Sanctuary: Finding Moments of Refuge in the Presence of God

By Dr. David Jeremiah

A daily devotional for maintaining peace and perspective in a stress-filled world.

Draw into the quiet, and let best-selling author Dr. David Jeremiah lead you toward God’s refuge of peace and holiness every day of the year. The 365 devotionals will encourage your heart and bring God’s Word into proper focus for handling life’s circumstances, ranging from adversity and difficulty to the daily distractions that compete for our thoughts and Christlike attitudes. Be encouraged to maintain an awareness of God's presence no matter what the circumstance.  It’s a wonderful way to “be still” in His presence and, in turn, be His sanctuary to a lost world.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson
• Release date: Sep 5, 2011
• ISBN: 9781400318629

Dr. David Jeremiah

Dr. David Jeremiah is the founder of Turning Point, an international ministry committed to providing Christians with sound Bible teaching through radio and television, the internet, live events, and resource materials and books. He is the author of more than fifty books, including Where Do We Go From Here?, Forward, The World of the End, and The Great Disappearance. Dr. Jeremiah serves as the senior pastor of Shadow Mountain Community Church in El Cajon, California. He and his wife, Donna, have four grown children and twelve grandchildren.

Book preview

Presented to:

______________________

From:

______________________

Title page with Thomas Nelson logo

© 2002, 2011 by David Jeremiah

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or other—except for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Thomas Nelson. Thomas Nelson is a registered trademark of Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Published in association with Yates & Yates, LLP, Literary Agents, Orange, California.

Thomas Nelson, Inc., titles may be purchased in bulk for educational, business, fund-raising, or sales promotional use. For information, please e-mail [e-mail].

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations used in this book are from THE NEW KING JAMES VERSION, © 1979, 1980, 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Other Scripture quotations are from the following sources:

HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION (NIV), © 1973, 1978, 1984, International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers.

NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE (NASB), © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

The KING JAMES VERSION of the Bible (KJV).

The Living Bible (TLB), © 1971. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

ISBN 978-1-4003-1827-8

11 12 13 14 TIMS 5 4 3 2 1

Information about External Hyperlinks in this ebook

Please note that footnotes in this ebook may contain hyperlinks to external websites as part of bibliographic citations. These hyperlinks have not been activated by the publisher, who cannot verify the accuracy of these links beyond the date of publication.

TO MY LORD JESUS . . .

HE IS MY SANCTUARY AND

PLACE OF REFUGE

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

JANUARY

JANUARY 1: THE AWESOME FACE OF GOD

JANUARY 2: LONG-DISTANCE FATHER

JANUARY 3: TRUST THE CHARACTER OF GOD

JANUARY 4: FILLED WITH THE ENCOURAGER

JANUARY 5: LOVE’S POWER

JANUARY 6: LET’S SING!

JANUARY 7: TEMPLE ON WHEELS

JANUARY 8: FAMILY OF GOD

JANUARY 9: FROM SILENCE TO SINGING

JANUARY 10: TAKE HIS HAND

JANUARY 11: HE IS THE LIGHT

JANUARY 12: FOLLOWING GOD’S SCHEDULE

JANUARY 13: GOD’S PROVIDENCE

JANUARY 14: FRIENDSHIP AND COMFORT

JANUARY 15: OUR IMMORTALITY IN CHRIST

JANUARY 16: CROWN OF CREATION

JANUARY 17: CALL UPON GOD

JANUARY 18: RECEIVED INTO HIS PRESENCE

JANUARY 19: PUTTING IT INTO WORDS

JANUARY 20: GOD’S FAMILY

JANUARY 21: THE MISSING PIECE IS CHRIST

JANUARY 22: GOD IS THE CURE

JANUARY 23: PREPARE FOR TESTS

JANUARY 24: WORSHIP AND WONDER

JANUARY 25: JOY IN THE MORNING

JANUARY 26: A RESOURCE OF POWER

JANUARY 27: THE DESERVING ONE

JANUARY 28: CHANGE THROUGH CHRIST

JANUARY 29: JESUS IS THE LIFE

JANUARY 30: GOD ALWAYS KNEW YOU

JANUARY 31: MAYBE NOT!

FEBRUARY

FEBRUARY 1: REST IN JESUS

FEBRUARY 2: THE POOR RICH MAN

FEBRUARY 3: COUNT IT ALL JOY

FEBRUARY 4: STAND AMAZED

FEBRUARY 5: FROM WEEPING TO JOY

FEBRUARY 6: YOUR WILL BE DONE

FEBRUARY 7: PARENTING BY FAITH

FEBRUARY 8: GOD IS GRACIOUS

FEBRUARY 9: CHRIST CURES

FEBRUARY 10: WALK BY FAITH

FEBRUARY 11: NO QUALITY WITHOUT QUANTITY

FEBRUARY 12: FINDING REAL LOVE

FEBRUARY 13: THE BEST LOVE

FEBRUARY 14: ONLY LOVE

FEBRUARY 15: LISTEN TO JESUS

FEBRUARY 16: THE PERIL OF RELIGION

FEBRUARY 17: ALONE WITH GOD

FEBRUARY 18: GOD’S ALWAYS THERE

FEBRUARY 19: ONE DAY AT A TIME

FEBRUARY 20: THE ENERGY TO WAIT

FEBRUARY 21: PRAY FOR YOUR CHILDREN

FEBRUARY 22: LIVE FOR JESUS

FEBRUARY 23: THE INWARD MAN

FEBRUARY 24: TALK TO THE LORD ABOUT TROUBLES

FEBRUARY 25: IN HIS STEPS

FEBRUARY 26: LITTLE PICTURES

FEBRUARY 27: WISDOM MULTIPLIED

FEBRUARY 28: GIVE ME SOULS!

MARCH

MARCH 1: LIVING ON THE LIVING GOD

MARCH 2: NEVER FAIL TO FORGIVE

MARCH 3: HOW TO FEAR GOD

MARCH 4: AS YOUR SOUL PROSPERS

MARCH 5: BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO TRUST IN THE LORD

MARCH 6: WHEN IN DOUBT, DON’T!

MARCH 7: LOVED!

MARCH 8: WHAT WILL WE DO IN HEAVEN?

MARCH 9: THE POWER OF ONE

MARCH 10: THE SPIRIT AND THE WORD

MARCH 11: PEACE IN THE STORM

MARCH 12: DEVELOP A SPIRITUAL IMMUNE SYSTEM

MARCH 13: THE TRUTH ABOUT MERCY

MARCH 14: DEPENDING ON GOD

MARCH 15: TRIALS VS. TEMPTATIONS

MARCH 16: OPPORTUNITIES

MARCH 17: CONFIDENCE IN GOD’S PRESENCE

MARCH 18: THE BEST VIOLINS

MARCH 19: NOT BY SIGHT

MARCH 20: THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS

MARCH 21: BREAK OUT IN PRAISE

MARCH 22: THE SECRET TO STORMS

MARCH 23: DELIVERANCE FROM POVERTY

MARCH 24: UNCHANGEABLE PERSONALITY

MARCH 25: WORDS OF LIFE

MARCH 26: CHANGE YOUR THINKING

MARCH 27: LOVE AUTHENTICALLY

MARCH 28: STAND, NO MATTER WHAT

MARCH 29: PREACHING CHRIST CRUCIFIED

MARCH 30: USE IT OR LOSE IT

MARCH 31: TRUE HAPPINESS

APRIL

APRIL 1: BEWARE FOOLISH FRIENDS

APRIL 2: A NOTE OF VICTORY

APRIL 3: TAKE HOPE IN THE RISEN CHRIST

APRIL 4: HE IS SOVEREIGN

APRIL 5: A RISEN KING!

APRIL 6: TO HELP US GROW

APRIL 7: I JUST KNOW

APRIL 8: A GRACIOUS OFFER

APRIL 9: COMFORT IN HIS FATHER

APRIL 10: LIVE ABOVE DECEPTION

APRIL 11: TRUE JOY

APRIL 12: TAKE THE POWER OF THE LORD

APRIL 13: COME OUT OF THE GRAVE

APRIL 14: FAITHFUL OVER FEW, RULER OVER MANY

APRIL 15: NO GRUMBLING

APRIL 16: WHAT’S MISSING?

APRIL 17: INVESTING IN OUR CHILDREN

APRIL 18: SPIRITUAL ASPIRIN

APRIL 19: CHRISTIAN, NEVER GIVE UP!

APRIL 20: GIFTS OF LIFE

APRIL 21: EXPERIENCE PEACE

APRIL 22: HAPPY IS HE WHO OBEYS

APRIL 23: THE MAN WITH A PLAN

APRIL 24: TIMELESS REFUGE

APRIL 25: WE CAN DO IT!

APRIL 26: SEE GOD AS HE REALLY IS

APRIL 27: STRENGTHEN ONE ANOTHER

APRIL 28: LOOK TO THE PAST

APRIL 29: THE GREATER WORKS

APRIL 30: OUR HOPE FOR NEW BODIES

MAY

MAY 1: EVERY DAY WITH GOD

MAY 2: GOD NEVER SLEEPS

MAY 3: WHATEVER HE CHOOSES

MAY 4: ANGELS REJOICE AT OUR SALVATION

MAY 5: VICTORY AND FRUITFUL LABOR

MAY 6: THE ADULTEROUS WOMAN

MAY 7: BE HUMBLE, BE WISE

MAY 8: THE SPIRIT’S TRANSLATION

MAY 9: WHEN GOD DELAYS

MAY 10: HOW TO VALUE ANYTHING

MAY 11: THE GOD OF ALL GRACE

MAY 12: ONE-ON-ONE CARE

MAY 13: ROOTED IN THE WORD OF GOD

MAY 14: JOY THAT STAYS

MAY 15: WHEN GOD SEEMS UNFAIR

MAY 16: THE INDESTRUCTIBLE WORD

MAY 17: DOING THE STEPS

MAY 18: PROBLEMS PREPARE US FOR MINISTRY

MAY 19: FEEDING SHEEP

MAY 20: UNWILLING HOPE

MAY 21: THE SPIRIT’S GIFTS

MAY 22: NINETY-TWO BANANAS

MAY 23: A REFLECTION OF HOLINESS

MAY 24: A FAMILY FOCUSED ON GOD

MAY 25: NO COOKIE-CUTTER CHILDREN

MAY 26: MEEKNESS, NOT WEAKNESS

MAY 27: THE SPIRIT’S PRESENCE

MAY 28: ABUNDANTLY GOOD

MAY 29: THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD

MAY 30: SINGLE PEACE

MAY 31: DON’T ASK, DO

JUNE

JUNE 1: COME TO KNOW HIM

JUNE 2: THE POWER OF LIVING WATER

JUNE 3: PUT GOD FIRST

JUNE 4: NEVER TIRED

JUNE 5: GOD WORKS ALL THINGS FOR GOOD

JUNE 6: MEMORIALS OF GOD’S FAITHFULNESS

JUNE 7: GOD’S BEAUTY TREATMENT

JUNE 8: THE DANGER OF PROCRASTINATION

JUNE 9: A PARENT’S IMPACT

JUNE 10: LIKE RIDING A BIKE

JUNE 11: THE COMPASSION OF GOD

JUNE 12: PLUG IN TO HIS POWER

JUNE 13: DILIGENT IN ALL THINGS

JUNE 14: STILL WATERS

JUNE 15: GOD’S ROAD MAP

JUNE 16: JOY DOES NOT DEPEND ON CIRCUMSTANCES

JUNE 17: THE GIFT OF FAME

JUNE 18: SATAN IS DOOMED

JUNE 19: THE SPIRIT’S WITNESS

JUNE 20: A SACRIFICE OF PRAISE

JUNE 21: LOOK ABOVE FOR HELP

JUNE 22: THERE’S NO SUBSTITUTE FOR GOD’S WORD

JUNE 23: REDIRECTED FAITH

JUNE 24: ANGELS MUST NEVER RECEIVE WORSHIP

JUNE 25: WE CAN GO ANYWHERE WITH JESUS

JUNE 26: FROZEN IN SIN

JUNE 27: RADER OF THE LOST SOULS

JUNE 28: THE SPIRIT’S INSTRUCTION

JUNE 29: WAITING OUT OF CONTROL

JUNE 30: AWESTRUCK

JULY

JULY 1: OFFERING OF PEACE

JULY 2: WORSHIP COURAGEOUSLY

JULY 3: CARING FOR SINGLE SAINTS

JULY 4: SPIRITUAL LIBERTY

JULY 5: BOAST ABOUT GOD

JULY 6: KEEP THE FAITH

JULY 7: JESUS’ FINAL WARNING

JULY 8: THE SPIRIT OF ENCOURAGEMENT

JULY 9: TRIALS IN THE BELIEVER’S LIFE

JULY 10: DOING THE RIGHT THING

JULY 11: NO MINISTRY APART FROM SERVICE

JULY 12: ARE YOU GOOD?

JULY 13: PRAYER CIRCLES

JULY 14: FOOTPRINTS

JULY 15: A SURE HOPE

JULY 16: GOD’S HAT TRICK

JULY 17: SET FREE

JULY 18: WORSHIP INTELLIGENTLY

JULY 19: THE STRONG TOWER

JULY 20: FORGIVENESS IN MARRIAGE

JULY 21: ABSOLUTE LOVE

JULY 22: THE POWER OF A MOTHER

JULY 23: PATIENCE, ANYONE?

JULY 24: A PAID FRIEND

JULY 25: SUFFERING TO BLESS OTHERS

JULY 26: FATHER–SON TALKS

JULY 27: GOD’S PLAN FOR THE HOME

JULY 28: STRENGTH!

JULY 29: THERE IS ONLY ONE BUILDER

JULY 30: PEACE, PLEASE

JULY 31: GAINING PERSPECTIVE

AUGUST

AUGUST 1: GOD DESERVES ATTENTION

AUGUST 2: HE STRETCHES OUT HIS HAND

AUGUST 3: PRAYER IS HARD WORK

AUGUST 4: NEED A FRIEND?

AUGUST 5: RIGHTEOUSNESS IS A FREE GIFT

AUGUST 6: ARE YOU A JOYLESS CHRISTIAN?

AUGUST 7: ETERNAL PROTECTION

AUGUST 8: GOD’S TRAINING PROCESS

AUGUST 9: A HUNGER FOR GOD

AUGUST 10: GOD FORGIVES

AUGUST 11: DISCOVER GOD’S WORK FOR YOU

AUGUST 12: BLIND HOPE

AUGUST 13: YOU CAN’T KNOW ALL GOD’S SECRETS

AUGUST 14: OUR GIGANTIC SECRET

AUGUST 15: THE GREAT DIVIDE

AUGUST 16: MEDITATE ON THE LORD

AUGUST 17: DECIDE TO LOVE

AUGUST 18: TO KNOW THE LORD, WAIT

AUGUST 19: YIELD TO GOD

AUGUST 20: SEEK TO SERVE OUR REDEEMER

AUGUST 21: TRANSFORMATION POWER

AUGUST 22: CHRIST’S COMMUNICATION

AUGUST 23: TRUST IN THE GIVER, NOT THE GIFTS

AUGUST 24: GOD’S BEAUTIFUL CREATION

AUGUST 25: OVERCOMING PEER PRESSURE

AUGUST 26: PRAY AT ALL TIMES

AUGUST 27: DIVINE DIRECTION

AUGUST 28: SPEAK SOFTLY

AUGUST 29: ROBIN HOOD AND LITTLE JOHN

AUGUST 30: THE UNTAMED TONGUE

AUGUST 31: IN-YOUR-FACE FOREVER FRIENDS

SEPTEMBER

SEPTEMBER 1: A PATTERN OF LIFE

SEPTEMBER 2: EMPTYING THE NEST

SEPTEMBER 3: PROMISES AND PREDICTIONS

SEPTEMBER 4: CLING TO GOD

SEPTEMBER 5: A LIVING EXAMPLE

SEPTEMBER 6: HOW TO BUILD UP OTHERS

SEPTEMBER 7: THE POISON OF GOSSIP

SEPTEMBER 8: KEEP BUILDING THE CHURCH

SEPTEMBER 9: THE WORDS OF GOD

SEPTEMBER 10: WHAT, LORD?

SEPTEMBER 11: THE OUTCOME IS CONFIRMED

SEPTEMBER 12: VICTORIOUS WARRIORS

SEPTEMBER 13: TRUST GOD TO FULFILL YOUR NEEDS

SEPTEMBER 14: REFRESHING FRIENDS

SEPTEMBER 15: PRAYER ATTACK

SEPTEMBER 16: NOW IS THE TIME TO OBEY

SEPTEMBER 17: JESUS: MAN OF HIS WORD

SEPTEMBER 18: HIS WONDERFUL PRESENCE

SEPTEMBER 19: THE POWER OF THE WORD

SEPTEMBER 20: SAFE IN THE WILL OF GOD

SEPTEMBER 21: FINDING FRIENDS

SEPTEMBER 22: DEFINING THE GOSPEL

SEPTEMBER 23: DEO VOLENTE

SEPTEMBER 24: IGNORANT WORSHIP

SEPTEMBER 25: THE STRENGTH OF TENDERNESS

SEPTEMBER 26: FUELED BY PRAYER

SEPTEMBER 27: REPENT WHERE YOU ARE

SEPTEMBER 28: GETTING A GRIP

SEPTEMBER 29: WHO PRAYS?

SEPTEMBER 30: FROM THE INSIDE OUT

OCTOBER

OCTOBER 1: JESUS: MAN ABOUT HIS FATHER’S BUSINESS

OCTOBER 2: YOUR WORLD NEEDS KINDNESS

OCTOBER 3: GOD ENCOURAGES; YOU SHOULD TOO

OCTOBER 4: CHOOSE NOT TO BE LONELY

OCTOBER 5: GOD IS IN CONTROL

OCTOBER 6: THE GREATEST BARGAIN IN THE WORLD

OCTOBER 7: CHRIST THE ROCK

OCTOBER 8: UNCONDITIONAL LOVE

OCTOBER 9: LIFE-CHANGING WISDOM

OCTOBER 10: COURAGEOUS IN ANY CRISIS

OCTOBER 11: CHOOSE ONE CHAIR

OCTOBER 12: THE RETURN OF GEORGE LUCAS

OCTOBER 13: GET BUSY FOR GOD

OCTOBER 14: REJOICE IN YOUR CHILDREN

OCTOBER 15: LIVE TODAY

OCTOBER 16: LOVE’S ATTITUDE

OCTOBER 17: OUR GOD OF ORDER

OCTOBER 18: THE DEDICATION OF ONE

OCTOBER 19: SEEKING SOLID ROLE MODELS

OCTOBER 20: DON’T GIVE THE DEVIL A FOOTHOLD

OCTOBER 21: RIGHTEOUSNESS THROUGH PROPITIATION

OCTOBER 22: ERRORS IN JUDGMENT

OCTOBER 23: THE DECREE

OCTOBER 24: FELLOW WORKERS FOR CHRIST

OCTOBER 25: WHAT ABOUT DOUBT?

OCTOBER 26: THE FOCUS OF EVANGELISM

OCTOBER 27: COMPASSION FOR THE HURTING

OCTOBER 28: RARE OBJECTIVITY

OCTOBER 29: GOD IS WITH US

OCTOBER 30: GETTING TO YES THE HARD WAY

OCTOBER 31: SELFLESS LOVE

NOVEMBER

NOVEMBER 1: BEAUTIFUL HEAVEN

NOVEMBER 2: GOD’S ENDURING MERCY

NOVEMBER 3: STRAIGHT LINES

NOVEMBER 4: LOVE IN THE LITTLE THINGS

NOVEMBER 5: A NEED-TO-KNOW BASIS

NOVEMBER 6: PUTTING OTHERS FIRST

NOVEMBER 7: PERSONAL ACCOUNTABILITY TO HIM

NOVEMBER 8: TRUST GOD FOR EVERYTHING

NOVEMBER 9: AUDIT YOUR ANGER

NOVEMBER 10: EVERYTHING COMES FROM GOD

NOVEMBER 11: SPEAK TO YOUR ABBA FATHER

NOVEMBER 12: WE CAN’T FOOL OUR KIDS

NOVEMBER 13: THE GREAT PHYSICIAN

NOVEMBER 14: REST IN THE LORD

NOVEMBER 15: RENEW YOUR MIND

NOVEMBER 16: FAITHFULNESS IN MINISTRY

NOVEMBER 17: THE PEARLY GATE

NOVEMBER 18: THE DANGER OF UNBELIEF

NOVEMBER 19: PRIDE—THE ORIGINAL SIN

NOVEMBER 20: PAYING THE PIPER

NOVEMBER 21: TR AIL OF BLOOD

NOVEMBER 22: JUDGE YOUR OWN SIN

NOVEMBER 23: TRAIN UP A CHILD

NOVEMBER 24: THE MASTER KEY TO SPIRITUAL GROWTH

NOVEMBER 25: ETERNAL PROFIT FROM OUR PAIN

NOVEMBER 26: PEACE IN TURMOIL

NOVEMBER 27: WITH OPEN HANDS

NOVEMBER 28: COMPARED WITH WHAT?

NOVEMBER 29: PRAYER MAKES US BETTER

NOVEMBER 30: PROBLEM OR PULPIT?

DECEMBER

DECEMBER 1: ONE PLUS GOD

DECEMBER 2: THE MISSING JEWEL

DECEMBER 3: IN TRAGEDIES AND TRIUMPHS

DECEMBER 4: COME TO ME

DECEMBER 5: NEED A LIFT?

DECEMBER 6: SEEKING, NOT JUST TENDING

DECEMBER 7: LOVE NEVER FAILS

DECEMBER 8: LISTEN TO OTHERS

DECEMBER 9: THE GOODNESS OF GOD

DECEMBER 10: BE MY DISCIPLE

DECEMBER 11: PLUGGED IN

DECEMBER 12: THE SIN OF WORRY

DECEMBER 1: LET IT BE

DECEMBER 14: CHILDREN ARE GIFTS FROM GOD

DECEMBER 15: DO NOT SEEK REVENGE

DECEMBER 16: DON’T REJOICE IN SIN

DECEMBER 17: THE GREATER MINISTRY

DECEMBER 18: A GOOD CONSCIENCE

DECEMBER 19: GOD’S VIEW OF PROSPERITY

DECEMBER 20: MASTER COMPANION

DECEMBER 21: THE GREATER MESSAGE

DECEMBER 22: THE SOURCE OF SONG

DECEMBER 23: GO WITH HASTE

DECEMBER 24: CELEBRATE HIS LOVE

DECEMBER 25: THE CRY OF LIFE

DECEMBER 26: DELIGHT IN THE LORD

DECEMBER 27: USE GOD’S STRENGTH

DECEMBER 28: ENCOURAGEMENT IS URGENT

DECEMBER 29: PROBLEMS PROMOTE MATURITY

DECEMBER 30: EVER-PRESENT GOD

DECEMBER 31: FELLOWSHIP FOREVER

SOURCES

NOTES

INTRODUCTION

You are awesome, O God, in your sanctuary; the God of Israel gives power and strength to His people. Praise be to God!

P

SALM 68:35 NIV

Finding refuge is not a concept most of us relate to in the physical sense. We have our comfortable homes and vehicles and the freedom to come and go without restraint. The physical freedom we experience can sometimes hide the emotional need for refuge, until someone or something brings it all to the surface and we can’t ignore the reality of our need. It is at this very point in time that our concept of God comes clearly into focus.

If we’re not careful we can spend all our lives around the circumference of the circle of knowing God and never actually get to the center of it. It’s easy to get caught up in the mechanics of living a Christian lifestyle and not truly understand what it means to live a Christian life.

Webster defines sanctuary as sacred, a holy place, as a building set aside for worship, a place of refuge or protection. In the New Testament we are told that our bodies are the temples of God. We are to live as a sanctuary of His presence.

Many Christians make the mistake of thinking that just because they are believers in Christ, just because they read the Bible, just because they have the Holy Spirit living in them, they should be immune from the trials and pressures of this earthly life. Doctors’ and counselors’ offices are filled with sincere Christians who find it difficult, if not impossible, to maintain peace and perspective in a stress-filled world.

Oftentimes for Christians our practice comes first, and our theology follows behind it. We decide what we’re going to do, and then we try to find a theology that makes us comfortable in doing it. But God is not affected by what we believe about Him. Our opinions of Him don’t change who He is. If we don’t know who He is, we may end up creating a God in our minds who meets our fancies or letting other people create God for us. We need to find God in His Word and through His Son, Jesus Christ. We need to know the God who is our refuge.

When Jesus was ready to go back to heaven, He gave one assignment to the apostles. He said, Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19). Making disciples is one thing, but being a disciple is quite another without the next words He spoke: Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age (v. 20). God is with us! We celebrate that truth when we call Him Immanuel. It means God with us. Not God somewhere beyond the stars, but God here with us, encouraging us, ministering to us, helping us.

In times when we’re tempted, we understand that He is here, and it brings us up short in our conduct. And in times when we have difficulties in life, we know that we don’t go through them by ourselves. His consistent message through the whole Bible is that He will be with us. Because God is with us, we are His sanctuary and He is our Refuge.

JANUARY

Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God?

—1 CORINTHIANS 6:19

JANUARY 1

THE AWESOME FACE OF GOD

Give unto the L

ORD

the glory due His name; worship the

LORD

in the beauty of holiness.

P

SALM 29:2

As you meet with God in the light of morning, as your thoughts turn to Him in the adrenaline rush of the day, as you move into the silent sanctuary on the Lord’s Day, know that He takes His place upon the throne whenever you give Him your praise. Your bowed head, your humbled heart, and your attentive spirit open the door to heaven. It’s a door that swings both ways, for God comes to us no matter where we are.

The wonder of worship is the wonder of His very real presence. It’s music from another world, wonder that floods out all the darkness and the dust of death this life contains. We rediscover the innocence of children again as we praise and exalt God’s name, for He opens Himself to us. It’s the most awesome moment of life—more awesome than holding your first child in the delivery room, more awesome than meeting the person you’re destined to marry, more awesome than seeing the earth from the window of the space shuttle. You’ve seen something more beautiful: the face of God Himself.

JANUARY 2

LONG-DISTANCE FATHER

The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayers.

1

P

ETER 3:12

When you became a son—when you were adopted into His family as a son or daughter of God—He opened up for you, through Christ’s death on the cross, a way of fellowship and relationship that makes it possible for you to go right into His presence.

Do you relate to God like that? Are you in fellowship with Him? The way God fathers us will change the way we father our own children. Now that my children are grown and out of the house, I’ve had to apply God’s principles of being available in new ways: I’m learning to be a long-distance father. I have entered into a deeper relationship with my internet server so as to fulfill my fathering responsibilities. Fathering from a distance has added some new expenses, but it is what I need to do to remain a father to my children.

Now, if I am like that as an earthly father with limited resources, how available do you think your spiritual Father in heaven is? You don’t need a long-distance calling card or an 800 number. He is waiting for you to come into His presence in prayer at any time.

JANUARY 3

TRUST THE CHARACTER OF GOD

You are my hope, O Lord G

OD

; You are my trust from my youth.

P

SALM 71:5

Sometimes during trials we focus so intently on our experience that we forget to focus on God. But the psalmist didn’t. Over and over in this psalm he calls to mind the character and attributes of God: His glory, His power and strength, and His faithfulness.

And five times he mentions God’s righteousness. The one thing that we must never lose sight of in the midst of our own suffering is the righteousness and goodness of God. It is because of God’s inherent goodness that we are able to trust Him in all things.

When you are in the middle of trials, everyone will have an opinion or a suggestion or a remedy—and if they are from people you trust, you should consider them. But after all is said and done, there is only one thing that you can put all your trust in, and that is the character of God.

JANUARY 4

FILLED WITH THE ENCOURAGER

When [Barnabas] came and had seen the grace of God, he was glad, and encouraged them all that with purpose of heart they should continue with the Lord.

A

CTS 11:23

The Holy Spirit is the Encourager. Anyone who wants to be an encourager of others must be filled with the Encourager as Barnabas was. Because of the Spirit’s presence in him, he could readily yield to the leading of God. Our own ego and drive for self-promotion is so strong that only the Spirit can bring about the transformation needed to accomplish God’s purposes. When we build up and encourage others, we know that God is at work in and through us.

The fact that Barnabas was good, generous, gracious, and godly was not because of his upbringing or his education or his heritage. It was because he was filled with the Holy Spirit. The same Holy Spirit who indwelt Barnabas is the Spirit who is given to every believer in Jesus Christ. We receive the Holy Spirit when we are born again, and we remain filled with the Holy Spirit as we confess our sins and yield to His leading in our lives. God wants every Christian to be filled with the Encourager so that we might become encouragers as Barnabas was. The same glory brought to God through Barnabas’s life can be brought to Him through our lives.

JANUARY 5

LOVE’S POWER

[Love] bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

1

C

ORINTHIANS 13:7

Love hopes all things. Love that hopes has a confident expectation. It is a definite, persistent, absolute truth. There is no situation that divine love within us cannot face with full hope. That’s what love is all about. Love hopes.

Hope is not refusing to face the truth. Hope is having a confidence in God to see you through each difficult trial. Jesus was always the epitome of truth, but He never failed to bring hope to others. When He met the woman taken in adultery, He inspired her to hope again. When He met the thief on the cross, Jesus made sure that man left this life with hope. He told the story about the lost coin that was found, and the lost son who came home, and the lost sheep that was found. Over and over again, what Jesus said in His messages was, There’s hope! Though He was mocked, disbelieved, and crucified, He never doubted the glory that was yet to be, and He endured the cross for the joy that was set before Him. He had hope.

Love hangs on with tenacity when other hands let go in despair. To hope when faith has been disappointed is a greater thing than to have believed the sure thing. Love hopes all things.

JANUARY 6

LET’S SING!

Oh come, let us sing to the L

ORD

! Let