Greg Laurie: Daily Devotions

“Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.” (Ephesians 6:18 NLT)

 

All Christians experience times when we come face to face with overwhelming hardship. For Peter, it was witnessing the betrayal and arrest of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. You can find the story in John 18. Peter simply could not stomach the thought of the Lord’s enemies taking Him away. Frustrated and in despair, Peter drew his sword in defense of his Lord and cut off the ear of one of the men who arrested Jesus (see verse 10). Of course, that’s not what Jesus wanted. The sword was not the answer to salvation.

Poor Peter. He was always doing the wrong thing at the wrong time. He was sleeping when he should have been praying. He was talking when he should have been listening. He was boasting when he should have been fearing. And he was fighting when he should have been surrendering. His instincts were 180 degrees off.

Peter failed to see that he was fighting the wrong enemy. As the apostle Paul points out in Ephesians 6:12, our enemies are not of flesh and blood. They are principalities and powers, and they cannot be defeated by ordinary measures. Too often we, like Peter, forget that ours is a spiritual battle that requires spiritual weaponry. And we neglect the most powerful weapon in our arsenal—prayer. We are too quick to protest or picket and not quick enough to pray.

In his description of the armor of God available to believers to withstand and counter the attacks of our enemy, Paul concludes with this: “Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere” (Ephesians 6:18 NLT).

Pray at all times. Be persistent. Prayer isn’t just an emergency button we push when we can’t think of anything else to do. It’s an essential communication channel that links us to God, our source of strength, courage, wisdom, comfort, and peace. God supplies us with everything we need for our spiritual battles. But we don’t have to wait until we’re in the thick of the fight to call on Him.

Jesus faced opposition throughout His ministry. Passages such as Luke 5:16 give us a glimpse into how He prepared for battle. “But Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer” (NLT). And when that opposition came to a head, Jesus headed for Gethsemane, a favorite prayer spot.

The reality is that we all will face Gethsemanes in life. For Jesus, Gethsemane was a time of suffering and hardship, a time when He chose to surrender to the will of His Father. You, too, may face similar experiences in life that you don’t understand. You don’t know what lies ahead. But you can trust your unknown future into the hands of a known God.

 

Reflection Question: How can you make your prayers more effective in your spiritual battles?

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“Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” (Ephesians 6:17 NLT)

 

During the Korean War, a unit known as Baker Company was separated from its regiment, and enemy forces were advancing on it. For several hours, no word came from Baker Company.  Finally, radio contact was made. When asked for a report of its situation, Baker Company replied, “The enemy is to the east of us. The enemy is to the west of us. The enemy is to the south of us. The enemy is to the north of us.” Then, after a brief pause, the voice continued, “And this time, we’re not going to let them escape.”

Sometimes it seems that way in the life of a believer. The enemy is at every turn. Even so, some believers don’t realize that the Christian life is not a playground, but a battleground.  They are oblivious to the fact that a war is raging—and that, in this war, they are either winning or losing.

In a battle, it’s always better to be an aggressor instead of a defender. A defender is simply waiting for the enemy’s next attack, hoping he will survive. If we, as believers, are always defending, then the devil is in a superior position. If, on the other hand, we are the ones who are attacking, then we are in the superior position. When the apostle Paul wrote about the armor of God in Ephesians 6, he mentioned one offensive weapon: “The sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (verse 17 NLT).

Make no mistake about it: There is authority and power in the Word of God. Matthew 4:1–11 tells the story of Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness. Three times the devil tried to get Jesus to do wrong. All three times Jesus countered his attack by quoting the Word of God. The result? “The devil went away” (verse 11 NLT).

God’s Word keeps Satan from getting an advantageous battle position in our lives as well. For example, let’s say you’re feeling tempted to do something that you know is wrong. If your first instinct is to turn to 1 Corinthians 10:13 (“The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure” NLT), you’ll remember that God stands ready to strengthen you and help you escape. And you’ll have the high ground in your battle with the devil. He will have no solid footing for his attack.

That’s how you keep him off-balance: by immersing yourself in Scripture. The devil has nothing in his arsenal that can counter the Bible.

God’s Word sticks. God’s Word breaks through. God’s Word impacts. When the enemy has you surrounded, keep him on the defensive with the Word of God.

 

Reflection Question: How can you sharpen your spiritual battle skills using the Word of God?

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“A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:10–12 NLT)

 

When he was little, my son Jonathan had a habit of wandering. One day, we were in a hotel and came to an elevator. He ran ahead to push the button. I told him, “If the elevator comes, wait until Dad gets there.” Just as I arrived at the elevator, the doors were closing, and he was inside. He was gone. I frantically pushed the button for the other elevator and waited for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, the doors opened, and I jumped in. I went down to the lobby. He wasn’t there. I ran back to the elevator, pushed every button for every floor, and as the doors opened, I would scream out his name. I didn’t care about decorum. I wanted to find my son. And I found him, about three floors up, wandering around. But you know what? After that experience, he didn’t wander anymore. He got separated from his dad, and it was scary for him. He learned how important it was to stay close to me.

As Christians, we should want to stay as close to our heavenly Father as possible. Our enemy, the devil, is a powerful adversary, and we are no match for him in our own strength. The apostle Peter wrote, “Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8 NLT).

We don’t want to venture out into this life on our own abilities and suffer spiritual defeat. I have a healthy respect for the devil’s ability. That’s why I want to stay as close to the Lord as possible. I want to be strong in Him.

Wanting to stay close to your Father may seem like a childish instinct, but it’s actually evidence of a mature faith. In Ephesians 6, the apostle Paul instructs us to “Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power” and to “put on all of God’s armor” (NLT). He leaves no room for solo outings or wandering journeys.

Staying close to our heavenly Father gives us more than protection by an all-powerful God. Psalm 94:17–19 says, “Unless the Lord had helped me, I would soon have settled in the silence of the grave. I cried out, ‘I am slipping!’ but your unfailing love, O Lord, supported me. When doubts filled my mind, your comfort gave me renewed hope and cheer” (NLT).

If ever there was a time to be walking closely with the Lord, it is now. This is not the time to be playing games with God. This is not the time to wander away.

 

Reflection Question: How can you tell when you start to wander away from God?

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“It’s true that some are preaching out of jealousy and rivalry. But others preach about Christ with pure motives. They preach because they love me, for they know I have been appointed to defend the Good News. Those others do not have pure motives as they preach about Christ. They preach with selfish ambition, not sincerely, intending to make my chains more painful to me. But that doesn’t matter. Whether their motives are false or genuine, the message about Christ is being preached either way, so I rejoice. And I will continue to rejoice.” (Philippians 1:15–18 NLT)

 

A preacher was moonlighting as a lifeguard to make a little extra money. His supervisors were shocked when they learned that people were drowning near his lifeguard stand at an alarming rate. Every day brought news of a new drowning, each one in the vicinity of the preacher’s stand. The supervisors were baffled. They wondered, What’s the problem with this preacher lifeguard? He’s been trained properly. So they went to observe him. Before long, they saw a pair of swimmers in trouble, waving frantically from the ocean. The preacher looked at the swimmers and said, “God bless you. I see that hand. God bless you. I see that hand.”

In case you’re too young or too new to the church to understand that punchline, it’s a reference to the go-to move for certain preachers during their altar calls. If you spend enough time listening to certain preachers, you’ll pick up on other quirks, tendencies, and habits. It’s an occupational hazard for pastors.

And when it’s lighthearted—like teasing about a joke you’ve heard more than once from the pulpit—it can be fun and even unifying. But when it takes a darker turn—when people start to question a preacher’s qualifications, motives, allegiances, or leanings—it can be incredibly damaging to the body of Christ.

Like it or not, we are all imperfect vessels delivering a perfect message. That goes not just for pastors and evangelists, but for anyone who shares the gospel. Skeptics and critics will ask, “Why should we listen to you? Who gave you the authority to say these things?”

It’s not a new phenomenon. The apostle Paul dealt with a similar situation in his letter to the Philippian believers. And in his situation, the criticism was warranted. There were people preaching out of jealousy and rivalry with Paul. But look at how he resolved the problem: “The message about Christ is being preached either way, so I rejoice. And I will continue to rejoice” (Philippians 1:18 NLT).

All that matters is that the Good News of Christ is being delivered. When the words of the gospel are spoken, God can plant the seeds of His truth in people’s hearts, regardless of who’s doing the talking.

God calls us to build unity in the body of Christ. We can do that by showing grace and gratitude to our fellow believers who deliver the message of Christ.

 

Reflection Question: How will you respond to someone who questions a pastor’s qualifications or motives?

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“I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance.” (Ephesians 1:18 NLT)

 

People come up to me and ask, “Greg, what’s the one thing you can say to a nonbeliever that will cause them to accept Christ?” Like I know the hidden secret. Like I’m going to say, “Since you asked, I’m going to show you the ultimate evangelism hack. Here’s what you do.”

Sorry to disappoint you, but there’s no such thing as the ultimate evangelism hack. When I share my faith, I do the same thing that most of you probably do. I just tell my story. I tell people about Jesus, and I pray that the Lord will open their eyes.

You may witness to one person and find that it’s like talking to a brick wall. Nothing. No response at all. And then when you witness in the same way to another person, boom! They get it. They’re responsive to your message. So always pray for the Lord to open a person’s eyes.

I remember when my eyes were opened. I was seventeen years old, and I was listening to Lonnie Frisbee. He made one statement that resonated powerfully with me. He said, “Jesus said you’re for Me or you’re against Me.” And suddenly, I got it. I don’t know why I got it at that moment. I don’t know what it was about that statement. But when I heard it, it was like a light switched on inside me.

Up until that moment, I had been looking cynically and critically at the Christian faith. And then I realized it was all true. It was all real.

I should point out that it’s possible to have your eyes open and still not be a Christian. I’ve met people who say, “I agree that Jesus is the Son of God. I believe that He lived a sinless life. I believe that He died on the cross for my sin. I believe that He rose again from the dead. I believe that He’s coming back again. I believe that the Bible is the Word of God. But that’s it. I believe it, but I’m not going to act on it.”

So having your eyes opened doesn’t necessarily guarantee anything. But it’s a necessary first step. And only God can open a person’s eyes. Paul prayed in Ephesians 1:18 for God to open the eyes of nonbelievers. And when you’re sharing your faith, the first thing you should do is pray, “Lord, open this person’s eyes because there’s nothing I can say or do that will make this person believe.”

There are a lot of people in your orbit who fit Paul’s description in Ephesians 4:18: “Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him” (NLT). Will you be bold and caring enough to reach out to them? To show them the light of the gospel? And to ask God to open their eyes to His truth?

 

Reflection Question: How can you help facilitate an eye-opening moment in the life of someone you know?

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“Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord.” (Ephesians 2:20–21 NLT)

 

We’ve reached a point in the church where people are starting to divide over really small things—second-tier and even third-tier issues. And then subdivisions occur. Groups get smaller and smaller as their conditions for acceptance get narrower and narrower. Before long, you find yourself saying, “It’s down to the four of us, and I’m not sure about you other three.”

It’s not hard to find things that divide us. They’re low-hanging fruit. When we mistake our personal preferences and opinions for absolute truth, we can justify separating ourselves from just about anyone.

It takes a little more effort to find things that unite us. Or to recognize that the things that divide us don’t have to divide us. Instead of automatically separating people into categories of “us” and “them,” we can agree to disagree. We can leave judgment to the Lord.

That’s the direction God would have us go. Remember, we’re the body of Christ. We’re meant to work together, with each part playing an important role. You can’t divide a body or separate its parts without doing serious damage to the whole.

That’s why the apostle Paul issued this warning to the believers in Rome: “And now I make one more appeal, my dear brothers and sisters. Watch out for people who cause divisions and upset people’s faith by teaching things contrary to what you have been taught. Stay away from them” (Romans 16:17 NLT). It’s not just the teachings that are dangerous; it’s the divisions they cause.

It’s also why Paul wrote to the believers in Corinth, “I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose” (1 Corinthians 1:10 NLT).

Divisions in the church aren’t just an in-house matter. The implications and damage extend far beyond the church walls. You see, people are watching us. People outside the church. Unbelievers for whom the message of Christ seems almost too good to be true. Changed hearts? Transformed lives? They want to see proof. They want to see us walk the walk.

As far as many unbelievers are concerned, Christians are hypocrites until proven otherwise. When they see division in our ranks or hear us attacking one another or questioning the legitimacy of one another’s faith, it only confirms their cynical suspicions. They feel free to ignore our message and dismiss the Good News of Christ.

Paul said, “Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace” (Ephesians 4:3 NLT). Make every effort. That doesn’t leave room for half-hearted attempts. God wants us to prioritize unity.

Unity among believers isn’t just a matter of getting along with everyone or playing nicely with others; it’s also one of the most powerful testimonies available for showing the life-changing power of Jesus Christ.

 

Reflection Question: How can you cross the lines of division that separate you from someone in your church?

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“God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.” (Ephesians 2:8–9 NLT)

 

There will be good people in Hell. When I say, “good people,” I mean people who trusted in their own human efforts, people who trusted in their own personal reality, and people who trusted in the religious things they did.

Jesus issued a very clear warning in Matthew 7:22: “On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name’” (NLT).

If we updated the passage, the people might say, “Lord, Lord, we were baptized in Your name and received communion in Your name.” But the answer still would be the same.

“But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws’” (verse 23 NLT). These are good people Jesus is talking to. These people paid their taxes. These people recycled and put the right trash in the right can. These people drove Priuses and ate kale and didn’t damage the environment. They’re good people.

They’re just not nearly good enough. That’s why the apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:8–9, “God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it” (NLT).

Jesus never said that if you live a good life, you’ll go to Heaven. But here’s what Jesus did say: “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28 NLT). He doesn’t want us to work ourselves to exhaustion, trying to be good enough to earn salvation. He wants to give us rest and assurance. He wants us to accept the gift of eternal life He offers.

For people with a mature faith, this is a simple review. A chance to celebrate God’s mercy—that is, His kindness and compassion—and His grace—that is, His undeserved favor. But it’s also a reminder that there are people—people you know—who believe that their good works are good enough for God. People who believe that because their good outweighs their bad, they will be welcomed into Heaven. People who believe that growing up in a Christian home and attending church make them Christians.

People who will be stunned to hear Jesus’ words in Matthew 7:23.

People who need a mature believer to help them understand what it means to make a personal commitment to Christ: to confess that they’re not good enough to earn salvation, to turn away from their sin, and to accept Him as Savior and Lord.

You can be that mature believer. You can share the gospel truth. You can help them see the futility of trying to earn salvation through good works. You can point them to Jesus’ sacrifice—the gift of God that makes salvation possible. The question is, will you?

 

Reflection Question: How can you share God’s truth with someone who believes they’re a good person?

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“Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do. Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit.” (Ephesians 5:17–18 NLT)

 

When you think of being filled with the Holy Spirit, you may relate it to an emotional experience or a feeling of euphoria. Something dramatic and memorable. But the word filled can be translated as “controlled by.” Think of what happens when the wind fills the sails of a boat and guides it along. That’s the gist of what the apostle Paul is saying in Ephesians 5. God wants you to let His Spirit fill you, power you, and control your life.

Another interesting thing about the word filled is that, in the original Greek language, the verb tense that Paul uses suggests something that is done continually. So you can translate verse 18 as, “Be constantly filled with the Spirit.” This is not a one-time event. Instead, it’s something that takes place over and over again. Just as you repeatedly fill the gas tank in your car to keep it running, God wants to refill you with His Spirit. It’s a powerful thing to say each day, “Lord, fill me with your Spirit. Lord, fill me once again.” Every time you say it, and mean it, you mature a little more in your faith.

One more thing about this phrase from Ephesians 5:18 is that it’s a command, not a suggestion. The passage isn’t saying, “If it works with your schedule, and if you don’t mind, would you please consider maybe letting the Holy Spirit fill and control you?” Rather, God orders you to be filled with the Holy Spirit.

You may ask, “Doesn’t everyone who trusts Christ have the Holy Spirit inside them?” The answer is yes. Paul says in Romans 8:9, “But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all)” (NLT).

But there are things you can do that interfere with the Holy Spirit’s work in your life. A boat sail that’s turned the wrong way won’t be filled with wind. In the same way, when you’re turned away from God—when you pursue your own agenda instead of His, when you give in to temptation instead of resisting it—you’re not being filled with the Holy Spirit.

That’s why Paul warns, “Do not stifle the Holy Spirit” (1 Thessalonians 5:19 NLT) and “Do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live” (Ephesians 4:30 NLT).

When you’re filled with the Holy Spirit, people will notice. They’ll see evidence of it in your life. Galatians 5:22–23 says, “But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (nlt).

Those qualities have the potential to change lives—not just yours, but other people’s as well. If you will be filled with the Holy Spirit, God will use you to accomplish amazing things.

 

Reflection Question: What are the daily benefits of being filled with the Holy Spirit?

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“I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding.” (Philippians 1:9 NLT)

 

I eat dinner at five o’clock. But I get hungry around three o’clock. So I start counting off the time until I eat. I look forward to my meal. Sometimes I get tempted to eat something to hold me over. You know, when five o’clock seems like it will never get here, and there’s a Taco Bell nearby. I start thinking about a burrito supreme—or maybe just a taco to hold me over.

The problem is that it spoils my appetite. When I fill up on something that’s not good for me, it makes me lose my appetite for things that are good for me.

The same thing can happen to us spiritually. There are things we do, places we go, and people we hang out with that dull us spiritually. They make us lose our appetite for the things of God. They stunt our growth. When we indulge ourselves with them, the result is that we want to do less, and not more, spiritually.

On the flip side, there are other people who inspire us spiritually by their example and by the godliness of their character. They don’t hold themselves up as role models and ask, “Why aren’t you more like me?” They simply live their faith in a way that’s not just inspiring, but also motivating. Being with them stimulates our hunger for Jesus.

And that’s a good thing, because it comes down to this: As Christians, there’s always more for us to know about being disciples. There’s always more for us to learn about sharing our faith and encouraging others. There’s always more to discover in God’s Word.

The apostle Paul wrote in Philippians 1:9, “I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding” (nlt). His point is that you’re never done as a Christian. No matter how much you love, you can love more. No matter how much you pray, you can pray more. No matter how much you obey, you can obey more.

Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled” (Matthew 5:6 NIV). I don’t know about you, but I think all Christians should look at themselves and say, “I’m not content with where I’m at spiritually. There’s more to change in my life. I need to become more like Jesus.”

The moment you fold your arms and say, “I’m content with where I am,” you set yourself up for a fall. When Jesus said, “Unless you . . . become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 18:3 NLT), He wasn’t talking about being childish. He was talking about being childlike—always growing, always learning, and sometimes relearning things that we forget.

Stay hungry for God’s truth. Thirst after righteousness. Refuse to rest on your spiritual laurels. As long as you have breath, continue to grow in your relationship with Christ. Look for ways to be a more effective prayer warrior and evangelist. If you do, God promises that you will be filled—and fulfilled.

 

Reflection Question: How can you “stay hungry” in your Christian faith?

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“God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son.” (Ephesians 1:5–6 NLT)

 

Some people come from homes in which their fathers never expressed love or showed any affection toward them. Therefore, they take that concept of their earthly fathers and place it on their heavenly Father. They spend the rest of their lives trying to earn the approval of God, who has already given His approval to them.

There are a lot of people who think they should keep the Ten Commandments because they are under the impression that God will punish them if they don’t. In a sense, they’re like Sisyphus, the character from Greek mythology who spent eternity pushing a boulder up a hill, only for it to roll back down again when he neared the top, forcing him to start over—again and again and again. These people work hard to earn God’s approval and be worthy of His love. But every time they slip up or do something to displease Him, they feel like they have to start over.

Their faulty understanding of God and His mercy keeps them from maturing in their Christian faith. The fact is that God loves us and accepts us as we are. We don’t have to do anything to earn His approval. We don’t have to do anything to merit His love. In spite of our shortcomings and in spite of our sins, God loves us.

He showed us how much He loves us by sending His Son to die in our place so that we might have eternal life. Romans 5:8 puts it this way: “But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners” (NLT).

Understanding how much God loves us is what inspires us to love Him and others. As 1 John 4:19 says, “We love each other because he loved us first” (NLT). Instead of wanting to keep God’s commandments to earn His love, we should want to keep them because of His love for us. We should want to keep His commandments because we know they are right. It all comes down to our motives.

We can’t do anything to earn God’s love or affection. His standards are too high. Because He is just, He demands perfect righteousness. And perfect righteousness is found only in Christ. That’s why Paul said in Ephesians 2:8–10: “God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago” (NLT).

We don’t live in a Christlike way so that God will love us; we live in a Christlike way because God loves us and because we want to honor our heavenly Father.

 

Reflection Question: How, if at all, does your relationship with your human father affect your relationship with your heavenly Father?

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