Isaiah 43:7 says, “Everyone who is called by My name, whom I have created for My glory; I have formed him, yes, I have made him.” Psalm 119:73 says, “Your hands have made me and fashioned me; give me understanding, that I may learn Your commandments.”

Let’s consider how Adam was made. Genesis 2:7 says, “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.”

Can you picture it? I’ve seen some sand sculptures. The sand is wet and easily formed. It stays in one place. Dust? It scatters easily. Adam was perfectly formed. Did you notice his nostrils? When the Lord breathed into him the breath of life, Adam was a fully functioning man. I marvel when I think about it. His cognition was brilliant. 

You and I have the same breath in us. As Adam was given the responsibility to keep the garden, we are given the same stewardship of our bodies. 1 Corinthians 6:20 says, “For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.”

We are fashioned for His glory. Glorify means to bestow honor. In Jesus’ priestly prayer, John 17:4 says, “I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do.” What has the Lord given you to do? 

Courage is an inner strength that is continually fortified through the promises to us in God’s word. Courage is never achieved through self-effort. He empowers us to do what He has called us to do. See 1 Thessalonians 5:24. 

God’s command to Joshua was connected to the essential truth that He would be with him no matter what he was doing or where he was going. So it is with us. Psalm 46:1 promises that He is Ever Present.

What holds us back from pursuing all that God has for us? Fears from our past often rise up to stop us in our tracks. We are insecure because we are looking at our weakness rather than His strength. 

When I think of the word embrace, I picture a barnacle clinging to a rock or the hull of a ship. Years ago I wrote an article for our local newspaper entitled, “Barnacle Faith.” I had a great picture of a barnacle.

I have another picture from Psalm 63:8 in the Amplified. It says, “My whole being follows hard after You and clings closely to You; Your right hand upholds me.” Thank You Lord for Your continual upholding, sustaining, and uplifting Presence! 

As you read this verse, I want you to picture a trapeze artist. They have just let go of the first bar, as they are reaching for the oncoming bar. Paul wrote in Philippians 3:13 says, “…one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead.” The empowerment to reach comes through forgetting the past. We have to let go of the past to embrace the present.

I read through the book of Philippians three times. Paul is an excellent example for us of one who embraced courage. When the plot against his life was discovered, the commander sent Paul to the governor Felix.

In Acts 24:10-21 he made his defense before the governor. His declaration in verse 16 is one we can aspire to as well. It says, “This being so, I myself always strive to have a conscience without offense toward God and man.” 

After he made his defense before Felix, he also stood before King Agrippa. When Felix had listened the second time, in verse 24 he shouted, “…Paul, you are beside yourself! Much learning has made you mad!”

In verse 27 Paul embraced courage. He said, “King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets…?” When the Lord intercepted Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus, what did He tell Ananias? 

Acts 9:15-16 says, “…he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake.” If you need a refresher of his sufferings, go back and read 2 Corinthians 11:23-33.

God commanded Joshua to embrace courage. He encapsulated it with the promise that He would be with him. Joshua 1:9 says, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” We have the same promises.

How did you feel inside when you read Titus 3:2? If you have recently gossiped it might have made you cringe. If you had been acting in pride, then the Holy Spirit would use that verse to finger that. By the way, speaking evil is the same as keeping a record of wrongs buried in your heart. Truth is like a stop signal. It makes us stop, look into our heart, before we proceed with our reading.

The next time you sit down to read your Bible, I encourage you to ask the Holy Spirit to help you mine truth that will set you free from your fleshly reactions that spring up when you least expect them. Reactions are the catalyst that reveal hidden strongholds.

A chemical catalyst is any substance that increases the rate of a reaction without itself being consumed. How does a spiritual catalyst work? By the same principle: truth exposes the lie which has been causing our flesh to react. We heed what the Holy Spirit has revealed. We confess and renounce it ~ its hidden consuming work is stopped in its tracks.

We are coming to the end of another year. Here is a suggestion. On January 1, you begin reading the book of Proverbs. There are 31 chapters. One chapter for each day of the month.

Talk about a book that makes our flesh squeal. Proverbs 18:21 says that life and death is in the power of our tongue. All words are first thoughts. Hmm, that means that we need to be diligent to be mind ~ keeping (back to the devotional on the 23rd).

There is a beauty and mystery in daily reading through God’s word. No matter what season of life we are in, His word is relevant. It effectively illuminates the things that are hidden from our consciousness.

Yesterday’s devotional ended with the mention of spiritual sacrifices. God’s word clearly describes what condition our heart needs to be in. In the Old Testament they offered animal sacrifices. What sacrifices are offered as a member of Christ’s body of believers?

Amos 3:3 says, “Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?” There are specific instructions as to how we are to walk together in our priesthood journey. Psalm 51:17 says, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart—these, O God, You will not despise.”

Let’s visit Romans 12:9-21. It is like a magna carta to help us maintain humility in our interactions. Verse 9 says, “Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good.” This verse requires us to sacrifice our flesh in order to put it into practice.

Here is another. Verse 18 says, “If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.” I have a corralling verse on my refrigerator to help me walk in it’s boundaries. Titus 3:2 says, “To speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men.” That is a flesh-squealer verse.

Paul’s stance is one that we can imitate. It is not wise to just pick and choose what we want to read, excluding most of God’s counsel. Otherwise, we will miss the truths that will set us free from the hidden inner strongholds that keep us ensnared.

In 2 Timothy 2:26, Paul explained another important truth. We are ensnared to do the devil’s will. Systematically reading God’s word will help us, “…come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.”

We are chosen, called, and appointed to do God’s will. Romans 12:3 says that we have each been given a measure of faith. 2 Peter 1:5-7 recorded the inner graces that we are to add to our faith so that we can prosper in our walk with the Lord.

Our progressive sanctification is a journey not a sprint. Isaiah 28:9 asked a question. It says, “Whom will he teach knowledge? And whom will he make to understand the message?…” Verse 10 recorded the steps. It says, “For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little.”

It reminds me of building a wall brick by brick. Peter described it this way. 1 Peter 2:5 says, “You also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”

How will we know what spiritual sacrifices are unless we are reading His word systematically? We wouldn’t. Hidden truth is there, but we have to mine it out as we read for understanding. 

How do we keep our mind? Colossians 3:2 says, “Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.” Set means to direct our mind to. Another way to say it would be to commit our thoughts to align with Scripture.

Our thoughts come from our heart which is our belief center. Proverbs 4:23 says, “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.” 

Keeping our mind is a lot like housekeeping. I just vacuumed the baseboards in my bedroom, then the floor. Guess what I found when I lifted up my mini trampoline? A whole host of dust bunnies! 

What hides in our mind is not always evident on the surface. Personally, I discovered in 1993, that not all thoughts were of my own origin. In Ephesians 6:16, Paul disclosed a truth that we need to heed. The wicked one shoots fiery darts. They are ‘thoughts’ not of our own origin ~ lies designed to control us.

If we are not keeping our mind, they will slip past us, penetrate, and set up an inner stronghold. All demonic shaped strongholds oppose God’s ways and His will. They are strategically buried so that we don’t realize that we are being controlled from our thoughts.

How do we recognize a hidden lie? The Holy Spirit will finger them as we read through our Bible. In Acts 20:27 Amplified it says of Paul, “For I never shrank or kept back or fell short from declaring to you the whole purpose and plan and counsel of God.”

We must be careful to not use Scripture as a cliche. God’s word is alive and active at the moment it is read or spoken. His word is eternal. It never loses its power to heal, console, or bring course correction.

What happened when Job’s three friends showed up and saw him grieving? They remained silent. Ecclesiastes 3:7 says that there is, “…a time to keep silence, and a time to speak.”

Jude verse 21 Amplified says, “Guard and keep yourselves in the love of God…”

Isaiah 50:4 was written about the Lord. We are His ambassadors that need to keep our ears open, so we can apply this to our own lives. It says, “The Lord God has given Me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him who is weary. He awakens Me morning by morning, He awakens My ear to hear as the learned.”

Proverbs 16:23-24 says, “The heart of the wise teaches his mouth, and adds learning to his lips. Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the bones.” Psalm 16:7 says, “I will bless the Lord who has given me counsel; my heart also instructs me in the night seasons.”

Our last thoughts before we go to sleep are crucial. Following the truth trail is key to wholesome thoughts. The Holy Spirit has given me many of these devotional titles the moment I wake up. Bring truth into your heart, and truth will be in your words to encourage and strengthen others.

Here is a great verse that aptly fits the title to this devotional. Psalm 85:13 says, “Righteousness will go before Him, and shall make His footsteps our pathway.” Psalm 23:3 says, “…He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.”

Here is something that blocks us from walking in righteousness. James 1:19-20 says, “So then, my beloved brethren…” Note that James was addressing professing believers. “…let every man be swift to hear; slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.”

Let me review a definition for righteousness from Hebrews 12:11 Amplified. It says, “…in conformity to God’s will in purpose, thought, and action…” This verse is in the context of God’s discipline to His children. He uses our hardships, trials, and adversities as His tools of conformity.

Anger grieves and quenches the Holy Spirit. Ephesians 4:31 Amplified says, “Let all bitterness and indignations and wrath (passion, rage, bad temper) and resentment (anger, animosity) and quarreling (brawling, clamor, contention) and slander (evil-speaking, abusive or blasphemous language) be banished from you, with all malice (spite) ill will, or baseness of any kind).” What a great description that leaves no loopholes!

The Holy Spirit was given to us to teach us how to navigate through our journey of progressive sanctification. He is the Spirit of Truth that will always lead us into experiential truth that will set us free and keep us free. We don’t want to quench His work.

How will the life of one born again end? Jude verse 24 says, “Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy.”

Hosea 6:3 says, “Let us know, let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord…” 2 Peter 1:3 says, “As His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him…”

Our progressive sanctification is a journey ~ not a destination. Psalm 16:5 says, “O Lord, You are the portion of my inheritance and my cup; You maintain my lot.” Proverbs 9:10 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”

Our journey is totally one of becoming more and more deeply intimate with the Lord. Job 22:21 Amplified says, “Acquaint now yourself with Him (agree with God and show yourself to be conformed to His will) and be at peace; by that (you shall prosper and great) good shall come to you.”

Isaiah 55:3 says, “Incline your ear, and come to Me. Hear, and your soul shall live…” Skipping down to verses 8-9, we know that His ways and thoughts are far higher than ours ~ there is no comparison. 

Our inner being is transformed as we spend time basking in His love for us, delighting in Him, delighting in us, and drinking deep of His pleasures. 2 Corinthians 3:18 uses the word gaze. May our hearts be captured and enraptured, by the magnitude of Who He is at all times.