On this day of your life, D, we believe God wants you to know...
... that God has an important purpose for you, and made everything possible for you to succeed.

That's not to say it's an easy purpose, or a convenient one. It might very well seem hard or even impossible, but it only looks that way. The truth is that one day you will look back and see how all the pieces fit together. And how your life has been a complete and utter success.

May 1

The Source of Our Sufficiency


Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God . . . [We] have no confidence in the flesh . . . I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. (2Co_3:5-6; Phi_3:3; and Phi_4:13)


We have been considering how God's grace develops traits of godliness in our lives. Such studies are related to finding the source of our sufficiency. Where are believers in Jesus Christ supposed to find adequate resources for living godly lives? The scriptures answer this question in a two-fold manner. First, God wants us to realize that we are not the source of anything that is needed. Second, God wants us to understand that He is the source of everything that is needed.


Our inadequacy is the first matter the Lord desires to clarify for us. "Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves." Our own personal inadequacy is so comprehensive that we cannot expect that anything godly or eternal will source from us. We do not have any resources that can save a soul, transform a life, or cause the Lord's church to be edified. This is a drastically different perspective on life than what we initially held. Man's natural mind assumes that we must be the source of all that is needed for daily living. God's word repeatedly warns us not to adopt this viewpoint. The Psalmists proclaimed such. "Vain is the help of man . . . Do not put your trust in princes, nor in a son of man, in whom there is no help" (Psa_108:12; Psa_146:3). Jesus elaborated on this theme. "Without Me you can do nothing" (Joh_15:5). Paul taught the same. " [We] have no confidence in the flesh (that is, in human resources) ."


God's adequacy is the second matter that He wants to clarify for us. "Our sufficiency is from God." As surely as we are totally inadequate to supply what we need for life, God is fully adequate to be our comprehensive source for living. The Psalmist understood this corollary truth as well. "Through God we will do valiantly, For it is He who shall tread down our enemies . . . Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the LORD his God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them" (Psa_108:13; Psa_146:5-6). Jesus offered the same sufficient provisions. "He who abides in Me . . . bears much fruit" (Joh_15:5). Paul testified of the same reality. "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." God is the source of our sufficiency in all that pertains to developing godly characteristics.


Dear Lord, my sufficiency, I repent of my frequent tendency to look to myself to find personal adequacy. How vain and hopeless that is. Lord, teach me to hope in You for everything I need for godly living, in Jesus name, Amen.

How the Characteristics of Grace Appear


And we have such trust through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant. (2Co_ 3:4-6)


We have been considering some characteristics that God wants to develop in our lives by His grace: namely, triumphant living, a fragrance of Christ, godly sincerity, and becoming living letters of Christ. How do these appear in our lives in an ever-increasing manner? As Paul wrote on these wonderful descriptions of godly living, his heart was stirred to ask, "And who is sufficient for these things? " (2Co_2:16). Paul fully realized that man cannot produce these realities. Human resources are inadequate.
These heavenly traits grow in those who are living by the terms of the new covenant (humbly trusting in God, not in ourselves). " And we have such trust through Christ toward God." Paul's confidence in exhibiting these spiritual qualities of life was directed toward God, based upon the relationship that is available in Jesus Christ. This is not self-confidence; it is God-confidence. God must produce these characteristics.


There is no room for believers to trust in themselves. "Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves," We are not the source of any of these wonderful traits of godly living. They must all come from God at work in us. "Our sufficiency is from God." When we live in humble dependency, the Lord's supply becomes our needed sufficiency. "Our sufficiency is from God, who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant."


Yes, new covenant servants live by the grace of God. Consequently, their sufficiency is what the Lord Himself supplies! This is precisely what God promised of old through His prophets. "I will make a new covenant . . . I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts" (Jer_31:31, Jer_31:33). God inscribes these spiritual traits upon the inner man (the heart and the mind) by His grace. The results are these characteristics of godliness develop in our lives.
Again, we are looking at living by humility and faith. "God . . . gives grace to the humble" (Jam_4:6). Also, faith accesses grace: "through whom [that is, the Lord Jesus Christ] also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand" (Rom_5:2).



O Holy Father, I long to grow in these godly traits. I am not sufficient to produce them by my resources. My only hope is to be changed by You from the inside out. I humbly bow before You. With confidence in You, I ask that You unleash Your grace upon my heart and mind, as I seek You in Your word. Through Christ my Lord, I pray, Amen.

April 29

Living Letters of Christ


You are manifestly an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart. (2Co_ 3:3)


Another significant characteristic resulting from living by grace is that we become living letters of Christ. "You are manifestly an epistle of Christ." The Lord wants to turn our lives into a "walking and talking letter of Him." He wants to make us a living explanation of who Christ is and all that He offers. What a great opportunity this presents. As we go about our daily responsibilities, others are often "reading our lives." While they are observing us, they can actually be learning of the truth and love of our Lord Jesus, as He is working in and through our lives. Although this may sound like too much to hope for, the Lord declares in His word that this process can become very clear to those who are watching us: "You are manifestly [that is, "to be plainly recognized as"] an epistle of Christ."


Remember, this is what is available for "ministers [i.e., servants] of the new covenant" (2Co_3:6). This is what happens in those who live by the grace of God. This is something that God does in us, not something we manufacture for Him. Certainly, people are involved in the process. We become fully engaged by humbly and dependently seeking after the Lord who wants to work in us. Others also get involved by ministering to us. "You are manifestly an epistle of Christ, ministered by us." Paul had ministered God's truth to these saints at Corinth. Yet, these living letters of Christ were not being written by ink, as ordinary letters would be. "You are manifestly an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God." God's Holy Spirit was at work writing the letters that their lives were becoming.

Notice where the Lord was inscribing these living letters: "not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart." The old covenant message of law was written on stones. The new covenant message of grace is written on the hearts of all who will walk in humble dependence upon God. This heavenly work changes us from the inside out, making us living letters of Christ!



Dear God of all grace, I humbly admit that I need to be more and more changed into a living letter of Christ. So often, those who read me see only me. I ask You in faith to inscribe the character of Christ upon my heart, that others may see Him in my daily walk, Amen.

April 28

Godly Sincerity in General


We conducted ourselves in the world in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom but by the grace of God, and more abundantly toward you. (2Co_1:12)


God not only wants our lives characterized with godly sincerity toward His word, He desires to mark our lives with godly sincerity in general. "We conducted ourselves in the world in simplicity and godly sincerity . . . and more abundantly toward you." As the Apostle Paul and his missionary team evangelized throughout the known world, and as they ministered among the churches, they functioned in both arenas with simple, Christ-like genuineness.
The world is filled with pretense and attention to outward appearances. Many within the Lord's church have yielded to temptation in these directions. The flesh of each of us is enticed to develop an exterior image that does not match what is going on inside. Jesus rebuked the religious leaders of His day for such an attitude. "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation" (Mat_23:14). These men were actually taking advantage of the helpless widows. Yet, they stood in public and made long prayers, hoping to be considered as godly in the eyes of the people.
Their hypocrisy was not only a matter of observable, contradictory behaviors, but the very core of their being was drastically different from what they appeared to be outwardly. "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness. Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness" (Mat_23:26-27).
Our Lord loves sincerity and hates hypocrisy. However, it takes a working of God's grace to effect the sincerity that God desires. "We conducted ourselves in the world in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom but by the grace of God." Human ingenuity cannot produce the genuineness that God wants to see in our lives. God's grace is the only sufficient resource to bring about this godly characteristic of life. God's grace works within our hearts, where true sincerity must be formed. "First cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also" (Mat_23:26).


Dear Lord, I humble myself before You. I do not want to be a hypocrite. Work in the depths of my heart by Your mighty grace to create in me godly sincerity, through Christ I pray, Amen.

My Message, Today

On this day of your life, D, we believe God wants you to know...
... that every little part of you is magical.

Yes, even the parts that hurt, even the ones that are feeling disease right now. It's alright to love what is in pain. More than alright, that's exactly where your love is needed the most. So why not touch that part that hurts and smile at it, at yourself through it, and whisper: 'I love you.'

Word today

On this day of your life, D, we believe God wants you to know...
... that it's time to STOP going through the motions of living, and START living.

Are you willing to do that now? Or are you going to wait until all life energy drains out of you and your loved ones who are trying to support you at this very moment? You were not born to follow rules and regulations. Living starts with dreaming. So dream, dream friend, and let dreams show you the path to your bliss.