God wants you to know today that He has made you in His image, and your purpose goes beyond this world and the things in it.

Realize that what God cares about most is your sanctification—that you would become more and more like Jesus, his perfect son. Everything else in life is secondary to this; everything else in your life is seen as dispensable to God. It’s not that God doesn’t care about what’s going on in your life. But the things that we allow to dominate so much of our lives were only given to us by God as a part of His process of helping us become more like His son.
 
Even still, the good news today is that God has enough grace, not only for your sanctification, but also for your daily needs. God’s grace is big enough to sustain you today, even as He is still working out His plans for your sanctified tomorrows. Set your heart and mind on this God of grace today, and allow his peace and wisdom to rule and reign over your life.

Be encouraged by this truth today: change is possible. You and I don’t have to simply accept or resign ourselves to living with our ever-present flaws, failures, mistakes, and regrets. Christians should never be so discouraged in our sin and brokenness that we give in, throw in the towel, and think, “it’s always going to be like this.” The God of the Bible is a God of redemption who is working out His plan to make all things new, and that includes even you. Therefore, don’t ever lose hope in His grace that is currently at work in your life. God’s grace is slowly transforming you into the perfect image of Christ (2Cor. 3:18)—even if you can’t always feel it or see it.

In the Old Testament, as Israel wandered through the wilderness on their way to the Promised Land, God often called them to create altars that would serve as reminders of all that God had done and how far he had brought them. Even though some of those Israelites didn’t always reach their final destination on earth, building altars was about remembering that God was always with them in their journey. You and I need practices like that today. Perhaps it’s not a literal altar that you need to build, but what practices will help you remember all that God has done and is doing in your life today? What practices will remind you of the God who is with you and who is for you as you journey through life? Because even though you may not be the final version of yourself you wished you were, God and His grace are working to get you there.

There are many signs when our bodies are tired and in need of rest. Fatigue, weakness, lack of concentration, and even sickness are some of the signs that we push our bodies too far. These symptoms are a way that our bodies tell us, “slow down; you need to rest.” The human body intuitively understands its need for rest and restoration.

Can’t the same be true of the soul? What are some signs that your soul might be in need of rest today? Could the discontentment, discouragement, anxiety, stress, or insecurity you might be feeling today be a sign that your soul might actually be tired and in need of rest? Perhaps the feelings that your life, or a relationship, or the things that occupy your mind that don’t seem quite “right” despite your best efforts—maybe that’s your soul crying out, “slow down; you need true rest”?

Jesus wants to actually offer rest for your weary soul today. Jesus understands that our souls will always feel lost and overwhelmed in this world because you and I will always get caught up in chasing after things that can’t offer us true rest. So to those who are tired of chasing the wrong things, Jesus offers the invitation into a relationship with him. Because here’s the reality: rest for our souls can only come by seeking, loving, and following Jesus, the one whom our souls were made for. This is how you can actually find the peace, rest, and restoration that your soul desperately needs today.
 
Spend some time in prayer considering this question: what are you chasing after, and what do you need to give up in your life so you can start finding true rest in Jesus today? 

How would you describe what “the good life” looks like to another person? Does your vision of "the good life” involve things like wealth, recognition, success, and comfort? Whether we realize it or not, you and I are so bombarded by the world’s definitions of the good life—in the lives of characters we watch on screen, in the ambitions and opinions of peers and those we admire, and by the influence of social media and the marketing industry.

Yet, God’s vision of the good life for you is quite simple. Rather than the good life being defined or determined by what you have or what you can get in this world, God says the good life is available to you today. Because according to God, the good life is about learning how to be a person who delights in God’s Word. God’s Word is able to keep a person stable despite the changing and challenging seasons of life because it points to the wisdom and ways of a stable and everlasting God. Clinging to God’s Word and God’s ways may not always be easy in this life, but blessed is the one who learns to do so even when it’s challenging because that person will experience fruit in their life that others just won’t.

You have all you need to live the good life today because you not only have God’s Word, but if you’re in Christ, you have His Spirit to help you know and to delight in God’s Word today. Reimagine “the good life” for yourself today—make it about being someone who not only hears, but does God’s Word in every area of your life. (James 1:22-25)