By Debbie Ramamoorthy (WITHIN Devotional Contributor)
​
It’s a new year, and we are almost approaching a new month. My personality thrives with “new.” I love how fresh it feels, how hopeful I feel and how it presents me with a clean slate. It also gives me a new opportunity to reflect and see where I am with becoming the person God created me to be. What I mean by this is based on the verse in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. ... We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God.”
 
I believe God created us in these wildly creative and unique ways- every single one of us. And along with that, He gave each of us a one-of-a-kind story to live out. Not simply live out- but live out for His glory.
 
Growing up, I moved around a lot. I moved every 2-3 years, from country to country. Culture to culture. Language to language-never going back to the country we once lived in- a place I called “home.” We also did not do consistent sabbaticals of any sort. A place to return to did not exist. Was this type of lifestyle relatable? No, not really. Is it now? No, not really.
 
I often find myself quite disconnected from others, whether it comes to identity, connection, who I am, or what I was made for. However, in all of that disconnect, I have grown to find my true connection and identity in Christ-in who I was made by. This journey has not been a seamless or easy one. But the reality is, I find that this journey is something Christ desires each of us to take with Him. I was forced into looking to Him and seeking an understanding of a life with Him and for Him. 
 
The flip side of seeking to live a life with Him and for Him is something I fell into the trap of through so many of my formative years- the trap of surrendering to the comforts of this world, a life more conventional. But I’d inevitably end up hitting a wall. I would constantly find myself missing the point of who the Lord has called me to be.
 
Galatians 2:20 reminds us of this in a powerful way when Paul reminds us, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” We don’t live for this world. We live for the One who gave us life! 
 
Sisters, my encouragement to you is to seek the Lord through His Word and ask Him to show you who He created you to be. Don’t fall in the trap of who you feel you are expected to be. And run in your true identity with your whole heart because the Lord only has the best in store for each of us! A life of surrender is the most content, joy-filled life! A life that we get to live with our Lord!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The weekly devotionals seek to encourage you to dig deeper into Scripture as you take the time to daily read, meditate, and internalize the verses in the devotional, along with the passages provided below to give greater context. Take the time to read them throughout the week (repetition is important) and ask the Holy Spirit to help you grasp what God is showing you about Himself, about you, and how to live in light of these truths. 

Passages to read/memorize/meditate:
2 Corinthians 5:17
Galatians 2:20
James 4:10
Jeremiah 10:23
Matthew 11:28

Questions to Reflect on:

1. What is an area of your life you feel the Lord is trying to refine? What is preventing that refinement from happening?
2. What is one attribute you feel like the Lord is drawing out in you?
3. What is one goal or desire you feel the Lord has placed on your heart? How do you feel like you are surrendering it to God?

***As we celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. today, let us be reminded that his work was not in vain. And there are very important conversations that still need to take place. May this devotional remind us of the hope we have in Christ and His Church. ***

By Steven Lee 
​
When I was growing up, race was always an issue where I lived, but I don’t remember it being quite as charged as it is today.

Growing up in a predominately white elementary school, I remember being called “Chink” and “Gook.” I remember classmates mimicking my slanted eyes as they spoke gibberish. I remember trying to distance myself from the Southeast Asian students that had come to our community as refugees. I remember doling out racially insensitive slurs sadly typical of the playground and the basketball court.

Now as a pastor, speaking about race, racism, and ethnic harmony seems to be one of the most polarizing topics today, not only in the world, but even within the church. Everyone has a take, everyone takes sides, and it often feels like a lose-lose proposition.

Few things today are as divisive, hostile, fragile, challenging, and complex as race relations are in America. Yet on this weekend, remembering the work and vision of Martin Luther King Jr., we remind ourselves from the word of God that we can and ought to remain hopeful.

Where We Need to Be
In his “I Have a Dream” speech on August 28, 1963, at the Lincoln Memorial, King addressed those who had experienced “great trials and tribulations . . . battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality . . . veterans of creative suffering. . . .” Yet King exhorted his listeners to not lose heart:

“Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends. And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”

King held out hope that there would be a day when his dream would become a reality. We are not where we were in 1963, but in 2020 we are not yet where we need to be. Our world is still full of violence, animosity, division, prejudice, racial animus, bitterness, anger, hard-heartedness, and indifference. But instead of wallowing in despair, Christians recognize that we are called to advance not the American dream, and not ultimately King’s dream, but the far better dream, the end-time Revelation reality, that is coming to all who hope in Christ.

Dream Deeply Rooted in God
Every believer and local church is called to make disciples of all nations with the authority of Jesus Christ himself (Matthew 28:18–20). This global mission of making disciples — baptizing and teaching Christ’s commands — will culminate and climax with unparalleled unity in diversity, a heavenly choir comprised of every ethnicity on the face of the earth. The Book of Revelation sums up this glorious, end-time, Christ-exalting biblical dream for us:

"After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” (Revelation 7:9–10)

This is the end. There will be every nation represented. Every tribe. Every people. Every language. No second-class citizens. No class of elite. No arrogance. No animosity. No hostility. Can you imagine?
 
Every wrong will be made right on that day. All the bitterness, misunderstanding, blind spots, hard-heartedness, antagonism, racial prejudice, systemic injustice, and personal sinfulness will be made right. How? Jesus has paid, with his own blood, for every sin of every sinner who trusts in him. For those who reject the free gift of salvation, their sins will be judged in the flawless courtroom of God. On that day, all division, disunity, and hostility will be done away with by the precious blood of Jesus Christ, poured out on his blood-bought people.

Lessons for the Church Today
If we really believe that will happen, the future should give us great hope for our present. I don’t know if we’ll figure out race relations in America in my lifetime. I suspect we will still be talking about slavery, systemic racism, injustice, police brutality, and racial animosity when my ministry ends. As a Christian and as a pastor, I lament, with great sorrow, how slow and grueling progress has been on these fronts.
But I’m grateful that someday it will all come to an end. There will be a day when justice will “roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream” (Amos 5:24). God’s people can be conduits and advocates of this biblical justice here and now, and we eagerly await a day when God will bring it to pass perfectly.

In the meantime, Christians love and advance this glorious, end-time vision of a multiethnic gathering comprised of every tribe, tongue, language, and nation. Christ-loving people advance Christ-exalting priorities — in our personal lives, in our churches, in our families, and in our communities. As someone who pastors a church striving passionately for unity in diversity, here are three practices that have helped conform our hearts and minds to the priorities of our Savior.

1. Love and Pursue Diversity

John Piper writes,

What seems to be missing among many Christians, is a solid biblical conviction that ethnic diversity in the church is a beautiful thing, and part of God’s ultimate design for his people. It is inconceivable to me that a Christian can have a Christ-exalting love for diversity in the church and be hostile toward diversity in the nation. The knee-jerk hostilities I see betray, it seems, a very thin veneer of politically correct tolerance of diversity, instead of a deep, biblically grounded, cross-centered exuberance over God’s plan to reconcile all nations in Christ.
We need a renewed passion for Jesus’s blood-bought multiethnic bride revealed in Revelation 5:9–10.

2. Love and Pursue Justice

Justice is doing what is right and good according to what God revealed in Scripture. God loves justice. Consider Isaiah 30:18: “the Lord is a God of justice.” And Psalm 37:28: “the Lord loves justice.” God rules and reigns in perfect justice.
 
But God also calls his people to pursue justice in our world. Consider Psalm 106:3: “Blessed are they who observe justice, who do righteousness at all times!” Or Proverbs 21:3: “To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.” To love and pursue justice is not to tolerate injustice. Instead, we heed Isaiah’s vision from God: “learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause” (Isaiah 1:17).
God’s people seek to advance true biblical justice today, while putting our hope not here on earth but on the perfectly just One who will come.

3. Love and Pursue the Outsider

We are not engaged in a war against our neighbors south of the border. We are not living in fear of refugees fleeing religious persecution, genocide, or political unrest. God commands his people in the Old Testament to love sojourners (Deuteronomy 10:19), to not oppress them (Zechariah 7:10), and to remember that he watches over them (Psalm 146:9). How much more should followers of Christ who have been redeemed by unmerited grace — who are sojourners and exiles here on earth (1 Peter 2:11) — love and pursue those who are oppressed and vulnerable?
We can seek to understand the refugee crisis and the immigration debate, and help to educate others around us in love, patience, and gentleness.

Why We Still Have Hope

Jesus has broken down the “dividing wall of hostility” (Ephesians 2:14). Our God-given, otherworldly love for one another tells the world we are Christ’s disciples (John 13:35). Christians will disagree on political policy, strategies for addressing problems, the extent of how far reaching this issue is, how we should go about addressing it in church and parachurch ministries, and which pathways forward are the most wise, fruitful, and timely. Mutual love, however, makes no room for division, divisiveness, and hostility in the one body of Christ. We can and should preserve the glorious unity we have in Jesus Christ.

We have hope because we have Christ. And because we have hope, we can take meaningful steps to have our lives and actions reflect the values of Christ’s kingdom. Christ calls us to faith-filled action rooted in Christ’s work and his kingdom, not to earthly agendas on the left or right. We also ought to extend grace to others who have differing strategies, tactics, and levels of understanding as we recognize what we’re all striving to achieve.

In the last day — gathered around his throne, clothed in the righteousness of Christ, finally seeing face-to-face — we will see how we all fell short. No one engaged in these conversations perfectly. Everyone made mistakes along the way in our discovery and understanding of racism. No one will have the moral high ground in that day. We will all stand on level ground, grateful that God saves sinners, and marvel that we had an opportunity to play a part in advancing his end-time mission through our feeble and faithful prayers, labors, and participation.

Oh, may our Lord Jesus come quickly. And if he tarries, let us lock arms as brothers and sisters in Christ, to carry out his work, in his strength, for his glory, until he returns.
 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The weekly devotionals seek to encourage you to dig deeper into Scripture as you take the time to daily read, meditate, and internalize the verses in the devotional, along with the passages provided below to give greater context. Take the time to read them throughout the week (repetition is important) and ask the Holy Spirit to help you grasp what God is showing you about Himself, about you, and how to live in light of these truths. 

Passages to read/memorize/meditate:
Deuteronomy 10:19
Psalm 37:28
Psalm 146:9
Isaiah 1:17
Zechariah 7:10
Amos 5:24
John 13:35
Ephesians 2:14
1 Peter 2:11
Revelations 5:9-10

​Questions to Reflect on:

1. How has this devotional encouraged you of the hope we have in the midst of chaos regarding the racial tension in our world?

By Yodit Kifle Smith
​
“He said to them, ‘It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.’” (Acts 1:7)

Jesus’ disciples spent three years, day in and day out, learning from Him and learning who He was and God's purposes through Him. Sadly, at times, they just didn’t get it. Remember when they witnessed Him feeding thousands of people with 5 fish and 2 loaves, yet immediately became worried when they realized they forgot to bring any of the bread to the next place they went as if they would starve? (Matthew 16:5-12) Or that time when they were in the boat during a storm and they find Jesus in the stern peacefully sleeping on the cushion? They freaked out and asked Him “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”  And with two words, Jesus rebuked the wind and all was calm (Mark 4: 38-41).

 It would take some time, but slowly they began to see that He was truly the Son of God—the promised One from the Old Testament who would have to die and resurrect from death to bring salvation, radically transforming all who repented and believed in Him.

Yet in those three years of learning and feeling like they were finally understanding His plans, they were confronted with the reality that they still didn’t know everything.

In Acts 1:6-11, we find Jesus gathered with His disciples after He had resurrected and right before He ascended. By then, his disciples were sure that His resurrection would be the fulfillment of the promise and the kingdom of God would be restored and all would be well. So, they asked Him, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6)

And His response in Acts 1:7 is one that that would do us good to pay attention to as we face struggles with trusting in the Lord with all of our hearts and not leaning on our own understanding (Proverbs 3:5-6).
“He said to them, ‘It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.’” (Acts 1:1-7)

“It is not for you to know…”

Can you imagine if the Lord had told the disciples how long it would actually be before He rules on earth once and for all? And that they would face persecution as they helped build the His church and spreading His Gospel?
It’s hard for us to consider that not knowing something can be more of an act of God’s mercy than His simply withholding from us. Think back to the garden of Eden. There we see God’s love displayed through the parameters He set for Adam and Eve. Yet, the deception of Satan’s lie caused them to think that God was withholding good from them when He told them not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:7). What was meant for them to not know for their good became the very thing that ended up separating them (and us) from God- all because they believed a lie over the truth of God’s love.
Here is what we must be willing to accept: God is merciful to not tell us everything. But He does tell us enough to sustain us if we would trust His character and His Word over our feelings and the discomfort of not knowing. When we want to so badly know the when, how, why, who, where…let us remember that not knowing right away is His mercy on display. If we would see this act as a way that He cares for us by not  giving us the burden of carrying knowledge before its time, then we could see that He isn’t trying to be deceptive in not showing us the whole picture, the next step or the end of the road. He is in fact, lovingly giving us the way to deeper trust.

“…the seasons or the times that the Father has fixed by His own authority.”

We know that God created both the seasons and the times (Genesis 1). But we have made ourselves believe that we can control them. And while His word encourages us to make the most of our time (Ephesians 5:16), It doesn’t give us any indication that we are in control of it.

Perhaps you are desperately trying to find out what season you are in or the timing for the prayer you’ve been praying. Or maybe you are overwhelmed by all the chaos that you see in this world, wondering what will happen and what this all means. Here is Jesus reminding His disciples then and reminding us now to know that it’s all His. And it’s all under His authority. While our hearts long for control, God gently helps us relinquish that control by telling us that it’s fixed by His authority. We don’t need to worry.

No matter how long or how closely we’ve walked with the Lord, there will be things we won’t know on this side of heaven (1 Cor. 13:9) Our calling is to walk in the grace He gives us, completely trusting that He—the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and end—is the One who sees the end from the beginning in each of our lives. He orders our steps. We need only to walk by the very gift He gives us and empowers to live in—FAITH. And that faith is made firm as we remain in His Word.

Lastly, while verse 7 is very important—verse 8 is what Jesus tells His disciples to focus on more than trying to figure out what’s to come. He says, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth.”

We don’t know what tomorrow holds for us. But the One who holds it has made the way for us to know Him and He’s given us His Holy Spirit in this very moment to walk in obedience to Him and be a witness for Him wherever we go.

Sisters, as tempting as it is to control our seasons and our times, know this---we aren’t meant to. It defeats the purpose of not only walking by faith, but our confession that He is not just our Savior but our Lord and King. He is Sovereign. May we rest—truly rest, in the truth that we don’t have to know everything because the One Who knows is better equipped to lead us because He’s given us work to do.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The weekly devotionals seek to encourage you to dig deeper into Scripture as you take the time to daily read, meditate, and internalize the verses in the devotional, along with the passages provided below to give greater context. Take the time to read them throughout the week (repetition is important) and ask the Holy Spirit to help you grasp what God is showing you about Himself, about you, and how to live in light of these truths. 

Passages to read/memorize/meditate:
Genesis 1, 2:7
Proverbs 3:5-6
Matthew 16:5-12
Mark 4:38-41
Acts 1:6-11
1 Corinthians 13:9
Ephesians 5:16
Questions to Reflect on:

1. In what areas do you struggle to relinquish control of time or control to know?
2. How has this devotional helped you trust God and His timing and His Authority?

By Yodit Kifle Smith

This is now, beloved, the second letter I am writing to you in which I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, that you should remember the words spoken beforehand by the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken by your apostles.(2 Peter 3:1-2)

It’s the official first week of the New Year and I am sure, just like it was mentioned in last week’s devotional, that we have prepared goals and are determined to make changes that we want to achieve and sustain in this coming year.

And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that, in fact it can be exciting! However, I want us to keep in mind that what we set as goals and changes will be in vain if we don’t remember certain truths that remain constant whether or not we achieve what we’ve set out to achieve.
As we forge ahead this year, remembering these truths doesn’t just bring to mind what has taken place but it sustains us and empowers us to move through navigating each day. So, don’t forget to remember:

God is Holy
“To whom then will you liken God, or what likeness compare with Him…” (Isaiah 40:18)
Why do I bring this up? Because this is where it starts. If we don’t constantly remember that God is Holy- set apart, unique, none like Him, none will ever be like Him (1 Samuel 2:2) – then our faith journey will be one of confusion. God’s Holiness is what has opened the door for our salvation, justification and sanctification. A Holy God sought after unholy people to redeem us into His Holiness by the perfect sacrifice of His Son Jesus. His Holiness is what shows His love that He would open the door for our ability to stand blameless before Him (2 Cor. 5:21). And when we remember this glorious truth, worship is the response. And what good would it do us to chase after all of our goals and neglect the one thing we are created for—worshipping our good, good Father?

The Gospel is Daily
We know “Christ died, was buried and He rose on the third day…”(1 Cor. 15:3) We can probably recite that in our sleep but it’s not for mindless reciting—it’s for believing and living out the truths of God’s power (Romans 1:16) every single day. The Gospel is more than a verse in the Bible- it’s the reason why we can have relationship with God. It’s the reason for our Hope. It’s the starting point and the sustaining path for our walk (1 Cor. 15:1-2) And if we aren’t remembering the gospel daily, then we will be susceptible to the plight of the enemy because His goal is to deceive into thinking that we don’t need to rehearse and rejoice in the gospel daily.

 God’s Word is mandatory, not an option:

“It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” (Matthew 4:4)
My heart has been to spur us to not just good works but to love God’s Word. There is nothing we know of God that doesn’t come from His Word and that is the place where we will continue knowing Him. Knowing His plans. Knowing His works. Knowing His purposes. Knowing how to endure and so much more.
Sisters, God’s Word isn’t an accessory to our faith. It’s ammunition (Ephesians 6:10-20). It is what sustains our journey because it’s how we know the One who gave us this path to walk on. It’s the truths that build our foundation. And if we aren’t committed to getting into His Word, we are in essence saying, “enemy, have your way with me because I have no armor to fight you.”
We are called to fight this good fight of faith (1 Timothy 6:12) not with our knowledge or intellect or feelings but with the truth of God’s Word. So, don’t let it be an option to get in His Word this year. And WITHIN will continue to spur you on in this.

My performance won’t earn me anything before God

We will fight this deception until the day we see glory because the enemy’s main tactic is the one he used back in Genesis 3: “Did God really say…?”
He will keep saying, “Did God really say that there is nothing you can do to earn His love? Did God really say that you don’t have to “do more” to be seen favorable in His eyes?”
Sisters, nothing, and I mean nothing we do has given us the position we have in Christ (Titus 3:5) It’s hard for us to truly believe that because our nature fights to do in order to be. God’s kingdom is upside down. There is nothing on that list of “to-do’s for 2020” that will earn you anything in God.  This is not to say that if you’ve put “pray more” that it will not strengthen your relationship with the Lord. What I am saying is that your praying more doesn’t change your identity as God’s child. It’s secure yet it changes you.
Remember this year that when you find yourself thinking along those lines that it’s a lie from the father of lies. My prayer for us is that as we grow and rest in the transforming knowledge of God, by His Spirit, we will be spurred to love Him through our obedience to His commands but not to pursue His commands to be loved more by Him. There is a difference.

Don’t cheapen God’s Grace
With the above being said, God’s grace isn’t just a nice word—it’s power. Therefore, don’t cheapen it by thinking you are able to do what you want (Romans 6). His grace not just saves us but it keeps us and empowers us to say yes to Him and no to anything that is not of Him. (Colossians 1:22, Titus 2:11) Let’s not diminish the power of His Grace but let’s seek to live in it and by it that we would be marked by the witness of the fruit we bear through Him (Romans 12:3-21).

 He is in the Joys as well as the Suffering
The reality is that much joy and suffering await us in this lifetime. The tendency is to think that God is more in the joy than the suffering. May we be encouraged to know that God is in both (2 Cor. 6:10). He sustains us in both. And may our hearts be so anchored in Christ that when we experience both, we will know the Sovereignty of God through them (James 1:4) We will experience the divine comfort as much as the divine joy—He doesn’t change. His purposes are revealed in both.

You can’t do this walk alone
Do you want to know one of the major ways God is kind to us? He gave us His church to be loved, protected and shepherded by. I’ve said this before but we don’t get saved unto ourselves but we get saved into the family of God. He purposely builds His church for His glory and our good. We can’t do this walk of faith alone as much as we think we can. Hebrews 10 commands us to not neglect the assembling of the saints and Hebrews 3:13 is very clear what happens when we think we can—we are susceptible to deception and hardening of sin. Isolation is the enemy’s playground. So, this year, if you haven’t found a local church, would you seek the Lord to lead you to a body so you can be cared for the way God intended?

This is not our home
​Oh, my dear sisters, this is the glorious truth that we must cling to tightly. We are but sojourners just passing through. This is not our home. And each day, we are one day closer to heaven. Don't be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good--the good of the gospel we stand on and in daily.
Make the most of the time He has given us (Ephesians 5:15)) by making much of Him but know that He is leading us to greater glory (Romans 8:18). There is coming a day when we will stand before our Maker and we will be made perfect forever. Until that day—He keeps us and sustains us through this fallen world (Jude 1:24).
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The weekly devotionals seek to encourage you to dig deeper into Scripture as you take the time to daily read, meditate, and internalize the verses in the devotional, along with the passages provided below to give greater context. Take the time to read them throughout the week (repetition is important) and ask the Holy Spirit to help you grasp what God is showing you about Himself, about you, and how to live in light of these truths. 

Passages to read/memorize/meditate:
Genesis 3
Isaiah 40:18
1 Samuel 2:2
Romans 12:3-21
Matthew 4:4
Ephesians 6:10-20
1 Timothy 6:12
Romans 8:18
1 Cor. 15:1-3
Colossians 1:22
Ephesians 5:15
Titus 2:11, 3:5
Jude 1:24
Questions to Reflect on:

1. How has this devotional encouraged you to adjust your priorities this year?
2. What is easy for you to forget and how will your fight to remember?