The Mirror of the Word: A Daily Devotional Podcast from C.E. White

The Mirror of the Word and other works by C.E. White can be purchased on her website, cewhitebooks.com or on Amazon

“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

—Romans 15:13

Paul is saying we can live in all—not some—of the fullness of joy and peace Christ offers right now.

How? In believing.

And what is belief? It’s acting on what God’s Word tells us is true.

If our friend builds a boat and we say we’re sure he’s done a great job, but we won’t get in the boat, we don’t really believe. It’s only words.

To believe means we will live as Christ tells us we should and do what he says even when we don’t like it and when the world and our feelings tell us something else is better.

If we never act on our faith, then our belief is never proven, and our lives never show us or others that God is trustworthy and what he says is true. For our belief to become real and grow, we must continually step further out into God’s depths (Luke 5:4).

Obedience is the path to walking in the power of the Holy Spirit. If we’re still seeking to build our own kingdom instead of the Lord’s, if we’re sowing to the flesh rather than the Spirit by choosing sin and self over his Word, then we’re quenching the Spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:19). But if we’re believing—obeying—we will hear his guidance more and more clearly as we go on.

And the result is all joy, all peace, and an abundance of hope!

And who doesn’t want that?

Obedience to the one true, good God doesn’t lead to constriction but to freedom and rest.

The post APRIL 26-Getting in the Boat appeared first on C. E. White.

The Mirror of the Word and other works by C.E. White can be purchased on her website, cewhitebooks.com or on Amazon

“But a natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.”

—1 Corinthians 2:14

We do well to remember this when we’re talking to unbelievers. Whether we’re witnessing to them or talking about sin, we can speak the truth, but they may not be able to receive it.

Raising our voices in anger won’t help. Calling them names won’t help. Acting in an un–Christlike manner won’t help.

We look to Jesus for our example. He spoke truth and gave evidence from the Word, but he didn’t try to convince or persuade. He didn’t engage in pointless debates when people asked trick questions designed to expose some flaw in his teaching.

To those who could not hear, he simply told the truth and moved on. He planted a seed with love.

This verse also helps us with those people we love who we long to see come to Christ. It reminds us that their souls are not our burden to carry. We do what we can—love them, tell the truth, be examples, and pray for them—but the battle for their soul is the Lord’s. They may not yet be in a spiritual place to hear that truth.

We tell it to them as many times as the Lord prompts, but it isn’t in our power to make them hear it. We may speak the truth eloquently and perfectly, and they may still not come to the Lord.

Many people couldn’t hear truth from the mouth of Jesus himself. Some will certainly reject it from us.

We tell the truth in love and move on, leaving the rest to the Holy Spirit.

The post APRIL 25-They Couldn’t Hear Jesus Either appeared first on C. E. White.

The Mirror of the Word and other works by C.E. White can be purchased on her website, cewhitebooks.com or on Amazon

“Jesus answered, ‘Where I am going, you cannot follow me now; but you will follow later.’ Peter said to him, ‘Lord, why can I not follow you right now? I will lay down my life for you.’”

—John 13:36–37

Peter said this right before Jesus’s arrest, and I’m sure he was sincere . . . he just didn’t quite understand what following Jesus would mean.

The next day, Peter took out his sword and cut off the ear of the high priest’s servant in defense of Jesus. Had others taken up weapons, I think Peter would’ve gladly fought to the death.

He was willing to fight but not to surrender.

He was willing to die in body but not to die to self.

He was willing to go out in a blaze of glory but not to humbly surrender without fanfare.

He was willing to die for Christ but not yet willing to live for him.

Dying for Christ looks noble and sacrificial, but it only takes a few moments of courage. Living for him requires laying down our lives over and over in all the drudgery of daily life.

It requires turning the other cheek, loving our enemies (Matthew 5:38–48), and being willing to be hated as Christ was hated (Matthew 10:24–25). It requires living in humility (Philippians 2:3–4), not seeking our own desires but focusing on the eternal destiny of others (1 Corinthians 10:33), being a servant (Matthew 20:26), and battling our flesh and all the worldly and spiritual forces that come against us (Galatians 5:17; Ephesians 6:12).

Let us lay down our swords and self–important ideas of a glory–seeking battle and die daily (1 Corinthians 15:31) in order to take up our crosses and truly follow Jesus (Luke 9:23).

The post APRIL 24-Willing to Die, But Not to Live appeared first on C. E. White.

The Mirror of the Word and other works by C.E. White can be purchased on her website, cewhitebooks.com or on Amazon

“For God is not a God of confusion but of peace.”

—1 Corinthians 14:33

If we’re confused, we can be certain that’s not what the Lord wants for us. He gives the “peace that surpasses all comprehension” (Philippians 4:7). The fact that it passes comprehension means we can have it no matter the circumstances in our lives or in the world. Those around us will wonder how we can still have peace in difficult, confusing, or agonizing circumstances.

Even when we don’t know what to do or why terrible things are happening, we can have peace because we place our trust in the loving God who declared the end from the beginning and whose plans will be established (Isaiah 46:10).

Confusion is almost always wrapped up in worry about the future, which means it has at least a few drops of mistrust mixed in with it. We’re doubting that God has declared the end, doubting that he will come through, or doubting whether he truly loves us and means us good.

And though we don’t know our futures and we don’t have to pretend to like everything that happens in our lives, we do know we can trust God to be with us and uphold us whatever comes because we know the end of the story.

With that knowledge, we don’t have to let our confusion reign. We can sit in our not–knowing without our hearts hammering in fear. We don’t have to know every answer because we’re guided by the one who does. The one who established the universe leads his children step–by–step in our path to eternity with him.

The anxiety of confusion is not resolved by knowing the answers but by trusting the one who does.

The post APRIL 23-Peace in the Not-Knowing appeared first on C. E. White.

The Mirror of the Word and other works by C.E. White can be purchased on her website, cewhitebooks.com or on Amazon

“But from those who were of considerable repute (what they were makes no difference to me; God shows no favoritism)—well, those who were of repute contributed nothing to me.”

—Galatians 2:6

It makes no difference to God—nor to Paul—who is “of considerable repute” according to the world. There are many people who are considered influential, especially in our world of “influencers.”

But whether people are “influencers” or not should make no difference to us. They might influence the world, but the simple fact of their fame and reputation should not mean we listen to them more than to God.

Worldly influencers who do not speak or live truth can contribute nothing meaningful or lasting to our lives—whether they be famous politicians, popular false teachers, the latest sports celebrities, or the most recognized movie stars.

Popularity or power alone should never make us believe one person deserves more attention, respect, or authority in our lives than another. Many will use that popularity and power as a pretext as the men Paul was referring to did—to manipulate truth to achieve their desired ends and to increase their influence.

God shows no partiality. He does not look at the outward appearance or position, but at the heart (1 Samuel 16:7).

May we never attempt to win favor from those who have status simply because they hold power or position. May we treat every person as an equal and hold fast to godly standards even if it puts us in opposition to those the world applauds.

The post APRIL 22-The Illusion of Status appeared first on C. E. White.

The Mirror of the Word and other works by C.E. White can be purchased on her website, cewhitebooks.com or on Amazon

“I know, Lord, that a person’s way is not in himself, nor is it in a person who walks to direct his steps.” 

—Jeremiah 10:23

What pressure we put on ourselves to know each next step! But knowing God means we can trust him to lead us through each moment, each day, and each decision.

That’s good, because when we look to ourselves, we’re often tempted to take only steps that are comfortable, safe, pleasurable, and make sense to our limited understanding.

But God can see the whole of time from the beginning to the end; he will always lead us down purposeful paths that yield spiritual fruit with eternal value.

When we’re confused by life, uncertain of our direction, or tired of taking steps that have led only to emptiness, this is the answer: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5–6).

And the Word lights that path for us (Psalm 119:105) by showing us how to live, beginning with the greatest commandment: to love the Lord your God with all your heart soul and mind. Everything else flows from this (Matthew 22:36–40). 

And how do we love him? By keeping his commandments (John 14:15), which are designed to direct our steps toward the best way—though we know the best is not always the easiest.

So if there are areas we’ve been holding back from the Lord, unwilling to trust and follow, that’s where we start. 

As we acknowledge and obey him more and more in our ways, the path will become more distinct and straight before us. This is the beginning of allowing the Lord to direct our steps.

The post APRIL 21-Not My Way, But Yours appeared first on C. E. White.