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

“Behold, to obey is better than a sacrifice, and to pay attention is better than the fat of rams.”

—1 Samuel 15:22

We often choose sacrifice—the ritual of religious duty—over obedience and paying attention to the Lord.

But our lives with Christ are not lives of fill–in–the–blank dos and don’ts. They are lives lived in an ongoing essay of obedience and paying attention.

The fill–in–the–blank life will have us checking off tasks on a moral to–do list without ever learning who the Lord is. It’s straightforward—a facts and figures knowledge that means little to us as long as we pass the test. It has us seeing God as a distant deity we must pacify, doing just enough to keep him on our side.

But the essay life will have us walking in humble obedience and paying attention to the Holy Spirit minute–by–minute, day–by–day. The essay life is open–ended. We see and understand the beauty and depth in the story of God’s Word, and that translates into a life that continues to tell his story. It’s not only duty that constrains us but love and a desire to know the Lord more each day. He’s our heavenly Father who knows us intimately and wants us to know him as well (Galatians 4).

The Word tells us repeatedly that God doesn’t want our religious performance; he wants our hearts turned toward him in love and trust.

As we follow Christ’s example of love and obedience, our lives themselves become the sacrifice that pleases the Lord (Romans 12:1–2).

Let’s not settle for fill–in–the–blank lives of rote religion. Let’s learn to know, love, and follow our heavenly Father.

The post July 10-A Life That Listens 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

“Therefore, my beloved brothers and sisters, be firm, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.”

—1 Corinthians 15:58

It’s tempting to give up when we don’t see that our work for the Lord is resulting in changed lives or obvious fruit. 

But this verse assures us that if we are seeking the Lord and following him, that work will always matter. We don’t have to wonder.

Galatians 6:9 says, “Let’s not become discouraged in doing good, for in due time we will reap, if we do not become weary.” That’s the important thing; even when we don’t see the results, we are to be steadfast, keep going, not waver, and keep doing what he’s called us to do.

The farmer does not reap if he gives up mid–season. He must continue tending, waiting, watering, weeding, pruning, protecting from pests, and trusting the Lord to bring the harvest. 

For all of our seventy or eighty years on this earth, we’re to continue tending what the Lord has put in our lives so we are fruitful for his kingdom. The life we live in Christ is always worth it even when difficult; we have his presence (Psalm 23:4), peace (Philippians 4:7), and the assurance of eternity with him ahead to carry us through (Hebrews 12:2). We may see small harvests here and there along the way, or we may not see a real crop until eternity.

But the Lord has promised that a harvest will come, and our labor will not be in vain.

The post July 9-In Due Time 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

“Far be it from me to boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus.”

—Galatians 6:14

Paul is referencing those things we tend to wear proudly as badges of honor for our Christian faith. In his day, it was being circumcised versus being uncircumcised. Today, it may be something like, “I go to church every week,” or “I never cuss,” or “I’ve never___________” (fill in the blank) that makes us feel spiritually superior. 

But to do this is to live like the Pharisees, taking joy in others’ weakness. It makes us feel good to think we are better than them—“thank you that I am not like other people” (Luke 18:11–12).

This attitude cripples love. As long as we continue this way, we cannot truly wish for others’ good, because to raise them up means we have less to feel good about within ourselves.

When we take our eyes off ourselves and put them on Christ, remembering his sacrificial love—that “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8)—then we can truly love others the same way, wishing for their greatest good.

It’s freeing to boast only in the cross; our self–image is no longer defined by comparing ourselves to other people, whether good or bad. Whatever earthly advantages or disadvantages we may have, we are all equal before the cross.

We recognize that he is the reason for anything in us worth boasting of, so we point to the source, and we are then free to love as he loves.

The post July 8-Only Jesus 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

“Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor, not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality.”

—Romans 12:10–13

How beautiful would the body of Christ be if we employed these instructions!

Are we devoted to one another in brotherly love, or do we see our brother as a burden?

Do we give honor and preference to others instead of seeking our own ends first?

Do we employ diligence in studying the Word and following God?

Are our spirits fervent in loving God and others, or are we weak and careless in our faith and relationship with him?

Are we serving the Lord faithfully, living lives of obedience and following where he leads, or are there areas of sin we are holding on to and calls to service we have not yet answered?

Are we rejoicing in God and his eternal hope, or are we staggering in despair and hoping in the things of this world?

Are we persevering even in tribulation, or do we doubt and turn away from the Lord when difficulties come?

Are we devoted to prayer in a way that proves we actually believe it changes things, or do we treat it as a weak platitude when there’s nothing we can do with our human hands?

Are we contributing to the needs of other believers, or do we hold our possessions tightly because we fear we will not have enough?

Do we practice hospitality or keep others at arm’s length because it’s inconvenient or difficult?

We can use these questions to discover if we’re living out the kind of faith and love these verses describe.

The post July 7-Are We Living This? 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

“Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary.” 

—Isaiah 40:31

When we become weary, it’s often because we haven’t waited on the Lord in some instance. We have not sat long at his feet or allowed him access to some area of our lives, or we’ve chosen distance from him in some area of selfishness, pride, anger, or other sin. 

Perhaps we’ve plowed ahead in our own plans and our own strength because we want something and haven’t checked in with him. 

But the eagle flies best by the power of the wind. It soars not with its own strength, but by waiting for the moments when the wind is right to carry it. An eagle can fly in its own power, but it can only carry the smallest of weights without the wind’s strength.

That’s true of us as well. If we try to lift our own weights without waiting for the Lord, we will quickly grow tired. We won’t be equipped to bear the burdens and temptations of this world. We might be able to carry some things for a time, but even small weights will quickly become too heavy. We will grow weak and fall in our weariness. 

The Lord is our strength, and when we run ahead of him, we will always wear out. We will not be able to take up our cross and follow him (Matthew 16:24). 

But when we wait for him, the Holy Spirit becomes like the wind to the eagle, bearing us up and giving us strength for our flights and our burdens.

The post July 6-Strength in the Waiting 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

“The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold, but the Lord tests hearts.”

—Proverbs 17:3

None of us are pure except by the ransom paid by the blood of Jesus, but the Bible tells us many times that going through the refiner’s fire burns off the dross.

When the Lord allows hard things and discipline into our lives, if we let them, they will melt away all the unnecessary parts—the things that have us focused on this life.

The crucible and the furnace are painful, but they are also beneficial. They will test our hearts and reveal to us the places we have not yet allowed God in but are still holding to our earthly desires, selfishness, and the cares of this world.

When we look back at fires we’ve gone through and the dross it left behind, we can usually tell what the Lord was doing; there was a place we’d been allowing the devil a foothold, a fear that was controlling us, or sins we hadn’t given up.

And each time we go through the fire, the impurities it brings to the surface are diminished.

As we mature in the Lord, he often reveals sins that five years earlier, we wouldn’t have had the slightest pang of conscience over. But he tests hearts, and he knows where that sin still resides, even if it comes out in more and more subtle ways as we are sanctified through him.

If our goal is to be like Jesus, we can expect the refiner’s fire to come, and we can welcome it when it does. It does not burn indiscriminately but burns away that which is impure and unnecessary for the kingdom of God

The post July 5-Fire with Purpose 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 you will be betrayed even by parents, brothers and sisters, other relatives, and friends, and they will put some of you to death, and you will be hated by all people because of my name. And yet not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance you will gain your lives.”

—Luke 21:16–19

At first glance, this verse is confusing. It says that not a hair of our heads will perish right after we’re told some of us will be put to death. 

In our minds, death is perishing! But in the kingdom of God, death has been swallowed up in victory (1 Corinthians 15:54). It’s merely the doorway we must pass through for our souls to begin our true, forever lives. 

We can rejoice in any persecution because it will bring the opportunity for testifying about our God, the salvation of our souls, and identification with Christ in his death and sacrifice (Matthew 5:11–12; Matthew 10:16–28; Luke 21:13; 1 Peter 1:6–9).

We should not be surprised when betrayal or persecution comes (1 Peter 4:12–19). The world hated, accused, and condemned our Lord without cause. The same may happen to us (John 15:18–25), but many may come to him through our suffering.

As believers, let us not fear those who can harm the body, but only the one who holds the eternal destiny of our souls (Matthew 10:28). Even if our body is killed, we will gain our true lives through endurance (Matthew 10:32–33).

This earthly life is like a shadow, and it should not control us (1 Chronicles 29:15; Psalm 144:4); what perishes with the body is not our real life. 

Everything that matters will come with us into eternity.

The post July 4-The Shadow and the Glory 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

“Behold, I go forward but he is not there, and backward, but I cannot perceive him; when he acts on the left, I cannot see him; he turns to the right, but I cannot see him. But he knows the way I take; when he has put me to the test, I will come out as gold.”

—Job 23:8–10

Job was at his lowest point. He couldn’t feel God moving; he couldn’t see God moving. But even though it didn’t feel like it, he was absolutely certain that God was still working on all sides.

He never doubted that God still saw him. “He knows the way I take.”

When we’re walking a hard road, when we don’t understand why, and when it feels like God isn’t working, we can be certain that he is. He’s on the right hand and the left . . . he goes before and behind (Psalm 139:5).

He’s on every side. He sees us. He knows what we’re going through.

And what’s the outcome at the end of this unknown? The perfection of our faith. We are in the fire; it is burning off the doubts, fears, selfishness, misplaced confidence in worldly endeavors and comforts. On the other side, we will come out like gold—purified, proven in faith, beautiful, and shining for all to see.

And the purest gold is the softest gold, able to be molded by the Craftsman into the shape he has planned for it.

We can trust that this fire, though painful and confusing, is creating in us the ability to become what the Lord intends . . . to be used to bring about the highest fulfillment both in our lives and for his kingdom.

The post July 3-Seen, Known, Refined 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

“Your speech must always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person.”

—Colossians 4:6

A meal may be just as nourishing with or without salt, but it won’t be very palatable if it isn’t flavorful. Some people may not even eat it without salt, rendering it useless.

The same is true of our words. If we speak truth in a hurtful way, others may not receive it. But when we work to season our words with grace, people are far more likely to take that truth into their hearts and be nourished by it.

When something difficult needs to be said, we ought to be “slow to speak” (James 1:19) and consider whether we can respond with grace.

We take a pause, check in with the Holy Spirit, say a prayer (or several!) and evaluate our hearts and what we want to say to make sure it is both true and Christlike.

We take that pause even if it creates an awkward silence, even if it means we lose a fight, and even if it means we never get to make that really great point.

After this, if we find our words cannot be spoken with grace, we should step back from the interaction. We may be able to come back later and reply with grace, but sometimes, it’s not for us to respond at all, and we will benefit from the lesson in “taming the tongue” (James 3:1–12).

Difficult words are much more likely to be heard when they are spoken kindly in love.

The post July 2-Seasoned with Grace 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 the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from a sincere faith. Some people have strayed from these things and have turned aside to fruitless discussion, wanting to be teachers of the Law, even though they do not understand either what they are saying or the matters about which they make confident assertions.”

—1 Timothy 1:5–7

Many Christian leaders seem more interested in proving themselves right than in discipling souls, but we should all be more interested in transforming hearts than we are in satisfying pride.

So before we speak instruction, let’s ask ourselves a few questions.

Are we speaking from love? Is it from a sincere desire to help the other person, or do we feel disdain for them even as we speak?

Do we have a pure heart and a good conscience? Is there some secret sin we haven’t confessed, some area we haven’t submitted to God, or some work of the Lord we’re resisting? If so, it’s better to stay silent until we’ve given the Lord full rein in our lives.

Do we have a sincere faith not only speaking but also living out the Lord’s instructions?

Could the conversation fall into the category of fruitless discussion? Will the outcome have an impact in the eternal kingdom of God, or are we just trying to prove a point without the wisdom of the Holy Spirit?

Asking these questions would prompt thoughtful, kind discussion rather than heated debates that spark division. It would nurture a chance at becoming the body of Christ working in unity and loving one another fervently as we’re charged in the Bible.

Before giving instruction, we should always look for purity and sincerity in our hearts, our conscience, and our faith.

The post July 1-Heart Before Words appeared first on C. E. White.