BELIEVE: week twenty-six: Patience

“Whoever is patient has great understanding, but one who is quick-tempered displays folly.” Proverbs 14:29

When you think of the virtue of patience, think of a thermometer. When you are in a situation that pushes your buttons and frustrates you, put a spiritual thermometer under your tongue and monitor how quickly you are burning up with anger.

Developing a resistance and immunity to the bacteria of frustration involves ingesting daily doses of God’s patience toward you. Aren’t you glad that God cuts you some slack and loves you in spite of your foibles and failures? In spite of your missteps and mistakes? As a growing follower of Christ, you long to be like him and offer that same patience to others.

The vision? The next time you are in that same frustrating situation, place the spiritual thermometer under your tongue again and see if it doesn’t take a bit longer for your temperature to rise. If that is indeed the case, you will have tangible evidence that you are growing in the virtue of patience.

“I am slow to anger and endure patiently under the unavoidable pressures of life.”

[Excerpt from Believe: 31-Day Devotional by Randy & Roxanne Frazee, pgs. 55-56.]

BELIEVE: week twenty-five: Hope

“We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf.” Hebrews 6:19-20

The first century symbol of Christianity was an anchor, not a cross. Pictured on the epitaphs of first, second, and third-century believers, it symbolized the hope they had in the life beyond because of Christ. If you look closely, however, you will notice a large portion of the anchor is made up of a cross. Strangely enough, while ships have changed dramatically since that time, the anchor used today has pretty much remained unchanged from ancient times.

The writer of Hebrews tells us, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (13:8). Much like the anchor.

Life changes from day to day, and turmoil and tempests come with no warning, but Jesus Christ never changes. You can count on him to hold you steady no matter what the storms of life throw at your boat. He will hold you secure until the billows have calmed and the skies have cleared.

The cross has always been the anchor of hope for those who believe. When tempests in life shake your boat, put your hope in the eternal life offered through our anchor, Jesus Christ.

“I can cope with the hardships of life because of the hope I have in Jesus Christ.”

[Excerpt from Believe: 31-Day Devotional by Randy & Roxanne Frazee, pgs. 53-54.]

BELIEVE: week twenty-four: Self-control

“The grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age.” Titus 2:11-12

There’s a conversation I had with renowned pollster George Gallup, Jr. that I will never forget. We were working on the assessment tool built around the thirty key ideas found in this devotional. We were discussing the virtue of self-control, and apparently I was pontificating on how Christians just needed to pull themselves up by their spiritual bootstraps and stop doing things they shouldn’t be doing. George interrupted me and said, “You’re not an alcoholic, are you?” I answered no.

Then he said, “Well, I am, and so was my father. When I took my first drink, it affected me differently than most people. I couldn’t stop. Even as a Christian, I tried and tried, and I couldn’t stop. Even as a Christian, I tried and tried, and I couldn’t lick it. Then one day I heard Jesus whisper, ‘George, if you never figure this out, it is okay. I already died for this.’ And I haven’t taken a drink in thirty years.”

It was because of this conversation that we added the words “through Christ” to the key idea below. The law of “have to” only makes us want to do the things we shouldn’t do more. But grace, when embraced in our soul, gives us the power to say no to those things that harm us and others.

Jesus offers you the same grace to overcome your greatest temptations. Hear him whisper this offer to your soul.

“I have the power through Christ to control myself.”

[Excerpt from Believe: 31-Day Devotional by Randy & Roxanne Frazee, pgs. 51-52.]

BELIEVE: week twenty-three: Peace

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7

One summer day when I was a kid, I made a bet with two boys I met at the local farmer’s market. For every ball they hit over the fence, I’d give them fifty cents. For every ball I hit over the fence, they’d give me five dollars.

Within minutes I was down five dollars. I said I’d have to go get money at home and return with it. But I didn’t have five dollars at home, and I had no intention of coming back. I just ran off and hid in my bedroom with overwhelming anxiety, expecting to live out the rest of my days there.

God wants us to do the same thing. Whenever you feel anxiety or fear, don’t delay. Take it to your Father, and find peace that transcends all understanding.

“I am free from anxiety because I have found peace with God, peace with others, and peace with myself.”

[Excerpt from Believe: 31-Day Devotional by Randy & Roxanne Frazee, pgs. 49-50.]

BELIEVE: week twenty-two: Joy

“I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.” John 15:11

Nona, do you smile all the time?” These were my granddaughter’s words to my shocked ears.

“I do when you are with me.”

The truth is, finding joy in spite of my circumstances is one of my biggest struggles. If I’m not careful, even the smallest frustration can rob me of my joy. Apparently, my granddaughter has not yet seen this side of me.

Jesus told his disciples that there is a brand of joy that is complete joy—the kind he experienced even when he knew the cross was just around the corner. Now that’s a circumstance I have never faced. This kind of joy is available to you and me as well, if we stay close to him.

My granddaughter isn’t always with me, but Jesus is. If I stay close to him, I can experience joy in spite of any circumstance that comes my way.

Every time you choose to smile genuinely even though your circumstances are less than joyful, you give evidence that the same joy Jesus experienced in spite of the cross is in you.

“Despite my circumstances, I feel inner contentment and understand my purpose in life.”

[Excerpt from Believe: 31-Day Devotional by Randy & Roxanne Frazee, pgs. 47-48.]