Extreme - DevoMail with Skip Heitzig

The world looks at Christians celebrating death on Good Friday, and they can't figure it out. They say, "That is so extreme! Why, before God could forgive people, would He require the death of His Son? Why wouldn't He simply, benevolently, forgive people's sin? If I did something against you, you would just forgive me. Why can't God do that?"

But that kind of questioning betrays a sort of ignorance that is two-fold. One is of how heinous our sin is, and the other is of how great and holy our God is.

Nobody speaks of sin anymore. In fact, sin has almost disappeared from the American vocabulary. We speak of "problems" or "hangups" or "issues." It's called a "sickness" or it's called someone else's fault. But the Bible says very plainly that if we say we have no sin, we are liars. (1 John 1:8).

How serious is it? Paul said, "The wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). We sin because it's our nature. "Through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all have sinned" (Romans 5:12). And we sin by choice. Every day we commit individual acts that are an affront to God.

They are an affront because God is absolutely holy. You see, holy God is wholly incompatible with sin and unrighteousness. "You are of purer eyes than to behold evil, and cannot look on wickedness" (Habakkuk 1:13). "Your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you" (Isaiah 59:2).

Perfect, holy God cannot coexist with sinful man. And because of that, we're separated, we're lost. So one of two things must happen. Either holy God must destroy unholiness, or holy God must declare that which is unholy, holy.

And that takes us to the cross. Jesus lived the perfect life that we could never live, and then took all our sins on Himself. So effectively God said, "I'll take the rap. I'll take all of your wickedness and evil and I'll put it on Myself so that when I die on the cross, it's finished, once and for all."

The cross is the only place that God will meet with mankind. The cross is the only place where both God's mercy and God's justice could meet. How can God be a God of love and a God of justice at the same time? How can holy, perfect God meet with sinful, rebellious man? Only at the cross. He came, He took our punishment, and then He declared you and me righteous because of it.

Extreme? Yes! But what a deal that is! It's the deal of a lifetime!

In His strong love,
Skip Heitzig

Is It Really a Virtue? - Ed Young Ministries

"Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains." - James 5:7

In today’s society, we want results quickly. We want to invest and then enjoy the return immediately. We want to meet someone and instantly become friends or fall in love. We eat fast, talk even faster and rush through our days at a NASCAR-type pace.

But when it comes to God, we can’t rush Him. We can’t force Him to act according to our pace. So what does God advise us to do? James puts it all out there in the first two words of this verse—be patient.

How can the answer be that simple? How is patience going to help anything? After all, we need results now.

But patience is a crop whose value only grows over time. Whatever you are facing right now, wait for the Lord to direct you. Don’t try to force Him to act according to your plan. Listen to Him. And wait patiently for His plan to unfold. Soon, you will begin to discover just how valuable the crop is that He is growing in your life.

A Prayer for Today
Dear Lord, One of my biggest struggles is time. I want results now. I have difficulty waiting for anything, including You. Help me to be patient, especially when it comes to Your plan for my life. Help me to see that Your timing is always perfect. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Chris Tomlin : All The Way My Savior Leads Me Lyrics

Chris Tomlin : All The Way My Savior Leads Me Lyrics
Songwriters: Redman, Matt; Tomlin, Chris;

All the way my Savior leads me
Who have I to ask beside
How could I doubt His tender mercy
Who through life has been my guide

All the way my Savior leads me
Cheers each winding path I tread
Gives me grace for every trial
Feeds me with the living Bread

You lead me and keep me from falling
You carry me close to Your heart
And surely Your goodness and mercy will follow me

All the way my Savior leads me
O, the fullness of His love
O, the sureness of His promise
In the triumph of His blood
And when my spirit clothed immortal
Wings its flight to realms of day
This my song through endless ages

Jesus led me all the way
Jesus led me all the way

You lead me and keep me from falling
You carry me close to Your heart
And surely Your goodness and mercy will follow me

You lead me and keep me from falling
You carry me close to Your heart
And surely Your goodness and mercy will follow me, will follow me

All the way my Savior leads me
All the way my Savior leads me

Our Relationship With God

"Teach me, O LORD, the way of Your statutes, And I shall observe it to the end. Give me understanding, that I may observe Your law and keep it with all my heart. Make me walk in the path of Your commandments, For I delight in it. Incline my heart to Your testimonies And not to dishonest gain. Turn away my eyes from looking at vanity, And revive me in Your ways. Establish Your word to Your servant, As that which produces reverence for You. Turn away my reproach which I dread, For Your ordinances are good. Behold, I long for Your precepts; Revive me through Your righteousness. " - Psalm 119:33-40 (New American Standard Bible)


By trusting Christ, a person enters into a lifelong relationship with the heavenly Father. As believers, we have a responsibility to keep that connection healthy.

First, we must learn about our new family. An essential and on-going part of family life involves knowing and being known by the other members. In the Bible, God gave a detailed description of His attributes, values, and thinking. And since Jesus came to earth, we can better understand divine character, which was demonstrated in a human life. As we meditate on Scripture, our sense of connectedness to our triune God will grow.

Second, we should stay in close contact with God through prayer and study of His Word—and resist the temptation to put people, work, or pleasures ahead of Him. Remember: Relationships thrive with consistent interaction but wither if neglected.

Third, we are to respond to what He has communicated. He provided instructions for living and explained what pleases Him. In healthy families, people pay attention to each other. We need to heed our Father's warnings and obey His commands.

Finally, we must grow in likeness to God. Relatives can resemble each other in subtle and obvious ways. As we cooperate with the transforming work of the Holy Spirit, we will start to think and act like our Father.

God the Father provided salvation through His Son, who died so we could become spiritually alive. Jesus set an example for us to follow: a life of loving, obedient service. God's Spirit is doing His sanctifying work in us (1 Peter 1:2). Are we doing our part to keep the relationship healthy?

The Holy Spirit: Our Teacher

"These things I have spoken to you while abiding with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you." John 14:25-26 (New American Standard Bible)


If you are going to take instruction from someone, you want to be certain that person is well qualified, right? It's interesting, then, that so many believers neglect the greatest Bible teacher available. We read religious books, consult friends, and tune into a favored preacher before we will get on our knees. While those sources can point us in the right direction, only the Holy Spirit illuminates God's Word to our hearts and minds.

Asking someone to explain God's Word seems easier than seeking to understand it through the Holy Spirit's power. But consider what a person misses by forsaking Him. Who better to instruct believers about the Scripture's depth and breadth than the One who wrote it (2 Peter 1:20-21)? The Spirit laid His message on the authors' hearts, and they dutifully recorded it, each in his own unique voice.

Furthermore, as a member of the holy Trinity, the Spirit knows the mind of God (1 Cor. 2:10). He is often called the Spirit of truth, because He understands everything. The Spirit recognizes our emotional and mental state and can identify exactly where we are in our Christian growth. Therefore, He can reveal to our minds passages that will encourage, challenge, or convict us as needed.

We have a teacher of divine quality. He will help us to learn and grow, guide us through difficult passages, and shed light on why the Lord allows certain challenges our life. When it comes to aiding God's people to know His Word, no one is more qualified than His Spirit.

Lifted Up

"Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded... Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up." - James 4:8, 10

So often we shy away from the word sin. We try to make it sound better by saying, "mistake," "issue" or "struggle." Rarely do we call it what it really is. But to discover the life that God has for us, we have to admit our sin. Rather than laughing off our "mistakes," James challenges us here to admit our sin and fall humbly before God.

Sin is a serious issue. So serious in fact, that it cost God the life of his only Son, Jesus Christ. But the good news is that your sin doesn’t have to come between you and God. When you admit to God that you are a sinner; when you fall humbly before Him and ask Him for forgiveness, "he will lift you up."

No longer will you have to be ashamed of your sin. Once you are forgiven, God holds no memory of your transgressions. Nothing on earth has the power to lift you up and give you life like the power of a purified heart before God.

A Prayer for Today
Dear God, I know that my sin has separated me from You. I admit this sin to You and ask You for forgiveness. I fall humbly at Your feet and know that through the blood of Jesus Christ, I am purified and can experience life on a whole new level. In Your Son’s name I pray, Amen.

Psalm 27:1-5

"The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked came against me to eat up my flesh, my enemies and foes they stumbled and fell. (Having seen this place, they no doubt would have.) Though an army may encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war may rise against me, in this I will be confident. One thing I have desired of the Lord, that will I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple. For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavillion (There are many natural pavillions made out of rocks and boulders.), in the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock (Lots of high places in the rocks.). - Psalm 27:1-5"